In a year where there is plenty of diversity at the box office, it’s interesting to think that two films about conversion therapy camps came out in the same year. First, it was The Miseducation of Cameron Post based on the popular novel of the same name by Emily Danforth. Following in those footsteps, Boy Erased tells the story of a young man who’s sent to conversion camp (based on the memoir by Garrard Conley). Although it’s bolstered by some strong performances, the film hit an emotional plateau relatively early and was never quite able to move that needle much.
Joel Edgerton double dipped as writer/director so he had complete control over the project but he was handcuffed to the source material. Unfortunately, Jared was probably the least interesting character in this story. Edgerton couldn’t really stray too far from the primary story but it seemed as though there were more compelling narratives surrounding the main character. Lucas Hedges did a nice job playing that part, very straightforward, but there was no mystery. He’s a normal teenager. He’s gay. He knows it. And he just wants his parents’ approval and love. Additionally, he’s an upper-middle-class white kid who doesn’t face down much in the way of consequence either. There is nothing wrong with any of that but the positions of his folks and most of the young men around him at the camp aren’t nearly as black and white or as comfortable. Those are the stories that really need to be told and articulated on the screen instead of Jared’s. Hedges basically just had to hold the line while everyone around him figured out how they were going to deal with the situation. It’s an unenviable position for a young actor looking to expand his portfolio but he’ll get another crack at it with Ben Is Back out in time for Christmas.
Fortunately, both Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe were there to play Jared’s parents. They are pretty stereotypical, considering the film is set in the southern US, but that’s kind of the point. Crowe is the Baptist preacher nearly having a conniption fit and a general crisis of faith when he finds out about his son and Kidman is the worried but passive mother who just goes along with what “God” wants. Despite the seemingly cookie-cutter designations, these are the two most fleshed out characters in the film. There are growth arcs there for both of them and different level of resolution for each. Both actors provide such nuanced and skillful performances, it’s easy to see how many families such as this are commonplace. The movie may have been better served as a whole had these two been the main characters as they processed and acted upon their son in completely different ways. Theirs were two savvy veteran portraits of very real people that really laid the foundation for this story.
May it’s just me, or perhaps it was the screen, but the film was awkwardly lit. The coloration and hue were noticeably dark throughout the majority of the film and even scenes in broad daylight had a noticeable blue tinge lingering. There is no way to know if this was a specific choice by Edgerton and his cinematographer Eduard Grau but there is a muted quality to everything as a result. This wasn’t the kind of story where standout camera work and visual storytelling were going to be the focal point anyway, so it’s probably not a big deal.
The original music by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans provided most of the emotional cues with solemn piano and some piercing string instruments down the line. Eventually, even the music sort of reaches its natural conclusion and the lack of diversity in the score is reflective of the overall direction of the film.
There really isn’t much more for me to say about this movie. I sat on it for a while hoping that more would come to the surface as it stewed. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. It was enjoyable enough to walk out of the theater not feeling cheated but, for a film that opened with a lot of buzz and very high expectations, it didn’t reach the bar it set out for itself.
Recommendation: See it for the performances, primarily that of Nicole Kidman. You could do a lot worse than this film and if stories such as this help make someone’s life a bit easier, even if only in some small way, then that’s a good thing.