Boy Erased (2018) Review

"I don't want to pretend anymore."

-Jared Eamons

Jared Eamons (Lucas Hedges) is a teenager from a small town in Arkansas and his father, Marshall (Russell Crows), is a Baptist preacher.  After learning Jared is gay, his parents give him a choice, be disowned or go a gay conversion therapy program led by Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton).  As the program goes on, Jared becomes more and more disturbed by what he sees and both he and his parents have to decide how to move forward.

What Works:

The acting in Boy Erased is top notch.  Everyone is giving it their all in this film; from the major players, to the supporting actors.  Lucas Hedges carries this film as a protagonist that is easy to identify with and extremely likable.  He goes through some pretty heinous stuff in this film and you real feel his desperation to get out of the program. 

Both Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman are fantastic as Jared's parents.  It's evident they both love their son, but both are ignorant in how best to deal with the situation, which makes this all much more interesting and tragic.  Jared's parents have the best intentions in the world, but that doesn't make what Jared is going through any less awful, but it isn't easy to hate them.  They care, and that's what makes the movie so interesting.  The scenes between Jared and his parents are powerful and bring out the emotions.  I can't give them enough praise.

Joel Edgerton is great as both an actor and the director.  He's a great villain because, again, he wants to help Jared and the others, but is horribly misguided and ignorant on how to do that.  He is actively making the lives of the program participants worse, but he can't see that.

In some ways, Boy Erased is a horror movie.  Imagining yourself in Jared's place is nightmare-inducing.  This movie gets very heavy with its material and there is a rape scene as well.  Everything is handled well and tastefully, but it's all still very disturbing.  The entire time I was watching this, I was on edge and that is a compliment to the movie.  It made you feel like you should be scared about what might happened next.

Finally, my favorite sequence of the movie occurs when Jared and Victor get into a heated argument about the therapy and Jared attempts to escape.  The whole sequence is extremely intense.  I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see if Jared would make it out.  The cinematography and Lucas Hedges performance are both anxiety-inducing and claustrophobic.  It's am amazing sequence and the best part of an an incredible film.

What Sucks:

I got nothing for you.

Verdict:

Boy Erased is the best film I have seen so far in 2018.  The acting is incredible, the characters are really interesting, the story is powerful and terrifying, and it has one of the best sequences of the year.  It really is a masterpiece and I hope it does well in the awards season.  Without a doubt, this movie has got it going on.

 10/10: Amazing