AustLit

'In a society in which huge advances have been made in the rights and acceptance of same-sex-attracted people, vestiges of Western society's homophobic past persist - one of the most confronting being the so-called gay conversion therapy offered by some Christian organisations. Delving into a pair of new films that, in different ways, explore the experience of undergoing this 'treatment' - with all its harms and complexities - Adolfo Aranjuez finds affecting depictions of young people who need support rather than suppression.'

Source: Abstract.

'We all love redemption movies. The twist in Boy Erased is that redemption comes by escaping religion rather than discovering it. Garrard Conley is a nineteen-year-old college student who grew up in a fundamentalist Baptist family in Arkansas. When his parents discover his homosexuality, they pressure him into attending a Christian conversion camp, where he lasts twelve days before fleeing. In 2016, Conley published a memoir (Boy Erased) which detailed his experiences.'  (Introduction)

'Joel Edgerton’s Boy Erased may lack depth in its examination of LGBTQIA torment, but its handling of family dynamics and the performances of Luke Hedges and Nicole Kidman are cause for redemption.' (Introduction)