Read Ashley B's review of Boy Erased.
Boy Erased tells the courageous story of Jared Eamons (Lucas Hedges), the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, who must overcome the fallout of being outed to his parents (Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe). His parents struggle with reconciling their love for their son with their beliefs. Fearing a loss of family, friends, and community, Jared is pressured into attending a conversion therapy program. While there, Jared comes into conflict with its leader (Joel Edgerton) and begins his journey to finding his own voice and accepting his true self.
Boy Erased is in select theaters on November 9th, 2018.
Boy Erased is the story of Jared Conlon who is the son of a Baptist preacher in Arkansas that gets sent away by his parents to a conversion therapy facility after being outed for a same sex encounter. He is faced with the difficult choice of going through the disturbing program or being shunned forever by his deeply Baptist parents who want him to fit in with their vision of how their son should be. Can this true story be reenacted in an effective way or is it better left written?
Going into this movie with its stellar cast I knew the individuals would be portrayed in a convincing way. I however was not expecting it to be as convincing as it actually was. It was heartbreaking to see Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman play parents trying to borderline give their child an exorcism to “fix” him. That did in turn show how realistic it felt because of the emotions it invoked.
Newcomer Lucas Hedges as Jared Conlon did an excellent job at portraying a teenager in the midst of turmoil around him as a result of other people’s views of his sexuality. There were moments that were downright disturbing and he did a great job at showing how someone who is empathetic would react in such a situation.
There were times that dragged out and I felt like some parts in the story were brought up then left unanswered. I hoped that they would be answered but were left to the imagination which was a bit frustrating.
The message of this movie still held strong despite this. It can be used as an eye opener for some and as awareness for all. It is not for the faint of heart but well worth watching if you like family dramas based on real life stories.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Ashley (Contributing Editor) is an Orlando native who loves watching movies. Her favorite genres include comedies, thrillers and sci-fi.Click Here to check out Ashley's Articles.