Ezra (2023)

Ezra asks you to swallow a midnight getaway, a nationwide Amber Alert and a Jimmy Kimmel audition in the same week, and the script creaks under the weight. Bobby Cannavale plays Max, an ex-comedy writer stuck doing stand-up and sleeping at his father’s place, with Robert De Niro as his dad, Stan. Max and his ex, Jenna, played by Rose Byrne, can’t agree on much about raising their autistic son Ezra, played by William A. Fitzgerald. When the doctors want Ezra moved to a new school and put on medication Max thinks he doesn’t need, and a court order bars Max from seeing him, Max takes his son in the middle of the night and drives. The cast is strong across the board, and Fitzgerald holds his own among the heavyweights. The quiet moments between father and son land harder than any of the chase. A 6.0 because the heart is real even when the plot isn’t believable. $27.06 says the next road trip you plan comes with a strict no-detours rule that lasts about forty minutes.

What works: Good performances all around give it a real emotional core, and the father and son scenes feel honest and warm.

What doesn’t: The plot keeps stretching believability, from the cross-country chase to the convenient big-break audition waiting at the end.

Who it’s for: Families who like a heartfelt road movie, and fans of Cannavale, Byrne and De Niro in a smaller, gentler register.