Directed by actor Tony Goldwyn from a script by Tony Spiridakis, Ezra is a film about a father desperately trying to do the right thing, and only making things worse. The father is played by the volatile Bobby Cannavale, and the thing he’s trying to do is save his autistic son Ezra (newcomer William Fitzgerald) from the lazy diagnosis of pharmaceuticals and a new school for troubled youngsters. His rash decision? Taking his son with him on a cross-country drive as he tries to make an appearance on The Jimmy Kimmel Show.
Yes, this is certainly considered kidnapping, but Max (Cannavale) is determined to save his son from a fate far worse than forced bonding time. In this journey from New York to Los Angeles, Ezra becomes an almost whimsical road movie where father and son learn life lessons and the fissures of their relationship are healed through a day with a horse and a succession of visiting old friends along the way. Amongst these staples of low-budget, heartwarming cinema, Ezra certainly checks all the boxes.
As Cannavale himself explains, the word autism comes from the Greek of “being in one’s own world”. For young Ezra, his neurodivergence gets him in trouble at school, furthered by a misunderstanding runaway episode that has most of the adults in his life seeking to micro-manage his lifestyle.
Unacceptable to his comedian-performer father Max (Cannavale), he takes Ezra away in the middle of the night and hits the open road. It’s along the way that Cannavale understands the complexity of his son’s issues and tries to help him through his struggles.
In pursuit is a stacked cast of veteran actors, including grandfather Robert DeNiro and ex-wife/mother Rose Byrne, desperately trying to trace the duo down and return Ezra to their ideas of a normal lifestyle.
Based on his own experiences, the script by Spiridakis is intermittently soulful and entertaining. The minute Ezra and Max pit stop to a farm run by old friend Rainn Wilson, or find solace in the country comforts of land owned by an ex-flame (Vera Farmigia) and her young daughter Ruby (Matilda Lawler), Ezra finds time for some lovely introspection. There are times I wished they never reached their destination and soaked in the lazy history of Max’s past. A moment between Ezra and Ruby is especially moving, and I could have watched an entire movie about their fragile relationship.
It’s in these small diversions (plus the stable acting chops of such a veteran cast) where Ezra is most affecting. But beyond this middle portion, the film struggles a bit in its denouement, falling into a saccharine rhythm that feels a bit unbelievable and contrived. Yes, it has to find an ending, and the one presented here is a bit of a letdown. For Goldwyn and company, the film has its heart in the right place despite some of its shortcomings.
Ezra opens in the Dallas/Fort Worth area on Friday May 31st..
Dallas Film Now. 