Not suitable under 15; parental guidance to 16 (coarse language, themes, sexual references, drug use)
This topic contains:
Children under 15 | Not suitable due to coarse language, themes, sexual references and drug use. |
Children aged 15–16 | Parental guidance recommended due to coarse language, themes, sexual references and drug use. |
Children aged 17 and over | Ok for this age group. |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | Ezra |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Coarse language and drug use |
Length: | 101 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
When his autistic son Ezra (William A. Fitzgerald) is expelled from yet another school, and is prescribed anti-psychotic drugs that he doesn’t believe his child should take, stand-up comedian Max Bernal (Bobby Cannavale) decides to take matters into his own hands. He sneaks into the house his ex-wife Jenna (Rose Byrne) shares with her new boyfriend and, late one night, abducts Ezra. Max believes that Ezra needs time and connection, but not drugs. Max believes that Ezra needs to learn to be a part of the world, not separate from it, and he takes his son on a journey to visit an old friend named Nick (Rainn Wilson). While on the road, Max gets a call from his manager Jayne (Whoopi Goldberg) telling him that he has been offered a spot on the Jimmy Kemmel show but he needs to be in LA by the following week. Max agrees and sets off with Ezra. He soon discovers there is a nationwide amber alert and that he is wanted for kidnapping. Doing his best to keep his son safe, Max enlists the help of old friends to help him get to LA and, in the process, Ezra develops in ways Max could never have imagined. Meanwhile, Jenna and Max’s father Stan (Robert De Niro) are following their own leads in an effort to reach Ezra and Max before the authorities do.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
Children with special needs, specifically Autism; Divorce; Family Breakdown; Abandonment issues; Intergenerational trauma.
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
There is some violence in this movie, including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
The following products are displayed or used in this movie:
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
Ezra is a poignant drama full of powerful performances and raw comedy that shines a light on some aspects of neurodivergence. Screenwriter Tony Spiridakis shares an authentic story that he wrote based upon life with his own autistic son, who is portrayed by an actor with autism. Due to the coarse language, sexual references, themes and drug use, this is not a family film but rather one that is most suited to viewers aged 17 and older.
The main messages from this movie are that life should not be about changing or fixing your child, it should be about getting to know them, to appreciate them, and allowing them to be who they truly are.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.
Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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ABN: 16 005 214 531