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Boy Erased


Boy Erased
Joel Edgerton impressed as a director and writer with The Gift and has proved that film was no fluke with his latest feature, 2018's Boy Erased, an emotional roller coaster that it was hard to be objective about due to the very sensitive subject matter, sensitive to me anyway. I will try to review this fact-based drama without mounting any soap boxes and talk about the film strictly for its entertainment value.

Jared Eamons is the sensitive, gay teenage son of a Baptist minister who gets outed while he is in college and when confronted by his extremely conservative father, claims that he wants to change. After praying over the boy, it is decided that Jared is to be sent to a gay conversion program, ironically titled Love in Action, which is supposed to magically transform Jared into a heterosexual in 12 days.

Edgerton's screenplay, based on a book by the real Garrad Conley, is uncompromising in its depiction of a program about which there is little documented success but for some reason, a lot of people believe in or are at least willing to believe in. Love in Action has some similarities to Alcoholics Anonymous in that it is a God-based program but takes a disturbing step further stating that homosexuality is a sin from which someone can be deprogrammed.

The clients in this program are expertly cast, they are all ages, sizes, and colors, a positive message that this movie sends, that there is no such thing as "looking gay." The exercises these clients participate on somewhat on par with what happens in traditional rehab, but the often brutal treatment of clients here is sometimes hard to watch, though I did find the reveal that this program drives a client to suicide a little manipulative and melodramatic. The other thing that rang true for me is that as sincere as they might appear on the exterior, almost none of the clients in the program really wanted to be there.

Needless to say, personal feelings about homosexuality and the theory as to whether or not it is a choice is the foundation of a lot of what happens here. Strong opinions on this subject either way will definitely affect the way this story will move viewers and it seems like Edgerton is initially taking a very definite stand on the issue, which is revealed in the epilogue to be exactly the opposite of what is initially presented.

Edgerton's direction is intense and imaginative and works well with his cast. Lucas Hedges, nominated for an Oscar for Manchester by the Sea, offers another Oscar-worthy turn as the tortured Jared and Russell Crowe continues his effortless transition from leading man to character actor as Jared's father. Nicole Kidman makes the most of her underwritten role as the mother and Edgerton himself scores as Victor Sykes, the head of the LIA program. The story isn't pretty, but it's pretty realistically told.