Last month, I participated as a jury member of the Narrative Feature Category in the Florida Film Festival, and one of the films that caught my attention was called “Hellbent on Boogie”, directed by Vito Trupiano. The film’s plot addresses an autistic teen (Alyx Ruibal) being raised in a homeschooling and isolation setting by her mother. The mother’s role was a little overboard, however, the character was purely stunning. The authenticity on display for the neurodivergent role Ruibal played (who is on the spectrum herself) is rarely seen in films like this, and since it was her debut film, the way she acted was simply magnificent. The portrayal of cinema neurodiversity potentially has a little too much room for improvement in the industry, nevertheless, the purpose of such films is right. The documentary “Hellbent on Boogie” shows which way to go. A character voiced by Tony Goldwyn and the film directed by him “Ezra” also comes forward in that respect hence the movie. The film edifies itself with two separate plots; one of them is quite redundant, while the other is entirely original. These aspects of Ezra make it unsatisfying to watch at times, but I feel there is a good amount of convincing evidence therein.
Max (Bobby Cannavale) is a comedy writer turned comedian who recently started doing stand-up comedy. A brief chat he had with his agent reveals that he has a history of aggressive behavior and a temper out of control which has caused him to lose a lot of professional relationships. (For context, he is said to have kicked Conan O’Brien on the balls.) Things aren’t very well in the professional aspect of his life as well as his personal life. Together with his ex-wife Jenna (Rose Byrne) they are raising their autistic son Ezra (William Fitzgerald). Ezra is approximately 10 years old and is incredibly violent the social worker and the headmaster recommend that he be taken away and placed in an establishment that specializes in caring for such cases. Max and Jenna, who are his former spouses, the couple has differing opinions on how socialization and education for the child should be conducted in this case. Some participants such as Jenna believe that is in the best interest of the child to pay close attention to experts. Max rejects the proposition advocating medication for his son and suggests that teachers are low confidence and are devoid of modern professional teaching experience.
Max needs to tone down his ammonia levels. If he continues to turn over the boiling point and ends up in a correctional facility he is able to escape with the help of his father Stan (played by Robert De Niro). Who is an ex-chef turned doorman right now? Ezra on the other hand needs to take a variety of heavy medications. In sheer hopelessness, Max loses control of himself and out of the blue grabs a sharp tool. The remaining seconds of the film show us the direction of that tool, in those seconds suspense peaks, as a viewer you grasp the decision that Ezra, Jenna, Stan, and even Max had to deal with as they were all supposed to help Max prepare for an audition out on the West Coast for The Kelly Morrison Show. It was capable of turning his life upside down, which was exactly what he needed right now.
The Jimmy Kimmel audition part seems intertwined with the family story which works out beautifully. It’s a little bit like the audition is the event that enables Max to act. The motivation “makes sense,” still the family relation is tangible while the audition is a hackneyed event placed atop real life. The family depiction is quite complex. No one is a bad guy. They are all frail, worried, and distressed. Everybody is utterly confused. Ezra is being torn apart. Young William Fitzgerald is, like Alyx Ruibal, fabulously unselfconscious in the elder film which gives him a lot of free room. Cannavale, Byrne, and De Niro are all lavish with their scenes with him, and it seems accurate. Ezra is real indeed. He cannot stand anyone touching him, does not chatter about anything else except phrases from films he sees (his favorite “The Princess Bride”), and knows quite well everything that is happening to him. He feels the worries of his parents.
The pain could be heard in Cannavale’s voice because Max is really committed to raising Ezra no matter how hard it might be. Leaves us with very intense moments where Ezra is acting out senselessly and pure anger sets on Max which is disturbing throughout the video. Byrne, as Jenna, appears almost apathetic. She is not drawn as some unreasonable and irrational shrew, and Max’s behavior is indeed partly a cause of concern for her. De Niro’s Stan, plain-spoken and unremarkable, is also quite touching too, especially in a late-in-the-game scene where he rushes out to apologize to Max for failing as a father in his speech. This is what he prepared for in this movie and its impressive work. Looking for a fix are Rainn Wilson and Vera Farmiga who appear in episodes playing childhood pals of Max.
Spiridakis once touched upon the issue of ‘fixing’ his father to an autistic child and went on to write a riveting story based on it. Also, a neurotypical child was never recruited to play Ezra, and the entire production made an effort to ensure that neurodivergent children were incorporated into the cast and crew. For many such projects, screening for various groups and obtaining feedback is an integral part process and the results of such feedback can be witnessed in the final product. The film depicts parental anxiety and worries efficiently, showcasing via worry maintaining a person’s reserves and making them act or behave abnormally or without thought.
Unlike, for example, Cannavale’s teddy bear routine, which is neither funny nor relatable, this section has been completely fine-tuned to appeal to viewers. The moments of sentimentality do not grate as much as they usually do in such material, and the catharses are earned. This is clearly due to the honesty of the source material. The girl in question offers to let Ezra stroke the horse she is riding, and this interaction is handled very delicately. And there is a scene between Cannavale and Fitzgerald that is completely shattering, there is anxiety and apprehension that is building throughout the movie, and there it reaches its peak. We become a part of the lives of these people. The other film deals with a failed stand-up comedian trying to cross America for an audition that might turn his life around. However, in this situation, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Make the Chinese deployment of the Asian movie industry.
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