Taglines: The truth cannot be converted.
Jared Eamons (Lucas Hedges) is the son of Marshall Eamons (Russell Crowe), a successful car dealer and Baptist preacher, and Nancy Eamons (Nicole Kidman), a self-styled hairdresser. He begins his first day at the Love In Action gay conversion therapy assessment program. Chief therapist Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton) tells the group that their sexuality is a choice influenced by poor parenting.
He instructs them to perform harsh “moral inventories” of themselves and their families and requires them not to tell anyone else about what occurs during the sessions. Nancy rents a nearby motel for her and Jared to stay in until he completes the assessment; however, Jared soon discovers that the therapy has no set end point, and may require him to move into an on-campus home if he fails to convince Sykes that he has become straight.
Jared’s life prior to entering the program shows him well-adjusted and happy, though he breaks up with his girlfriend upon starting college. Once there, he becomes friends with another student, Henry (Joe Alwyn), and has a brief intimate encounter with an art student, Xavier (Théodore Pellerin).
While staying the night in Jared’s dorm room, Henry rapes Jared and tearfully confesses that he has done the same to another young man. Traumatized, Jared returns home to recover. Henry calls the Eamons’ home and poses as a school counselor in order to out Jared and ensure his silence. Jared confesses to being attracted to men. After consulting with other pastors, Marshall signs him up for conversion therapy, to which Jared reluctantly agrees.
Weeks into his therapy, Jared gets to know the other attendees also seeking to become straight. Some, like Jon (Xavier Dolan), are fanatically devoted to conversion to the point where they refuse to even touch other men. Others, like Gary (Troye Sivan), are merely “playing the part”, pretending that the therapy is working until they can be released and return to a normal life.
At her insistence, Jared lets Nancy read the program’s handbook, which is full of questionable psychology and obvious grammatical errors. After failing an exercise, attendee Cameron (Britton Sear) is humiliated by Sykes in front of the group and intimidated with a fake funeral service. Cameron is then beaten with bibles by both the therapists and his own family and forcibly dunked in a bathtub in one of the program’s prison-like homes.
Boy Erased is a 2018 American biographical drama film based on Garrard Conley’s 2016 memoir of the same name. It is written for the screen and directed by Joel Edgerton, who also produced with Kerry Kohansky Roberts and Steve Golin. The film stars Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Edgerton, and follows the son of Baptist parents who is forced to take part in a gay conversion therapy program.
Boy Erased premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2018, and also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film was theatrically released in the United States on November 2, 2018, by Focus Features and grossed over $7 million worldwide. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who mostly praised the performances of the cast, and received various award nominations, including two Golden Globe Award nominations: Best Actor for Hedges and Best Original Song for “Revelation”.
Boy Erased (2018)
Directed by: Joel Edgerton
Starring: Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Joel Edgerton, Joe Alwyn, Xavier Dolan, Troye Sivan, Cherry Jones, Flea, Russell Crowe, Emily Hinkler, Lindsey Moser, William Ngo, Jesse LaTourette
Screenplay by: Joel Edgerton
Production Design by: Chad Keith
Cinematography by: Eduard Grau
Film Editing by: Jay Rabinowitz
Costume Design by: Trish Summerville
Set Decoration by: Adam Willis
Art Direction by: Jonathan Guggenheim
Music by: Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content including an assault, some language and brief drug use.
Distributed by: Focus Features
Release Date: November 2, 2018
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