The Peanut Butter Falcon is the type of film that can send you into fits of different emotion.

One minute you’ll be laughing so hard you need to catch your breath, and the next you’re trying to hold back tears.

It isn’t just a film — it’s a Huckleberry Finn-style journey through the lives of its central character, Zak. He’s a young man with down syndrome who escapes his nursing home and runs off to become a professional wrestler.

He runs into fellow runaway, Tyler, a troublemaker with a haunted past, and the two form a bond and as Tyler’s focus changes from running away from his own problems to helping Zak run toward his dreams.

Writer-directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz craft a sensitive portrayal of a man with a disability, without ever pandering to stereotypes or cheap jokes. It’s an altruistic film about true friendship and following your passions.

Winner of the Audience Award at SXSW, this film features a breakout performance from Zack Gottsagen, and marks a return-to-form for quirky, problematic actor Shia Labeouf, in a role that showcases the signature Even Stevens charm and wit that made him a star in the first place.

The best-buddy chemistry between the two actors is absolutely fantastic, and inspired supporting turns from Fifty Shades of Grey alum Dakota Johnson and Thomas Haden Church as a former wrestling pro just elevate proceedings.

The Peanut Butter Falcon opens in Halifax on Friday, and it’s the film you probably know nothing about that you’ll never see coming. It’s a beautiful American tale, and one of the best of 2019 by far.

4.5/5 Stars