Considering the earnestness of the subject matter, (gay conversion therapy), Joel Edgerton's film "Boy Erased", (something of a labour of love; he wrote it and directed it and plays the head of the institute), is a lot more engaging than it might have been, not to mention being a lot less preachy and as you can probably gather from the cast, it's very well acted. Lucas Hedges is the gay teenager outed to his parents, (his father is a Baptist preacher), and then finds himself in a gay conversion programme run by Edgerton.
It's the kind of picture that once upon a time would have worn its credentials, like medals, on its puffed-out chest but Edgerton keeps it nicely, and surprisingly, low-key and no-one overplays their hand. Crowe hasn't been this good in ages, Kidman is her typically wonderful self, Hedges fulfills the promise he showed in "Manchester by the Sea" and Edgerton is marvellous as the unconventional would-be analyst. It could have been more 'exciting', (maybe it's a mite too low-key), but neither is it exploitative or sensationalist and it's good to see a gay-themed film that doesn't follow convention.
Considering the earnestness of the subject matter, (gay conversion therapy), Joel Edgerton's film "Boy Erased", (something of a labour of love; he wrote it and directed it and plays the head of the institute), is a lot more engaging than it might have been, not to mention being a lot less preachy and as you can probably gather from the cast, it's very well acted. Lucas Hedges is the gay teenager outed to his parents, (his father is a Baptist preacher), and then finds himself in a gay conversion programme run by Edgerton.
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