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| photo courtesy of hollywoodreporter.com |
Boy Erased, based
on the memoir of the same name, tells the story of a young man who attends a
gay conversion therapy program. Encouraged by his parents (Nicole Kidman,
Russell Crowe), Jared Eamons (Lucas Hedges) enrolls in “Refuge,” led by Victor
Sykes (Joel Edgerton, who also directs). The other participants develop a range
of coping strategies to deal with Sykes’ harsh procedures, but as Jared
reflects on his past, he realizes he’ll have to take a stand to be accepted for
who he is.
Boy Erased is
a strong film, with solid performances and an empathetic point of view, that’s
limited by muted emotional payoffs. The story itself necessarily carries some
weight, just by nature of the subject matter: the gay conversion program is a
disturbing sight to behold, a sort of twisted version of a drug addiction
program. As the movie goes on, the program only grows more unsightly and sinister. The
family scenes, in which Jared’s religious parents clash with their son, feel
candid and somewhat realistic. Nicole Kidman anchors them with a
characteristically impressive performance.
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| photo courtesy of time.com |
But Boy Erased doesn’t know how to
make its moments count. It feels oddly detached, restrained, distant from its
subject—keeping us at arm’s length from Jared’s perspective—so that by the time
the credits roll, Boy Erased lacks something
significant. At the least, it could benefit from a few surprises, either narratively
or thematically.
That’s not to say that Boy Erased doesn’t have anything on its
mind. Edgerton’s storytelling displays a certain degree of empathy and even
optimism; it acknowledges other points of view and hints at avenues for
reconciliation. What’s more impressive, Edgerton conveys these ideas—all of
movie’s emotional beats, in fact—with little showmanship. Many of his scenes
allow silence to linger, and nearly all of them are shot in relative darkness with
cool, sterile lighting. This minimalist style gives room for the movie’s ideas
and performances to flower, even if it doesn’t allow for the heightened
emotional stakes that Boy Erased misses.
Boy Erased is
rated R.
TRAILER
Watch the trailer here.
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| photo courtesy of dallasobserver.com |
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