A new film featuring a character with Autism was at Cinemark this weekend, and I had heard some positive word of mouth about the film, so with a light weekend of new movies, I decided to give it a shot.

According to IMDB, “Tony Goldwyn’s EZRA follows Max Bernal (Bobby Cannavale), a stand-up comedian living with his father (Robert De Niro), while struggling to co-parent his autistic son Ezra (introducing William Fitzgerald) with his ex-wife, Jenna (Rose Byrne). When forced to confront difficult decisions about their son’s future, Max and Ezra embark on a cross-country road trip that has a transcendent impact on both their lives.“

Bobby Cannavale is the definitive stand out in this film as the deeply troubled father who still loves his son, Ezra. Cannavale was given a really meaty role with plenty of deep seeded troubles and he does an exceptional job. Much of it is the chemistry between Cannavale and William Fitzgerald, who is the young actor they found to play Ezra. Fitzgerald is very good in this role too. Director Tony Goldwyn held a nationwide search for a child actor with Autism, providing as realistic of a performance as possible.

Robert DeNiro gives a strong supporting performance as Cannavale’s father. There are some story in the film for DeNiro and Cannavale to play and, while it does not dominate the film, it adds a nice flavor to Ezra.

There are some parts of the story that stretch believability and I will say that the ending felt too emotionally manipulative, but I thought most of the story was well done.

3.75 stars