“Boy Erased”– Movie Review

This week, I attended an advance screening of the new biographical drama, “Boy Erased”, starring Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Joel Edgerton (who also wrote and directed).

Synopsis

When a young man’s parents force him to attend gay conversion therapy, what impact will it have on all of them?

Story

Being a young homosexual man in the deep south is not where you want to be – but sad to say that’s exactly where Jared (Lucas Hedges) currently finds himself.  For a while, he’s able to keep his secret from his parents Nancy and Marshall (Kidman and Crowe), but eventually, he gets outed by someone in college.  When Nancy and Marshall confront him about this, he admits to his true feelings.  This being a religious family – Marshall is a local preacher – Jared’s parents register him in an institution called Love In Action (L.I.A.), a Christian-based conversion therapy program. 

While at L.I.A., Jared meets Victor Sykes (Edgerton), the organization’s leader.  Sykes, along with other members of the organization, tries to convince the young men and women there that their SSA (Same-Sex Attraction) is more than merely unnatural – it’s a sin against God.  Despite that, they are told that because they are young, there is still time to save themselves and lead a righteous life.  This is done through various types of treatment programs, including and especially via genograms, which are intended to show how the sins of their ancestors have brought them to this life.

After observing other young men and women enrolled in this program for an extended period of time, Jared soon comes to understand that L.I.A.’s entire premise is built on a foundation of lies and deception.  They treat people as if they are prisoners – they are cruel and almost cult-like in the sense that they refuse to permit them to discuss what goes on there with the outside world, including and especially their family.  When Jared is given the advice of others in the program who tell him, “Fake it in order to make it”, will he be able to succeed in the program and make his family proud?   

Review

As well-intentioned as “Boy Erased” may be, it ultimately fails to deliver the intended emotional impact.  Clearly, it is successfully able to vilify the people who work for the therapy institution, which engenders both immediate and sustainable sympathy for Jared.  Unfortunately, there isn’t too much more that one can feel beyond this – the story falls somewhat flat thereafter. The ultimate conclusion of the story is Jared’s confrontation with and repudiation of L.I.A.  However, the movie continues beyond that point, where (years later), Jared confronts his father. This can only happen when the parents – especially Jared’s father – is similarly villainized.

But is it fair to present Jared’s father as a villain?  Even if there is disagreement with their religious teachings, is there no empathy for the religious?  Therein may lie part of the problem with the story from a dramatic standpoint: issues are presented as merely black and white.  This overly simplified viewpoint may make for a more easily digestible movie because one can root for the perceived hero and root against the perceived villain.  Sadly, there is a lack of nuance here that may have contributed to making “Boy Erased” a more complex but more satisfying film. Perhaps in the hands of a more experienced screenwriter or director this might have been possible.      

Following the screening, there was an interview with Edgerton.  He was sent the book by one of the movie’s producers, who was hoping it could be adapted into a film due to the changing political climate.  Edgerton said that his way of connecting to the story was through his fear of being separated from his parents – either by imprisonment, hospitalization or war.  Reading the book fairly quickly, he was soon impelled to start writing scenes and shortly thereafter, those scenes were turned into a screenplay. As far as casting was concerned, he was reluctant to cast fellow Australians Crowe and Kidman but eventually rationalized it by realizing that a story such as this one would require a big voice – and the best way to get that big voice is to cast major movie stars, which, in turn, facilitated financing.