Genre: Drama
Related Titles: The Miseducation of Cameron Post. But I'm a Cheerleader, Girl Interrupted
By Leanne Harragan
After being outed to his religious family, Jared is forced into attending a conversion therapy program. Whilst there, he struggles to reconcile with his parents but starts to discover his true self.
Boy Erased is a fantastic film which brings attention to a seriously important matter, however it goes with saying that despite being a very good film there are few things left to be desired. The film is based on the true story of Jared Eamons, a closeted son of a highly religious family who was sent to a conversion therapy program and struggled to come to terms with everything that was thrown his way. Before jumping into this film, I think it's important to mention that it covers some serious topics and there is more than one scene that could be quite difficult for some to watch.
While this film is not dissimilar to last years The Miseducation of Cameron Post, it takes a slightly different view of 'conversion therapy.' While Cam Post takes a more openly mocking tone of those that believe that homosexuality can be cured or converted, Boy Erased avoids the mocking tone but decides to take a slightly deeper tone and looks at the idea that these people believe that it's an evolution and almost an idea of rising above the 'sin.' This makes the tone of the film overall slightly different and I'm hoping that it opens the eyes of audiences worldwide to how damaging these beliefs can be.
Cast wise it can't be faulted, Lucas Hedges portrayed Jared beautifully, he really gives his all for this performance. I particularly enjoyed his anger at everything around him when he was being asked to stand up and confess his 'sins', part of the therapy had people around him attempting to blame his family but he point blank refused. It's a particularly poignant scene, given that the audience is given just enough background to understand the relationships he had with his parents. Nicole Kidman is brilliant as Jared's mum and the relationship between the two was well developed and her eventual ability to stand up to what she believed was important is another moving scene
My only real issue with this film was the lack of character development pretty much all round. Jared met a a group of all sorts of different people during his time at the conversion camp but the development was really given for the emotional impact to really work. This is a shame because I think getting to know the people that little bit more would easily have made those moments hit home a lot harder. Being based on a true story means that perhaps during his time at the therapy program Jared didn't get to know anyone very well or properly and if that's the case it's fair to keep to the truth in this film.
While the end of Jared's story is eventually one of acceptance from his family and friends, that is not always the case and it's so so important to remember that this is real thing that happens across the US everyday. This film really brings that into the limelight and I appreciated the statistics included along with the credits, highlighting that this kind of 'therapy' is legal on minors in 36 out of 51 states and currently there is suspected to a staggering 700,000 young people have already been through these kind of programs.
Rating: 7.5/10
By Rebecca Mannick
It's kind of strange that two movies about gay conversion therapy have been released in fairly quick succession (movie terms) - first The Miseducation of Cameron Post and now this Boy Erased. It's crazy to think that this still is a relevant topic even though both movies were set in the late 1990's. Lucas Hedges plays Jared Eamons who voluntarily joins the 'Love in Action' gay conversion therapy assessment where other young adults go to 'get over' their same-sex attraction. Jared's parents played by Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman are religious people and obviously support and push Jared into this. There are many different characters with different stories and one of those is Gary played by another Australian Troye Sivan who also helped in its soundtrack with 'Revelation'. Chief therapist Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton) is arrogant and confrontational and makes the participants keep their therapy sessions disclosed from their parents. We then learn about Jared's gay experiences in college which may be the reason why he's not accepting his true self as these memories are hard to swallow.
It's really hard to judge this movie as singular as it is super similar to The Miseducation of Cameron Post as I've already mentioned. The themes are similar and even some of the characters can be compared. The reason why I didn't rate this as high as expected is because I wasn't invested in the characters especially Jared. I'm not saying Lucas Hedges did a bad job at all but I feel the character was lacking. Also I feel like the other guys in the conversion therapy weren't explored enough and that hindered the character development. You got a few lines from some of them but that was it. What I will say though that I'm glad that it didn't pussy foot around some serious topics - it came across shocking which was the aim but it also draws attention to topics in movies that are very rarely covered.
I'm not going to say that Boy Erased was a disappointment because it wasn't - I just felt slightly underwhelmed. There were elements of the movie that I did enjoy but it the story just felt a little stuck from going from paper to screens. Shoutout to my boy Troye - he was great and his songs added another layer. Also guest appearance from Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers - weird but very weird lol. It's worth a watch probably mostly for when your feeling sad to add to your mood. Overall good but not great.
Rating: 7.5/10
By Rebecca Mannick
It's kind of strange that two movies about gay conversion therapy have been released in fairly quick succession (movie terms) - first The Miseducation of Cameron Post and now this Boy Erased. It's crazy to think that this still is a relevant topic even though both movies were set in the late 1990's. Lucas Hedges plays Jared Eamons who voluntarily joins the 'Love in Action' gay conversion therapy assessment where other young adults go to 'get over' their same-sex attraction. Jared's parents played by Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman are religious people and obviously support and push Jared into this. There are many different characters with different stories and one of those is Gary played by another Australian Troye Sivan who also helped in its soundtrack with 'Revelation'. Chief therapist Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton) is arrogant and confrontational and makes the participants keep their therapy sessions disclosed from their parents. We then learn about Jared's gay experiences in college which may be the reason why he's not accepting his true self as these memories are hard to swallow.
It's really hard to judge this movie as singular as it is super similar to The Miseducation of Cameron Post as I've already mentioned. The themes are similar and even some of the characters can be compared. The reason why I didn't rate this as high as expected is because I wasn't invested in the characters especially Jared. I'm not saying Lucas Hedges did a bad job at all but I feel the character was lacking. Also I feel like the other guys in the conversion therapy weren't explored enough and that hindered the character development. You got a few lines from some of them but that was it. What I will say though that I'm glad that it didn't pussy foot around some serious topics - it came across shocking which was the aim but it also draws attention to topics in movies that are very rarely covered.
I'm not going to say that Boy Erased was a disappointment because it wasn't - I just felt slightly underwhelmed. There were elements of the movie that I did enjoy but it the story just felt a little stuck from going from paper to screens. Shoutout to my boy Troye - he was great and his songs added another layer. Also guest appearance from Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers - weird but very weird lol. It's worth a watch probably mostly for when your feeling sad to add to your mood. Overall good but not great.
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