EZRA -- A Predictable Yet Earnest Family Drama

Review by Camden Ferrell

​Tony Goldwyn may be a guy whose face is more known than his name, lending his acting talents in supporting roles in many movies like Oppenheimer and King Richard. However, he is also an accomplished director of film and TV, and his fifth feature film, Ezra, hits theaters soon. His most recent movie had its premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. While there’s nothing glaringly wrong with this family drama, it finds itself treading familiar waters to mixed effect.
 
Max is a stand-up comedian who is trying to raise his autistic son Ezra alongside his ex-wife. As Ezra’s behavior incites discussion about his future, Max and Ezra go on a road-trip together. All this happens as Max deals with his own personal demons and family history. It’s an earnest story about love and family that had potential for profound thematic exploration despite its familiar narrative.
 
Written by Tony Spiridakis, this movie hits all the beats you’d expect it to. It has the typical family drama elements you’d expect from this type of movie, and it plays out almost exactly as you’d expect. It has all of the character archetypes that have been done countless times in the past. This familiarity isn’t inherently wrong, but the movie fails to make the most of these familiar parts, and it leaves the movie feeling like a lesser version of something you’ve seen before. 

The acting is one of the stronger parts of this movie. Bobby Cannavale is a naturally charismatic actor, and this movie is no different. He plays the hot-headed Max probably better than anyone could. He has a natural charm and energy that keep the movie chugging along when everything else is lacking. This movie also introduces William A. Fitzgerald as Ezra. He plays the character with agency and doesn’t feel like he’s playing second fiddle to his more experienced costars. While he’s not a scene-stealer, he definitely has a notable and independent presence in the movie. The rest of the cast is full of plenty of familiar names like Robert De Niro, Rose Byrne, and Whoopi Goldberg to name a few, and they all exist anywhere on the spectrum of passable to “just doing this for the paycheck”.
 
This movie deals with the realities of being a parent to a child with autism. When it comes to discussing how realistic and sensitive the movie approaches this topic, I may not be the best person to assess that. However, it’s hard to deny that its heart is in the right place most of the time. It has some good moments of drama and is far less exploitative than other movies about autism, but at the same time, the mileage for this might vary by viewer.
 
Ezra is a predictable yet earnest family drama that some audiences might truly resonate with. What it lacks in originality, it makes up for in good intentions. Cannavale is a great lead, and the movie doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’ll likely be forgotten about in due time, but it doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching at least once.
 
Ezra is in theaters May 31.
 
Rating: 3/5