Dustin Hoffman received many accolades for his portrayal of an autistic man in the 1988 road movie Rainman with Tom Cruise. It was a great performance, but there were limitations to the acting exercise of a one-dimensional character and, although he had our sympathies, his character did not challenge us in any way.
Hoffman’s character Raymond was more a conduit for his self-serving brother Charlie (Tom Cruise) to undergo a transformation. It added a whacky slant to what would have been a conventional road movie.
With a script by Tony Spiridakis based on his raising his own son, Ezra is vastly different from this early depiction of someone on the autism spectrum.
It shows some of the challenges for parents of children with a condition that has a wide range of, sometimes predictable and sometimes unpredictable, behaviours and responses.
Ezra (William A Fitzgerald who is on the spectrum) is quite certain about his boundaries, but has the intelligence to learn that other people’s needs are sometimes greater than his own. He lives with his mother Jenna (Rose Bryne) and her boyfriend Bruce (played by director Tony Goldwyn).
When Ezra takes something Bruce says literally, he runs to find his father, is hit by a car outside the New York apartment and Child Welfare become involved. Ezra’s father Max (Bobby Cannavale) is unimpressed by the antipsychotic drugs and special needs school his son is forced to attend.
Stand-up comedian Max has his own issues and sees the only way to protect his son is to take him away from what he perceives are dangers. That involves a cross-country road trip which is actually ‘kidnapping’ … with his ex-wife and his father Stan (Robert De Niro, who is the father of a son on the autism spectrum) in hot pursuit.
Both Ezra’s parents are desperate to do the best for him, but they don’t always make the best decisions. The outcome is both messy and moving as it shines a realistic light on the ups and downs of caring for someone on the autism spectrum.
Lezly Herbert
