A sweet, good-natured little film, Ezra’s titular character is an eleven-year-old boy with autism whose divorced parents (Rose Byrne and the always reliable Bobby Cannavale) care deeply but are, as all parents are to some degree, flawed.
Cannavale plays Max, an always on the verge of making it big as a comedian, who lives with his father, played by Robert DeNiro. He’s a hot head, always getting in his own way. When its recommended that his son çhange schools, he instead takes the boy on an ill-advised road-trip to Los Angeles so Max can appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the two learn about themselves by learning about each other.
Director Tony Goldwyn isn’t going for fireworks here- no high highs or low lows, really. Just a gentle look at life and some tears and a few laughs. In these fraught times, you could do worse than put yourself in the company of these folks for a little while.
Ezra is in theaters and is rated R. 1 hour and 40 minutes.
