Boy Erased
3 stars
Director: Joel Edgerton
Stars: Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe
Duration: 115 mins
Class: 15
KRS Releasing Ltd

The release of Boy Erased is timely, coming as it is after the recent declarations of former X-Factor Malta contestant and self-described ‘ex-gay’ Matthew Grech who stated that homosexuality is a psychological disorder – causing  a major kerfuffle.

The Malta Chamber of Psychologists stepped in to say it is not – an opinion shared by, among many others, the American Psychiatric Association, which states that it “opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as ‘reparative’ or ‘conversion’ therapy, which is based on the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or is based on the a priori assumption that the patient should change his or her homosexual orientation”.

Which brings me neatly to the film, based on Boy Erased: A Memoir of Identity, Faith and Family, the memoirs of still-gay Garrard Conley. It tells the thoughtful – and thought-provoking – true story of Jared Eamons (played by Lucas Hedges), the son of a highly respected and God-fearing Baptist pastor and his wife (Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman), in a small American town.

Aged 19 and grappling with his sexuality, a sudden and brutal experience at college inadvertently outs Jared to his parents. Their immediate reaction is to send him straight into Christian conversion therapy. It is an experience that is tough and highly traumatic, but ultimately serves as a vehicle for Jared to find his true self.

The story is a dramatic one, pitting the young, impressionable Jared against his conservative parents who are genuinely doing what they think is right by putting their son into a clinic. Said clinic is managed by staffers who claim to be ‘former’ homosexuals, led by a Victor Sykes, a charismatic if sinister man whose credentials are suspect.

The methods used are less prayerful than predatory and range from the clichéd to the bizarre and at times downright abusive.

The sad reality is that conversion therapy is still practised widely

“You cannot be born a homosexual, this is a lie, it’s a choice!” is a favourite mantra, while one of the treatments involved clients having to list who of their relatives are alcohol or drug abusers, addicted to pornography, have been divorced and so on, while the odd beating is not unusual – taking the term ‘bible-bashing’ to another level.

He is telling an important story well enough, yet director Joel Edgerton (who also stars as Sykes) makes the mistake of over-dramatising things at points while resorting to bland earnestness at others, which is unnecessary given that this is a story that packs an emotional punch on its own.

Edgerton, however, plays all his cards right with his casting. Lucas Hedges is one of the young, upcoming crop of actors whose work in the likes of Manchester by the Sea marked him as one to look out for. He imbues in Jared the sensitivity, strength and emotional resonance needed as his character goes through the difficult arc, struggling between who he is and who his parents need him to be. 

Edgerton also wisely does not give in to the temptation of painting Jared’s parents as one-dimensional, evil beings. Both Kidman and Crowe give them depth and nuance.

In another example of the transformational abilities she has often displayed throughout her career, Kidman sheds the dark, disturbing look of her character in the recently-released Destroyer for the bleached-blonde, sunny-natured Nancy Eamons, a loving wife and mother whose maternal instinct fiercely kicks in to overcome her innate prejudices and ultimately protect her son. Ironically, in the role of a father who does not think twice about subjecting his son to this most horrendous of experiences, Crowe gives one of his more sympathetic performances. A man fierce in his beliefs, yet possibly innocent in the ways of the world, his struggles to align his son’s homosexuality with his religious beliefs, and ultimately his love for him, are palpable and believable

The sad reality is that conversion therapy is still practised widely – in the US, 36 states don’t have laws against conversion therapy while only 14 states plus Washington DC have passed laws protecting against it, leaving many LGBTIQ youth still vulnerable to this archaic practice.

It was thankfully outlawed in Malta in 2016, yet it is quite distressing that this is still an issue in 2019.

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