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| Courtesy of Roadside Attractions |
(Rated PG-13 for thematic content, language throughout, some violence and smoking.)
Because he’s known more for getting into trouble than making movies over the last few years, it’s easy to forget just what a terrific actor Shia LaBeouf can be when he’s firing on all cylinders. His latest film is a powerful reminder of his strengths as a performer and, if it attracts a wide enough audience, might just make him a contender in this season’s Best Supporting Actor race.
The Peanut Butter Falcon is a poignant adventure whose tone is reminiscent of Mark Twain and Flannery O’Connor. It begins when Zak (newcomer Zack Gottsagen), a 20-something man with Down syndrome runs away from a nursing home to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.
Along the way, he meets Tyler (LaBeouf), an outlaw who reluctantly takes Zak under his wing and becomes an unlikely coach and friend. However, Zak’s caretaker Eleanor (Dakota Johnson) eventually catches up with them and they must convince her to let them continue their journey.
Although The Peanut Butter Falcon name-checks Twain, it feels more like a combination of Mud and Napoleon Dynamite. It’s a quirky tale about troubled Southern characters (including phenomenal actors like John Hawkes, Thomas Haden Church, Bruce Dern and Jon Bernthal in supporting roles) with just a hint of magical realism thrown in.
Gottsagen is a warm, funny presence and his platonic chemistry with all his co-stars is incredibly charming. However, when it comes to non-platonic chemistry, there’s no doubt about the sparks flying between LaBeouf and Johnson. Tyler’s brand of flirting is so weird and dorky that there’s something endearing about it.
Plus, Johnson makes Eleanor far more alluring than her insipid Fifty Shades character was allowed to be throughout the entire trilogy. I’m so glad the talented actress is free from that dreadful franchise and choosing more interesting projects like Suspiria, Bad Times at the El Royale and this film. She’s got quite a streak going.
For most of its running time, The Peanut Butter Falcon is darn near flawless. However, it stumbles at the end with a final shot that practically screams “we reshot this because test audiences were unhappy.” The story is leading to an obvious conclusion, complete with plenty of foreshadowing, but it pulls its punch right at the last second. Granted, because the characters are so easy to fall in love with, it’s a decision that will likely be less divisive and attract more viewers.
In the long run, that’s a good thing for an indie like this one, but it ultimately rings a little hollow. Still, that minor issue isn’t enough to keep this from being one of the year’s best movies. What’s more, it’s getting a wide release rather than playing in a handful of Atlanta theaters. That means it’ll be playing locally, so take advantage of this opportunity to support a wonderful film that needs strong word-of-mouth to succeed. Those of you tired of the sequels, remakes and superhero flicks we’re drowning in? Time to do something about it instead of just complaining.
Grade: A-
Because he’s known more for getting into trouble than making movies over the last few years, it’s easy to forget just what a terrific actor Shia LaBeouf can be when he’s firing on all cylinders. His latest film is a powerful reminder of his strengths as a performer and, if it attracts a wide enough audience, might just make him a contender in this season’s Best Supporting Actor race.
The Peanut Butter Falcon is a poignant adventure whose tone is reminiscent of Mark Twain and Flannery O’Connor. It begins when Zak (newcomer Zack Gottsagen), a 20-something man with Down syndrome runs away from a nursing home to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.
Along the way, he meets Tyler (LaBeouf), an outlaw who reluctantly takes Zak under his wing and becomes an unlikely coach and friend. However, Zak’s caretaker Eleanor (Dakota Johnson) eventually catches up with them and they must convince her to let them continue their journey.
Although The Peanut Butter Falcon name-checks Twain, it feels more like a combination of Mud and Napoleon Dynamite. It’s a quirky tale about troubled Southern characters (including phenomenal actors like John Hawkes, Thomas Haden Church, Bruce Dern and Jon Bernthal in supporting roles) with just a hint of magical realism thrown in.
Gottsagen is a warm, funny presence and his platonic chemistry with all his co-stars is incredibly charming. However, when it comes to non-platonic chemistry, there’s no doubt about the sparks flying between LaBeouf and Johnson. Tyler’s brand of flirting is so weird and dorky that there’s something endearing about it.
Plus, Johnson makes Eleanor far more alluring than her insipid Fifty Shades character was allowed to be throughout the entire trilogy. I’m so glad the talented actress is free from that dreadful franchise and choosing more interesting projects like Suspiria, Bad Times at the El Royale and this film. She’s got quite a streak going.
For most of its running time, The Peanut Butter Falcon is darn near flawless. However, it stumbles at the end with a final shot that practically screams “we reshot this because test audiences were unhappy.” The story is leading to an obvious conclusion, complete with plenty of foreshadowing, but it pulls its punch right at the last second. Granted, because the characters are so easy to fall in love with, it’s a decision that will likely be less divisive and attract more viewers.
In the long run, that’s a good thing for an indie like this one, but it ultimately rings a little hollow. Still, that minor issue isn’t enough to keep this from being one of the year’s best movies. What’s more, it’s getting a wide release rather than playing in a handful of Atlanta theaters. That means it’ll be playing locally, so take advantage of this opportunity to support a wonderful film that needs strong word-of-mouth to succeed. Those of you tired of the sequels, remakes and superhero flicks we’re drowning in? Time to do something about it instead of just complaining.
Grade: A-
Luce
(Rated R for language throughout, sexual content, nudity and some drug use. Now playing in limited release.)
The modern era of mainstream filmmaking doesn’t have a lot of patience for life’s gray areas. Characters’ rough edges are often sanded down so they can seem more likable, or the story holds the audience’s hand by telling them precisely how to feel through heavy-handed exposition or on-the-nose musical accompaniment.
That’s because many viewers hate ambiguous movies. They want to know precisely what’s happening with the plot at all times, including a definitive ending that reveals exactly what happens to the characters, leaving no doubt about their motivations or ultimate fate.
But that’s not how life works, so filmmakers who want to tell a realistic story have no choice but to explore complex themes destined to alienate a large portion of the audience. That’s precisely the case with Luce, an indie that opened in limited release last weekend. Box office results weren’t kind (the marketing was minimal, and it should’ve been released in the fall instead of blockbuster season), which means it likely won’t expand outside Atlanta.
Still, if you like films that challenge you and make you think, put it on your radar since it’ll hit VOD and home video in the coming weeks. It's not a feel-good experience, but the searing thriller features incredible performances and an unsettling story that offers no easy answers.
Luce revolves around the titular character (played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.), who seems like the epitome of the American Dream. His white parents (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) adopted him from a war-torn region in Africa when he was a child and raised him to be the ideal citizen. Now he’s a high school superstar: successful athlete and accomplished debater with an Ivy League future all but guaranteed.
But that’s jeopardized when Luce’s history teacher (Octavia Spencer) reads a troubling essay he wrote, which leads to an alarming discovery in his locker. With his stellar reputation on the line, several questions surface. Is Luce a troubled kid on the verge of doing something awful? Is his teacher making a rash judgment based on stereotypes? How far should his parents go in order to defend their son? As more shocking revelations come to light, those questions become even more complicated.
Based on a play by J.C. Lee, who co-wrote the screenplay with director Julius Onah, Luce tackles weighty issues like race, class, privilege, sexual assault and mental illness, but never in ways that feel preachy or exploitative. That’s because Lee and Onah craft the characters as three-dimensional humans rather than mouthpieces for various political taking points or exposition delivery systems. As the film progressed and the narrative twists began to pile up, I sided with each character more than once.
In the wrong hands, this could’ve been a boring lecture or a trashy Lifetime movie, but instead, it’s an actor’s showcase that’s never easy to watch but always compelling. Harrison is a revelation in the title role, playing a staggeringly complex teenager who constantly assumes different personas depending on who he’s interacting with. If Luce doesn’t get lost in the chaos of awards season, he could easily be in the running for Best Actor.
Watts and Spencer are also outstanding, playing strong women in Luce’s life who want him to succeed but also question the toll that quest is taking on his mental state. These performers get the showiest roles, but Roth is also quietly devastating despite a limited amount of screen time. His is very much a supporting role, but it’s one that reveals just how psychologically damaging this crisis is for the family at the story’s center.
While the conclusion feels a bit anticlimactic following the increasingly escalating tension of the previous two hours, I’m not sure there’s another way to wrap up a movie that refuses to offer easy solutions. The characters must live with the consequences of their actions and so do we.
Grade: B+
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| Courtesy of Neon |
(Rated R for language throughout, sexual content, nudity and some drug use. Now playing in limited release.)
The modern era of mainstream filmmaking doesn’t have a lot of patience for life’s gray areas. Characters’ rough edges are often sanded down so they can seem more likable, or the story holds the audience’s hand by telling them precisely how to feel through heavy-handed exposition or on-the-nose musical accompaniment.
That’s because many viewers hate ambiguous movies. They want to know precisely what’s happening with the plot at all times, including a definitive ending that reveals exactly what happens to the characters, leaving no doubt about their motivations or ultimate fate.
But that’s not how life works, so filmmakers who want to tell a realistic story have no choice but to explore complex themes destined to alienate a large portion of the audience. That’s precisely the case with Luce, an indie that opened in limited release last weekend. Box office results weren’t kind (the marketing was minimal, and it should’ve been released in the fall instead of blockbuster season), which means it likely won’t expand outside Atlanta.
Still, if you like films that challenge you and make you think, put it on your radar since it’ll hit VOD and home video in the coming weeks. It's not a feel-good experience, but the searing thriller features incredible performances and an unsettling story that offers no easy answers.
Luce revolves around the titular character (played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.), who seems like the epitome of the American Dream. His white parents (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) adopted him from a war-torn region in Africa when he was a child and raised him to be the ideal citizen. Now he’s a high school superstar: successful athlete and accomplished debater with an Ivy League future all but guaranteed.
But that’s jeopardized when Luce’s history teacher (Octavia Spencer) reads a troubling essay he wrote, which leads to an alarming discovery in his locker. With his stellar reputation on the line, several questions surface. Is Luce a troubled kid on the verge of doing something awful? Is his teacher making a rash judgment based on stereotypes? How far should his parents go in order to defend their son? As more shocking revelations come to light, those questions become even more complicated.
Based on a play by J.C. Lee, who co-wrote the screenplay with director Julius Onah, Luce tackles weighty issues like race, class, privilege, sexual assault and mental illness, but never in ways that feel preachy or exploitative. That’s because Lee and Onah craft the characters as three-dimensional humans rather than mouthpieces for various political taking points or exposition delivery systems. As the film progressed and the narrative twists began to pile up, I sided with each character more than once.
In the wrong hands, this could’ve been a boring lecture or a trashy Lifetime movie, but instead, it’s an actor’s showcase that’s never easy to watch but always compelling. Harrison is a revelation in the title role, playing a staggeringly complex teenager who constantly assumes different personas depending on who he’s interacting with. If Luce doesn’t get lost in the chaos of awards season, he could easily be in the running for Best Actor.
Watts and Spencer are also outstanding, playing strong women in Luce’s life who want him to succeed but also question the toll that quest is taking on his mental state. These performers get the showiest roles, but Roth is also quietly devastating despite a limited amount of screen time. His is very much a supporting role, but it’s one that reveals just how psychologically damaging this crisis is for the family at the story’s center.
While the conclusion feels a bit anticlimactic following the increasingly escalating tension of the previous two hours, I’m not sure there’s another way to wrap up a movie that refuses to offer easy solutions. The characters must live with the consequences of their actions and so do we.
Grade: B+
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