[usr 4.5]
The son of a Baptist preacher is forced to participate in a church-supported gay conversion program after being forcibly outed to his parents.
Jared Eamons (Lucas Hedges) is the only son of a car salesman-turned-Baptist-preacher Marshall Eamons (Russell Crowe), and a demure Southern woman, Nancy Eamons (Nicole Kidman). He is honest, obedient, a good Arkansas boy who would make any parent proud. However, he also hides the fears and secrets of a boy who is drawn to his own gender. When Jared leaves for college, he tentatively explores his immature sexuality and suffers the tragedy of shame and betrayal when he is raped by a running buddy and church friend, Henry (Joe Alwyn). Henry, out of his own fear and shame, then pretends to be a college counselor and calls Jared’s parents, forcibly outing Jared as a homosexual to them.
The rape scene is wrought with connection and physical desire until it, in a matter of seconds, transforms into the horror of one person so desperate for validation that he is willing to overpower and abuse the one he intends to take it from. The scene will make you physically squirm as it is both terror-filled and pain-filled, eliciting every searing sensation of one’s imagination or knowledge of forced anal sex. Jared is now distraught with shame and self-loathing of a rape victim but also fear, because of his moral conflicts with his own sexuality. The turn of events is that Henry’s lie and exposure of Jared force him to face his parents and his questions of the morality of his desires.
As a preacher, his father is desperate to find a Biblical fix to Jared’s homosexuality, and with his wife’s silent consent, they firmly give Jared a choice: be disowned and denied a place in their home, or be willing to change and enroll in a conversion therapy program called ‘Love in Action.’ Jared is 18, crushed by the grief of his parents while suffering his own grief, so he, of course, surrenders to the program, run by ex-gays and ex-cons. For anyone who has extensive experience in the depravity of religious fundamentalism, this story will undoubtedly leave you nauseous and cringing at the layers of lies and manipulations, all to cover up the fear of being wrong for all eternity. And if you have little firsthand knowledge of what church will do to those who don’t fit the Biblical parameters of morality, this story will likely provoke a great deal of shock and disbelief.
The severity of this film based on a memoir account is real. The manipulations and holy facades and shame tactics are part of countless stories just like Jared’s. Perhaps the only aspect of his story that is a little unrealistic is that the film version limits the amount of time allowed to depict Jared’s realization of who he is and also how harmful his religion is. The film portrays a few moments of very courageous rebellion from both Jared and also his mother, which allows Jared to escape the program and get on with maturing in his acceptance of himself as a homosexual. However, the reality for most people who are deeply rooted in a sense of self, tied to religion, God, or their families, this process is usually painfully longer and far less heroic than a movie can or will show. Today, the real Garrard Conley continues to work for the equality of the LGBTQ community and putting his story out there was one way of making the public aware of how damaging and dangerous conversion therapy practices are.
This film is an excellent portrayal of the disturbing reality for anyone who has had to reject their ingrained morality in order to find peace with themselves. Specifically for the equal rights of non-heterosexual people within or without the context of religion, this is the story that must be heard, and also hard to unsee, lest we forget its message.
“Boy Erased” opens in limited release Friday, November 2nd
