Boy Erased

The topic of re-education is very important. It is important to talk about the limitations that are still happening, limitations that are destroying the lives of many families even in the 21st century. The mindset of people who still believe that homosexuality must be managed as a disease is a problem. This is also not only about the USA and its religious movements. Still, I don't think Boy Erased is an outright good film, but it is strong in terms of the acting. Nicole Kidman routinely handles the role of a mother in a difficult situation, and this isn't the first time she's chosen a role from a story based on a searing true story. Russell Crowe has matured into a paternal psychological position that suits him very well, and it is only thanks to him that we get a catharsis of understanding. Boy Erased is not a cinematic experience - it is a cinematic manifesto for a modern understanding of family. (25/03/2019)

I was quite looking forward to Boy Erased, so maybe my expectations were too high, mainly because of the cast and the theme of conversion therapy. As far as the acting was concerned, I was satisfied, because everyone – Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russel Crowe, Joel Edgerton, and also the others (Troye Sivan, Xavier Dolan) – was solid and believable. Some people here had complaints about the non-linear narrative, which I personally didn't mind at all. However, I felt the potential of the camp scenes was untapped and the film sadly lacked really strong and deep sequences. If the film had been a quarter of an hour shorter and if Edgerton had pushed the envelope a bit more in some scenes, I wouldn't have hesitated to give it a higher rating. Otherwise, the title song "Revelation" by Troy Sivan is extremely good. The message of the film is clear and I hope that it will have the desired impact, but I still can't help feeling that Garrard's story could have been adapted more effectively. (22/01/2019)

A more courageous and mature filmmaker might have got more out of such interesting source material than a generally nice movie about the familial relations between a suffering son, an understanding mother and a bigoted father. (08/04/2019)