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Ezra | 2023 | R | – 4.5.8
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A stand-up comedian (Bobby Cannavale) who lives with his father (Robert De Niro) and is trying to co-parent his 11-year-old autistic son (William A. Fitzgerald) with his ex-wife (Rose Byrne), decides to take him on a cross-country road trip that has a remarkable impact on their lives. Also with Vera Farmiga, Rainn Wilson, Whoopi Goldberg and Tess Goldwyn. Directed by Tony Goldwyn. [Running Time: 1:40]
Ezra SEX/NUDITY 4
– A woman in a club offers to buy a man a drink and we see them later in bed together (sex is implied); the woman gets up and puts on her bra (we hear a strap snap and see her bare shoulders) as the man sits at the foot of the bed covered with a sheet (we see his bare shoulders and chest).
► A woman kisses a man on the cheek twice.
► An 11-year-old boy says that he will “die a virgin.” We understand that a man and woman are separated or divorced and the woman appears to be in a relationship with another man.
► A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage. A young boy is shirtless and we see his bare chest, abdomen and back.
Ezra VIOLENCE/GORE 5
– A boy overhears a man telling his mother that he can get rid of the boy’s father for her and the child takes it literally and runs out of the house; a dog on a leash jumps toward him on the sidewalk and the child runs into the street where he is struck by a taxi (we see him in the hospital with a bandage on his head). A woman yells at her ex-husband over the phone after he has taken their son away.
► A man yells at a woman in a club and makes a crude remark; another man confronts the first man and they lunge at each other but are pulled apart by security and a young boy bites the woman on the arm when she grabs him from behind (we do not see injuries). An FBI agent approaches a man and tells him that he is being arrested; the man dodges the agent and he is knocked to the floor where the man’s young son pushes the agent away and talks to his father to calm him down. A doctor tells a man and a woman that their son is a ward of the state and that he will be required to go to a special needs school and take a particular medication (Risperdal); the man becomes angry and lunges at the doctor and we understand that he hits him (the man is shown in a jail cell). A woman yells at a man and holds a table knife to his throat asking for information. A man slaps another man in the back of the head. A man is told that a restraining order against him keeps him from seeing his son. A man becomes upset and ends a standup set abruptly when he shares a story about his son. Two men argue in a street as one man drives away with his young son. A woman pounds on a man’s door and throws stones at the house when he won’t answer. A man drives off a road into woods, trying to avoid a police roadblock and the car is damaged and won’t run; his young son runs away and into the dark woods as the man calls for him in a panic, and when the child reappears, the man yells at him and nearly hits him. A man hitchhikes with his young son. A woman touches a boy on the knee and he yells and spins around.
► A young boy sits in a tub of scalding hot water and his father panics and pulls him out of the water; the boy says that he doesn’t feel hot and we see that his skin is reddened. A boy panics when he sees bananas in a bowl of oatmeal at a diner; his father helps him to the bathroom and cleans the spilled oatmeal from his shirt. A boy yells that metal utensils hurt his mouth and that he needs to use plastic; he throws a metal fork across the room and slurps from a plate of food. A young boy is shown seeming upset about having to go to a new school and we see his father watching him from outside the gates and tearing up.
► A teacher tries to keep students in order and one student runs into the hallway followed by others; we hear that they ran out of the school. A man complains about children bullying his son in school. Teachers meet with an 11-year old boy’s parents after he causes a disruption and they tell them that their son will be suspended and possibly expelled. Two agents reprimand a woman for not calling the police when her son was taken away by her ex-husband and that the man has a restraining order against him; one agent says that they will initiate an amber alert. A news report shows pictures of a man and a boy indicating that the child has been kidnapped. A sheriff comes to the door of a woman’s house and tells her that they got a call about a man and his young son hitchhiking.
► A boy is expelled from school and the administration indicates that he needs to be in a special needs setting. We hear that a man punched another man in the groin. A man describes catching on fire from his birthday candles when he was young. A man describes that his father used to lock him in an attic chained to a radiator (he’s exaggerating). A woman tells a story about a man biting a dog when they were young. A boy says, “Football causes brain injuries.” A man describes being a breech baby and that he was born with a black eye. A boy shares a story about Ernest Hemingway and that his parents gave him a gun when he was young that he used many years later to kill himself.
► A man and a woman try to touch and hug their 11-year-old son and he yells each time. A young boy growls at a man that tries to talk to him. A man describes his young son and says that he didn’t speak for a long time and now he won’t be quiet. A man demonstrates a gunshot with his finger in the shape of a pistol. A boy asks a man if he is sad because he is bald. A young boy describes a psychiatric evaluation asking him if his parents ever hit him or if he ever tried to hurt himself. A man jokes about another man defrauding the Vatican.
► A man urinates in the woods (we hear the stream). A boy urinates in the bathroom, sprays urine on the wall and smiles.
Ezra LANGUAGE 8
– About 37 F-words, 2 sexual references, 11 scatological terms, 10 anatomical terms, 10 mild obscenities, 2 derogatory terms for a person with a disability, name-calling (kiddo, fat farmers, stupid, jerk, strange dude, chicks, on the spectrum, sociopath, freak, random, normal, loser, issues, Greek [anatomical term deleted], thief, demon movie waiting to happen, crazy, Zorba, sadist, criminally insane, idiot, twisted moral compass), exclamations (come on, oh man, my bad, whatever, shut-up, what’s the matter with you), 7 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, Holy [scatological term deleted], God, God bless, Jesus Christ). | profanity glossary |
Ezra SUBSTANCE USE
– A man smokes a marijuana cigarette in a comedy club before his performance, and two men smoke marijuana from a large bong. People drink liquor and beer in several comedy club scenes, and two men drink bottles of beer in a couple of scenes.
Ezra DISCUSSION TOPICS
– Autism, abandonment, disabilities, luck, opportunity, humiliation, sacrifice, fear, feeling helpless, consequences, courage, missing and exploited children, self-destructive personality.
Ezra MESSAGE
– Love and patience are the best ways to support children.
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CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.
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Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.