Boy Erased

Jared Eamons[lower-alpha 1] is the son of Marshall Eamons, a successful car dealer and Baptist preacher in Arkansas, and Nancy Eamons, a self-styled hairdresser. He begins his first day at the Love In Action gay conversion therapy assessment program in Memphis, Tennessee. Chief therapist Victor Sykes tells the group that their sexuality is a choice influenced by poor parenting. He instructs them to perform harsh "moral inventories" of themselves and their families and requires them not to tell anyone else about what occurs during the sessions.

While performing his moral inventory, Jared thinks of his life prior to entering the program. In high-school, he was well-adjusted and happy, though he breaks up with his girlfriend upon starting college. Once there, he becomes friends with another student, Henry. While staying the night in Jared's dorm room, Henry rapes Jared and tearfully confesses that he has done the same to another young man. Traumatized, Jared returns home to recover. Henry calls the Eamonses' home and poses as a school counselor in order to out Jared and ensure his silence. Jared confesses to being attracted to men. After consulting with other pastors, Marshall signs him up for conversion therapy, to which Jared reluctantly agrees.

Nancy rents a nearby motel room for her and Jared to stay in until he completes the assessment; however, Jared soon discovers that the therapy has no set end point, and may require him to move into an on-campus home if he fails to convince Sykes that he has become straight.

Weeks into his therapy, Jared gets to know the other attendees also seeking to become straight. Some, like Jon, are fanatically devoted to conversion to the point where they refuse to even touch other men. Others, like Gary, are merely pretending that the therapy is working until they can be released and return to a normal life; Gary urges Jared to follow suit, warning him that not doing so would lead to him having to move into the campus homes. At her insistence, Jared lets Nancy read the program's handbook, which is full of questionable psychology and obvious grammatical errors.

After failing an exercise, attendee Cameron is humiliated by Sykes in front of the group and intimidated with a fake funeral service. Cameron is beaten with bibles by both the therapists and his own family and forcibly dunked in a bathtub in one of the program's prison-like homes; a horrified Jared witnesses the event. Jared thinks of a brief, romantic, intimate encounter he had with an art student, Xavier, in college.

When Sykes attempts to goad Jared into saying he hates his father during an exercise, Jared angrily rebukes and condemns him. He storms out of the room, successfully retrieves his mobile phone, and calls Nancy to pick him up. Though Sykes, his counselors, and the other attendees corner Jared, Cameron stands up for him and escorts Jared safely to Nancy, who takes him home, horrified and ashamed that she allowed Marshall to enroll him in an unvetted program without researching its practices. Marshall remains adamant about Jared remaining in the program, but Nancy steadfastly overrules him. Soon after Jared learns that Cameron has committed suicide while still in the program's care. Marshall approaches Jared to console him, but Jared turns away.

Four years later, Jared has moved to New York City with his boyfriend. He writes an article that exposes the realities of conversion therapy. Jared returns home to convince his father to read the article and take accountability for his actions. The two begin to reconcile when he asks his father to visit him for Christmas.

Garrard Conley and Joel Edgerton at Telluride Film Festival

On June 8, 2017, it was revealed that a bidding war had begun between Netflix, Annapurna Pictures, Focus Features, and Amazon Studios for distribution rights to a film package set to star Lucas Hedges, Joel Edgerton, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe, and be directed and written by Edgerton, based on Garrard Conley's memoir Boy Erased.[3] On June 21, 2017, it was announced that the bidding war for distribution rights for Boy Erased had boiled down to Netflix and Focus Features, and the latter ultimately won the rights.[4]

In the press release, Edgerton spoke proudly of the project, stating:

I'm excited to work with an ensemble of actors, seasoned and new, to bring Garrard's story to the screen. I think Focus is the perfect partner on this, and I will always thank Garrard for trusting my passion for his life story. I can't think of a better reason to get behind the camera again.[5]

In August 2017, the majority of the supporting cast was announced.[6] In September 2017, Joe Alwyn and Madelyn Cline joined the cast as well,[7][8] and principal photography on the film began September 8, 2017, in Atlanta, Georgia.[9][10] In April 2018, re-shoots took place.[11][12][13]

The film makes several key changes to Garrard Conley's 2016 memoir. One pivotal scene in the film depicts the director of Love in Action pushing a lapsed participant onto his knees in front of a coffin and then having the young man beaten with a Bible. This scene does not take place in Conley's memoir.[14] Scenes where a young man is dunked underwater and guards physically attempt to prevent Conley from leaving the treatment facility were also not present in the memoir. These fictional embellishments to the film have led to some criticism that Conley's narrative was used to make conversion ministry appear as a "boogeyman".[15]

The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2018.[16][17] It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, first for the press and industry on September 8, 2018, and then for the public on September 11, 12, and 15.[18] The film was initially scheduled for release on September 28, 2018,[19] but was pushed back to November 2, 2018.[20]

• Official website
• Boy Erased at IMDb
• Boy Erased at Metacritic
• Boy Erased at Rotten Tomatoes