Boy Erased is based on the true story of a young American man raised in a fundamentalist Christian family and forced into conversion therapy having told his parents he’s attracted to men. It’s the best film I’ve seen in ages.
Hedges is excellent as Jared Eamons, the teen at the centre of the story. Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe play his parents Nancy and Marshall and despite the fact Kidman still hasn’t worked out how to nail an American accent, she too delivers a good performance. But it was Russell Crowe who surprised me most and I had many ‘oh that’s right, Russell Crowe is an excellent actor’ moments.
Exploring the themes of this film would have been easy to get wrong but director Joel Edgerton has nailed the sensitivity required to tell this story respectfully. The three key players in this story all fight complex internal battles where love that ought to be unconditional conflicts with deeply-held religious beliefs. I won’t labour the point - it’s too complicated for ‘cut to the chase’ - but I think the film does justice to the complexity to the extent it can in a two hour film.
I concur with this four star review in the News Ltd press. It hasn’t been universally praised (it received a two star review in The Guardian, for example) but it’s getting some awards season buzz so don’t be surprised if you hear Boy Erased mentioned when the Oscars roll around.
Boy Erased is in cinemas now and rated MA 15+. Trailer here.