Boy Erased


Boy Erased is a 2018 American biographical drama film based on Garrard Conley's 2016. It is written and directed by Joel Edgerton, who also produced with Kerry Kohansky Roberts and Steve Golin. The film stars Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Edgerton, and follows the son of Baptist parents who is forced to take part in a gay conversion therapy program.
Boy Erased premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2018, and also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film was theatrically released in the United States on November 2, 2018, by Focus Features and grossed over $11 million worldwide. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who mostly praised the performances of the cast, and received various award nominations, including two Golden Globe Award nominations: Best Actor for Hedges and Best Original Song for "Revelation". The film won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Limited Release at the 30th GLAAD Media Awards.

Plot

Jared Eamons is the son of Marshall Eamons, a successful car dealer and Baptist preacher in Arkansas, and Nancy Eamons, a self-styled hairdresser. He begins his first day at the Love In Action gay conversion therapy assessment program in Memphis, Tennessee. Chief therapist Victor Sykes tells the group that their sexuality is a choice influenced by poor parenting. He instructs them to perform harsh "moral inventories" of themselves and their families and requires them not to tell anyone else about what occurs during the sessions.
While performing his moral inventory, Jared thinks of his life prior to entering the program. In high-school, he was well-adjusted and happy, though he breaks up with his girlfriend upon starting college. Once there, he becomes friends with another student, Henry. While staying the night in Jared's dorm room, Henry rapes Jared and tearfully confesses that he has done the same to another young man. Traumatized, Jared returns home to recover. Henry calls the Eamons' home and poses as a school counselor in order to out Jared and ensure his silence. Jared confesses to being attracted to men. After consulting with other pastors, Marshall signs him up for conversion therapy, to which Jared reluctantly agrees.
Nancy rents a nearby motel room for her and Jared to stay in until he completes the assessment; however, Jared soon discovers that the therapy has no set end point, and may require him to move into an on-campus home if he fails to convince Sykes that he has become straight.
Weeks into his therapy, Jared gets to know the other attendees also seeking to become straight. Some, like Jon, are fanatically devoted to conversion to the point where they refuse to even touch other men. Others, like Gary, are merely pretending that the therapy is working until they can be released and return to a normal life. At her insistence, Jared lets Nancy read the program's handbook, which is full of questionable psychology and obvious grammatical errors.
After failing an exercise, attendee Cameron is humiliated by Sykes in front of the group and intimidated with a fake funeral service. Cameron is beaten with bibles by both the therapists and his own family and forcibly dunked in a bathtub in one of the program's prison-like homes. Jared thinks of a brief, romantic, intimate encounter he had with an art student, Xavier, in college.
Jared challenges Sykes when the therapist suggests during an exercise that Jared hates his father. He storms out of the room, successfully retrieves his mobile phone, and calls Nancy to pick him up. Though Sykes, his counselors, and the other attendees corner Jared, Cameron stands up for him and escorts Jared safely to Nancy, who takes him home, horrified and ashamed that she allowed Marshall to enroll him in an unvetted program without researching its practices. Marshall remains adamant about Jared remaining in the program, but Nancy overrules his wishes. Soon after Jared learns that Cameron has committed suicide while still in the program's care. Marshall approaches Jared to console him, but Jared turns away.
Four years later, Jared has moved to New York City with his boyfriend. He writes an article that exposes the realities of conversion therapy. Jared returns home to convince his father to read the article and take accountability for his actions. The two begin to reconcile when he asks his father to visit him for Christmas.

Cast

Production

On June 8, 2017, it was revealed that a bidding war had begun between Netflix, Annapurna Pictures, Focus Features, and Amazon Studios for distribution rights to a film package set to star Lucas Hedges, Joel Edgerton, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe, and be directed and written by Edgerton, based on Garrard Conley's memoir . On June 21, 2017, it was announced that the bidding war for distribution rights for Boy Erased had boiled down to Netflix and Focus Features, and the latter ultimately won the rights.
In the press release, Edgerton spoke proudly of the project, stating:
In August 2017, the majority of the supporting cast was announced. In September 2017, Joe Alwyn and Madelyn Cline joined the cast as well, and principal photography on the film began September 8, 2017, in Atlanta, Georgia. In April 2018, re-shoots took place.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2018. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, first for the press and industry on September 8, 2018, and then for the public on September 11, 12, and 15. The film was initially scheduled for release on September 28, 2018, but was pushed back to November 2, 2018.

Reception

Box office

Boy Erased opened in five theaters and grossed $207,057, an average of $41,411 per venue, the thirteenth-highest opening weekend per-theater average of 2018. In its second weekend, it grossed $758,173 from 77 theaters. Overall, Boy Erased grossed $6.8 million in the United States and Canada and $4.6 million in other territories for a total worldwide gross of $11.4 million.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 81% based on 250 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Anchored in empathy by writer-director-star Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased proves the road to complex, powerfully performed drama can also be paved with good intentions." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film a 95% overall positive score and an 85% "definite recommend".

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryNominee and recipientResult
Artios AwardsJanuary 31, 2019Feature Big Budget DramaCarmen Cuba, Tara Feldstein Bennett
Chase Paris and Shelby Cherniet
AACTA AwardsDecember 2, 2018Best Adapted ScreenplayJoel Edgerton
AACTA AwardsDecember 2, 2018Best DirectionJoel Edgerton
AACTA AwardsDecember 2, 2018Best FilmKerry Kohansky Roberts, Steve Golin, Joel Edgerton
AACTA AwardsDecember 2, 2018Best Lead ActorLucas Hedges
AACTA AwardsDecember 2, 2018Best Supporting ActorRussell Crowe
AACTA AwardsDecember 2, 2018Best Supporting ActorJoel Edgerton
AACTA AwardsDecember 2, 2018Best Supporting ActressNicole Kidman
AACTA AwardsJanuary 4, 2019Best International Supporting ActorJoel Edgerton
AACTA AwardsJanuary 4, 2019Best International Supporting ActressNicole Kidman
Camerimage International Film FestivalNovember 10–17, 2018Best Directorial DebutJoel Edgerton
Chicago International Film FestivalOctober 10–21, 2018Gold Q-Hugo AwardBoy Erased
Critics' Choice Movie AwardsJanuary 13, 2019Best Supporting ActressNicole Kidman
Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 6, 2019Best Actor in a Motion Picture – DramaLucas Hedges
Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 6, 2019Best Original Song"Revelation" – Leland, Troye Sivan and Jónsi
Hollywood Music in Media AwardsNovember 14, 2018Best Original Song – Feature Film"Revelation" – Leland, Troye Sivan and Jónsi
Humanitas PrizeFebruary 8, 2019Drama Feature FilmBoy Erased
Mill Valley Film FestivalOctober 3–13, 2018Audience Award – US CinemaBoy Erased
San Diego International Film FestivalOctober 10–14, 2018Audience AwardBoy Erased
Satellite AwardsFebruary 17, 2019Best Actor in a Motion Picture, DramaLucas Hedges
Satellite AwardsFebruary 17, 2019Best Original Song"Revelation" – Leland, Troye Sivan and Jónsi
Satellite AwardsFebruary 17, 2019Best Supporting ActorRussell Crowe
Satellite AwardsFebruary 17, 2019Best Supporting ActressNicole Kidman
GLAAD Media AwardsMay 4, 2019Outstanding Film – Limited ReleaseBoy Erased