Boy Erased – a review

A young man Garret (Lucas Hedges), son of a priest, discovers that his sexuality leans towards men. To counter this he enrols into a religious program that will ‘cure’ him of his ‘affliction’. As this is the only way, he (and his father) believes, that he can stay in God’s good grace.

Up front: I’m agnostic. I’m pro-homosexuality. And I distrust people who use religion for their own agendas (so most religious people).

So Boy Erased is a movie that peaked my interest. The added bonus is that it has the Aussies Kidman, Edgerton and Crowe in it.

To get the biggest critiques out of the way first. This movie can be labelled ‘Oscar bait’. It is released right before the award-season and it features ‘Academy worthy subject material’.

Of course this isn't the movie's fault. Rather a: mistake after the fact (after the movie was shot).

This is a bit of a shame because this (wanting to be Oscar material) takes away a bit of the message of the movie: the perversion of organized religion.

Second, I would argue, that the movie doesn’t really go that deep into the whole conversion theory as I expected. But that’s probably me expecting a new Oranges are not the only fruit which featured a full blown gay-banishment-exorcism.

Still as an insight into the extremities of religion's dealing with homosexuality this movie asks quite a few intriguing questions that don’t always give you a black-and-white answer.

Note here that I am constantly using the word ‘religion’ not ‘faith’.

Homosexuality and religion

The Bible clearly states that homosexuality is a sin. I looked it up (Leviticus 18:22) in my version. However, my version is the newest translation of a 1800-year-old book. But let’s not discuss theology here. Here I wish to focus on the practice this movie focuses on: conversion therapy.

To deny a person to be who he or she is and actually using God’s (possible) wrath as a tool to break people into becoming someone they are not.

This is an interesting concept for a movie to ‘toy around with’. And this is what you see in Boy Erased. Each and every character who works for the church honestly believes that he is doing the right thing. That by ‘curing’ homosexuality they are saving a young person’s soul.

Can you blame a person for believing that he’s helping you?

The movie is (at times) pretty straightforward about it. One character in particular is all ‘God saved me’ in public but the minute he’s alone with the protagonist the name-calling begins. This is a creep who honestly believes he has God on his side – so he’s allowed to be two-faced despicable.

Yet, another character is basically ‘just’ bad at the job he believes in. Does that make him a clear-cut villain? This is a question that lingers.

Ambiguous love

I’m a romantic at heart so of course I want the main protagonist to tenderly fall for the handsome bloke across the room. But, what I found intriguing in Boy Erased in that both of Garreth’s flings shown aren’t a hundred percent free will.

The first one is obvious, no discussion. But the second, no matter how tender and sweet the man was, Garreth still smoked a joint beforehand.

It’s this ambiguity that I liked. Love isn’t always easy. And by making it a bit more problematic for Garreth the movie is giving some points to the ‘conversion program’. ‘Point’ that get squandered minutes later, no problem there. The movie is quite clear in its standpoint.

Times a changing

The third question is about feminism. In various religious cults the women are behind the men. Not next to them. Boy Erased highlights this by one very simple trick: The protagonist’s father owns a car dealership yet it is the mother who drives everywhere. A woman behind the wheel is, in various religions, still a big no-no.

So the fact that the father ‘allows’ his wife to drive but, at the same time, does not allow his son to be gay makes for an interesting juxtaposition.

Naturally this all comes to show when the twitchy, nervous mother (a wonderful part by Nicole Kidman) slowly but surely decides to go against her husband and protect her son.

Organized religion is losing its grip on the world as people are treated more and more equal. A message that rings through the mother-character. But, at the same time, she will stick with her husband for all eternity.

Storytelling

Joel Edgerton is quite the gifted actor/director. His previous film The gift was a brilliant little thriller that, on a slow pace, managed to get the best performances out of its actors.

Boy Erased has the same slow pace. With the occasional flash-back the movie tells a pretty straightforward story. It takes about ten minutes for the credits to appear.

The movie doesn’t rely on flashy camera movements. And even the sets and costumes are soberly styled. Only once does the movie allow some warm lights onto the screen which is, of course, when Garret has his first real love-affair with another man.

Edgerton’s movies feel documentary like. Just place the camera and let the story unfold. Which is a style that works perfectly for the stories he’s telling. Crowe, Kidman, Hedges and Edgerton himself shine as the camera almost leans back and takes it all in.

Cured?

I haven’t read the book the movie is based up. So plot points that I felt overdid the message a bit might have happened in real life –I don’t know.

Still, for a movie that quite clearly states that conversion theory is a devilish torture technique. It also offers enough food for thought to wonder about.

It is this ambiguity that I liked. It is easy to call religious people 'out of whack'. But it is another thing to investigate: why!