Film Fest 919: BOY ERASED: Conventional Awards Fare Has Moments Of Sensitivity

Thanks to 2015’s The Gift, a sinister thriller with a knack for thoughtful characters and macabre twists, writer/director Joel Edgerton instantly made a name for himself. Of course, Edgerton was already well known as an actor by this point, starring in everything from Zero Dark Thirty to the latest rendition of The Great Gatsby. But unlike many other actors on their first swing at the directorial plate, Edgerton didn’t strike out. No, he hit something of a solid double, delivering an old-fashioned slice of genre entertainment that pleased critics and turned a solid profit. In and of itself, that’s something of a minor miracle.

For his second act, Edgerton has undertaken a significant genre swap, making the jump from a taut, suspenseful mystery to a much more familiar Oscar play. Boy Erased has been touted as an awards contender since its announcement, almost solely based on the relevance and importance of its topic. But to be fair, good Oscar bait is significantly more difficult to pull off than we’re often led to believe; it takes a savvy filmmaker to balance the manipulative and the sincere with a deft touch. Edgerton executed some stylish twists, but could he make this story feel grounded and honest?

Well, almost. As written and directed by Edgerton (it’s based on a memoir by Garrard Conley), Boy Erased is a sturdy issues drama with some touching moments and strong performances, enhanced by much-needed glimpses of dramatic sensitivity within the confines of a tough story. When it isn’t leaning into monologues and obvious beats, the film strikes a perfect balance of soul-crushing harshness and an admirable sense of tenderness. If only that momentum could be sustained just a bit longer.

Brutal Journey Through Conversion Therapy

Oscar nominee Lucas Hedges plays Jared Eamons (I cannot explain why the film changes the author’s name, it makes no sense), a young man who grows up in a devout Baptist household. When we first meet young Mr. Eamons, he’s checking in at a gay conversion therapy camp with his mother (Nicole Kidman), who seems to be there only for moral support. The camp is rigid and cold, a sea of unfriendly faces who inherently mistrust Jared’s every move.

But let’s go back to the beginning. The story of Boy Erased jumps around in time, introducing us to Jared’s life before his trip to the Refuge Program. In high school, Jared does his best to seem like a normal kid. He goes to church, he plays basketball, and he even has a nice girlfriend. His father (Russell Crowe) is the pastor at their church, which doesn’t bode well for a tolerant response to Jared’s newly discovered sexuality.

When he makes the transition to college, Jared begins to accept himself for who he truly is. He becomes attached to a young man named Henry (Joe Alwyn), a relationship that ends with a traumatic incident and the exposure of Jared’s sexuality. Despite this horrific encounter, Jared’s father is more concerned with his son’s interest in men than he is by the pain Jared may have suffered. Eventually, the young college student is sent to the program, where he’s under the control of a man named Victor Sykes (Edgerton). Soon, Jared is exposed to the inhumanity and cruelty of a camp that teaches self-hatred and intolerance, all in the name of God.

Sensitive Touches, Solid Performances

Boy Erased often feels like a tale of two movies – one that is gentle and observant, and another determined to reach for the strongest possible dramatic moment at every turn. On a technical level, the film is clearly distinguishable from the generic Oscar bait we see each year, shot with clarity by cinematographer Eduard Grau and kept afloat by Edgerton‘s crucial touch behind the camera. Still, out of the two approaches listed above, the first is clearly stronger. It shades this difficult story with carefully crafted nuances and powerful emotion, an unexpected and powerful combination.

In those moments, Edgerton displays an instinct for knowing when to step back from his characters and merely depict events as they happen, whether they’re disturbing or quietly moving. Jared is sexually assaulted in one stomach-churning scene, but Edgerton doesn’t attempt to dramatize the moment. He doesn’t cut or shy away, opting to capture the graphic scene in an excruciating long take. It’s smart, painful filmmaking, and it’s not just reserved for the film’s more upsetting moments. When Jared spends the night with Xavier (Théodore Pellerin), the gentleness and intimacy of their encounter is so beautifully rendered that it’s easy to forget the cruelty of the rest of the story.

Edgerton also gets solid performances out of this Oscar-caliber cast (including one from himself, as the boisterous and possibly tormented Victor Sykes), though I’m not sure anyone makes too strong of an impression. Hedges is good as the emotionally torn protagonist, but if we’re being completely honest, he made more of an impact in a similar, much smaller role in Greta Gerwig‘s Lady Bird. That’s more of a testament to his work in the coming-of-age comedy, but it’s still worth pointing out. Nicole Kidman is terrific as a supportive mother, while Russell Crowe brings a kind of gruff villainy to the role of Jared’s father.

Obvious Oscar Moments Drag Down Story

Despite the strength of these talented performers, the issue of Edgerton‘s second dramatic approach still comes back to haunt the film from time to time. For every moment of honesty and intimacy, there’s another moment where I imagine the direction went something like, “Okay, this is the scene playing at the Oscar telecast, now go!” Some of the big moments land, but just as many fall completely flat. And it’s enough to make you wish the film could stick to a more consistent emotional current.

With Edgerton‘s background in genre film, I guess it’s not too surprising that stretches of Boy Erased feel like an intense, bombastic thriller, underscored by music from Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans. Okay, so even if it’s not surprising, it’s still a little odd. The music seems designed with the aim of conveying the military-like brutality of the camp, but that tone is constantly clashing with the film’s broader goals.

Nonetheless, a few misplaced musical cues don’t make or break a movie. No, things start to really go south when Edgerton substitutes understated anger and pathos for overt conflicts and showy speechifying. In many ways, these scenes are the necessary culmination of the story’s tension; after almost two hours, you want to see Jared stand up to both Sykes and his own father. But the monologue route is so conventional that I just wish Edgerton had chosen his big moments more carefully. Instead, every scene in the second half of the film feels obvious and expected in a way that nearly undermines the sensitivity that came before.

Boy Erased: Conclusion

However, “nearly” is the key word there – Boy Erased is still well worth watching for what it gets right. Even the film’s biggest missteps aren’t disqualifying so much as disappointingly predictable. This is still another interesting outing from Edgerton, who takes his directorial talents in a new direction for a necessary, often moving story, showing that he can be successful beyond the world of twisty thrillers.

Have you seen Boy Erased? What did you think? Were you a fan of The Gift, Joel Edgerton’s directorial debut? Let us know in the comments below!

Boy Erased screened on October 5 and 7 at Film Fest 919 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The film will be released in U.S. theaters on November 2, 2018. For full international release information, click here.