‘Ezra’ Review – A Family Tale Of Autism Inside The Hollywood Bubble

Hollywood has had a tough time dealing with the subject matter of kids with autism in movies. In 2021 the film Music was lambasted by critics due to people taking exception to how the film handles autistic people, specifically during outbursts and tantrums.

Because the subject matter of autistic children is such a hot button issue for many people, Hollywood by and large tries to ignore it as much as possible. That doesn’t mean that you won’t get movies that try to tackle the approach from a sympathetic perspective, which gives it the latest film from Bleecker Street, Ezra.

No, this is not a movie about the life of Ezra Miller. Thank God. Ezra is the story of an up and coming stand up comedian in the New York City circuit named Max, played by Bobby Cannavale, who is recently divorced and shares custody with his young autistic son named Ezra.

Being on the cusp of getting his big break, Max is given the chance to do stand up comedy on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which would give him national recognition. Before he can get his big break, he has to deal with Ezra — who’s been acting out at school and is being threatened with expulsion.

Max refuses to put his kid in special school or give him any drugs that can alter his behavior. He ultimately decides to kidnap his son and take him on a journey across the country to Los Angeles, so he can perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

While his heart is in the right place, his brain certainly is not, as the decision to take his son from New York to L. A. has put him on the forefront of a national manhunt that could make his situation far worse than he ever imagined.

Ezra is a film that is a character study of two people. At its core, it is a movie about a father’s relationship with his son. You have the character of Max dealing with the reality that his son is autistic and refusing to allow him to fall into the category of special needs.

Then you have the character of Ezra, a young boy with many ticks who’s trying to navigate his life in the middle of his parents’ divorce. When Max can’t figure out what his next step should be, he goes to his father, played by Robert De Niro, for advice — even though he tends to never listen to his advice when it’s given.

The movie tries its best to portray the reality of a fractured family, and yet it still can’t manage to do it outside of the Hollywood lens.

Normal Americans are not going to identify with the plight of a stand up comedian who’s being toggled between New York City and Los Angeles. The typical Hollywood problem — being in a bubble and not understanding how life outside the two coasts works — leaves this film with a massive emotional disconnect that desperately needs in order to fulfill its story.

Director Tony Goldwyn tries to model Ezra similar to Jon Favreau’s 2014 film Chef, which introduces audiences to Favreau’s character Carl — a borderline absentee father who drops his entire life for a glorified road trip in a true bonding moment with his son.

Ezra tries to replicate that same dynamic, but the problem is the protagonist is too selfish about his own well-being to truly dedicate the time needed to have a true relationship with his son. Max spends too much time worrying about how the world is going to perceive Ezra rather than stopping and questioning how his son’s life is going to be easier.

The film has an ensemble cast of actors that you’ve seen in previous projects such as Rose Byrne, Rainn Wilson, and Vera Farmiga. The performances in this movie are good, but it’s nothing that’s going to stand out in the grand scheme of movies this year.

When it comes to the film’s depiction of autistic kids, Ezra fails to present the audience with a more ideal way to deal with children with disabilities. However, it succeeds at showing the difficulty that parents have in raising a child that requires a lot of patience and understanding that, quite frankly, many families don’t have.

You’re not going to get many heartwarming films in 2024, but Ezra is a solid change of pace for audiences that are looking for something a little less nihilistic. With that said, the film certainly falls short of the own expectations that had set to realize.

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