68. Boy Erased; movie review

BOY ERASED
Cert 15
115 mins
BBFC advice: Contains scene of sexual violence

Why are religious zealots so convinced that they are right?
Part of me wishes that I could have the same blind faith so I wouldn't have to constantly question the meaning of life and why people are so awful to each other.
Nevertheless, despite being a non-believer, I am a supporter of religious tolerance. If folk need a God, let them have one, I say.
However, I cannot comprehend why violence is carried out in the name of religion every minute of every day.
It strikes me that zealots preach peace and love as long as it fits their teachings. If it doesn't, there will be fire and brimstone.
In Boy Erased, the preacher, played by Russell Crowe, is not only unforgiving of his son's sexuality but he also tells his congregation that if they are not active in following the bible's precise teachings, they "are not Christian."
There is only one problem here - the Bible is consistently contradictory.
I digress.
The excellent Lucas Hedges stars as Jared Eamons, an 18-year-old who has explored an early-stage romance with a girl but has to admit to himself he has greater feelings for boys.
He is outed to his religious parents (Crowe and Nicole Kidman) by another boy and, after seeking guidance from church elders, they send him away for conversion therapy.
Although Jared initially believes that he wants to be brought back on to what he is told is a righteous path, it soon becomes clear that the staff of the centre are demented.
From his first visit, he struggles with the very strict rules and the aggressive therapy which demands course participants not only own up to their own 'sins' but those of their parents and other relatives.
Director Joel Edgerton also plays the converter-in-chief who is determined to inflict his own agenda upon the young people who have done nothing wrong.
Bizarrely, their welfare is entrusted to him by parents who demand no evidence that his therapy works or even qualifications to show that he should be "teaching" them at all.
The young people become stuck between going along with it to avoid public humiliation and standing up for themselves.
Boy Erased is based on the experiences of author Garrard Conley.
If this is a fair reflection of what happened to him and others, it is frightening.

Reasons to watch: Shocking tale of conversion therapy
Reasons to avoid: If you want to avoid a few truths about religious zealots

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? A report published in January by the sexual-orientation thinktank, Williams Institute, found that 698,000 LGBT adults in the US have received conversion therapy at some point in their lives.

The final word. Garrard Conley: "The film might lose a bit of money because it doesn’t have the redemptive arc for the parents that the studio originally wanted but I pushed pretty hard on making it complicated at the end because I knew other survivors hadn’t had happy stories with their parents."

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