Line #22 Film/BoyErased


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/boy_erased_poster.jpg]]
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3	''Boy Erased'' is a biographical drama film written and directed by Creator/JoelEdgerton and based on the memoir of the same title written by Garrard Conley.
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5	The movie stars Creator/LucasHedges as Jared Eamons, the gay teenage son of a Baptist preacher (Creator/RussellCrowe) who after being outed is forced to join a [[CureYourGays conversion therapy group]]. The movie co-stars Creator/NicoleKidman as Jared's mother, Nancy Eamons; Joel Edgerton as Victor Sykes, the leader of the camp; [[Music/RedHotChiliPeppers Flea]] as Brandon, a counselor at the camp; and Music/TroyeSivan and Creator/XavierDolan as fellow members of the camp.
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7	The movie was released on November 8, 2018. The trailer can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B71eyB_Onw here]].
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9	!! ''Boy Erased'' contains examples of:
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11	* TwentyMinutesIntoThePast: The film is mainly set during the TurnOfTheMillennium. This is most noticeably reflected by Jared's huge cell phone, though the styles, cars, and video games are also fairly accurate to the time period.
12	* AbusiveParents:
13	** Like Jared's parents, most of the parents who send their teens to Love in Action are simply misguided (at one point, a pair of parents angrily pull their son out the program after a physical exercise gone awry). That's ''definitely'' not the case for Cameron's father, who emotionally abuses his son by constantly belittling and embarrassing him. [[spoiler:This culminates in a humiliating mock funeral staged after Cameron lapses, which includes members of his entire family (including his tearful little sister) ''beating him with bibles'' as he kneels in front of a casket]].
14	** Jared's parents zig-zag this trope, most notable in his father - they want to help him but Jared's father [[spoiler: doesn't believe Jared about Henry being a predator, something Jared already realises and grows frustrated over. He also exhibits authoritarian tendencies, ordering Jared around and Jared's mother notes she's been expected to fall into line with him about Jared's treatment]].
15	* AdaptationalNameChange: So many, but the most noticeable being Garrard Conley becoming Jared Eames and David becoming Henry.
16	* ArmouredClosetGay:
17	** Jon is a variation; he is so dedicated to succeeding in the program that he refuses to physically touch another man and berates other patients for not trying hard enough.
18	** [[spoiler:The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue reveals that Victor Sykes's RealLife counterpart [[https://stuarte.co/2018/what-happened-to-victor-sykes-from-boy-erased-who-is-john-smid/ John Smid]] quit Love in Action, and eventually came to terms with his sexuality and married another man.]]
19	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Sykes goes as low as to outright tell Nancy that she’s “ruining” her child just because they saw right through his abuse and decided to leave. [[MamaBear Nancy]] is having none of this and asks him a series of questions that shut him up for good.
20	-->''What are your actual qualifications, Mr. Sykes? I never asked. Hmm? Are you a doctor? Are you? Psychologist? I mean, a proper one? Are you?! No... I didn't think so. Shame on you! Shame on me, too. SHAME ON YOU!''
21	* AwardBaitSong: Besides portraying a small supporting role, Music/TroyeSivan provides the original song "Revelation", which plays twice during the movie.
22	* BlamingTheVictim:
23	** [[spoiler:Henry]] outs Jared as gay [[spoiler:to deflect from his rape of Jared.]]
24	** Jared originally lists [[spoiler:Henry]] as one of his sins.
25	** The counselor hints that Jared should blame himself.
26	* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler:Cameron Van Heusen, who commits suicide partly as a result of the conversion therapy.]]
27	* CastFullOfGay
28	* CureYourGays: The film (and the book its based on) is all based around showing how conversion therapy is a ''very bad thing'', even from people who might believe they have good intentions or if the gay person might "want" to become straight. [[AnAesop Trying to make people become someone they're not is incredibly dangerous, especially if it's attempted using humiliation and physical abuse.]]
29	* DepravedHomosexual: [[spoiler:Henry is a sexual predator who rapes Jared and at least one other young man.]]
30	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Poor Cameron ends up killing himself shortly after helping Jared escape from Love in Action.]]
31	* ExperimentedInCollege: Jared has his first romantic connection with another man at college, away from the supervision of his religious parents.
32	* ForcedOutOfTheCloset: Jared is outed to his parents by [[spoiler:Henry, his rapist]].
33	* {{Gayngst}}: The lead character, as well as many of the other therapy participants.
34	* GayngstInducedSuicide: [[spoiler:Cameron.]]
35	* IWantGrandkids: Marshall is very invested in getting his only son to marry his high school girlfriend for this reason; when Jared comes out, this is also one of the main reasons for his anger.
36	* LetsWaitAWhile: Jared says this to his high school girlfriend, which presumably leads to them breaking up not long after.
37	* KarmaHoudini: Henry. He receives no punishment in-universe for any of the wrongs he commits.
38	* MamaBear: As soon as it becomes clear that Love in Action is mistreating her son, Nancy snaps and does not hesitate to remove him from the program, even delivering a scathing ReasonWhyYouSuckSpeech to Sykes on the way out. Nancy giving a DeathGlare as they walk out, scaring others from interfering. When her husband finds out that she’s pulled out Jared from Love in Action, he demands that he go back, but Nancy makes it perfectly clear that her son isn’t going anywhere.
39	* ManlyGay: Jared was an athlete in high school and is the only member of the group shown to do well at Brandon's assessments of "manliness". He also doesn't display any camp mannerisms.
40	* MistakenForMasturbating: A rare serious example: Jared goes to bathroom unsupervised for some privacy and is caught by Brandon. Because a part of the therapy is a ban on any kind of sexual behavior, Jared has to fake using the restroom to avoid punishment.
41	* NothingIsScarier: The viewer never actually learns precisely what happens at the houses behind the center where its long term "patients" stay, but absolutely everyone is ''terrified out of their minds'' of being sent there. [[spoiler:Fortunately, Jared gets out just as Sykes makes the decision to commit him]].
42	* ParentsAsPeople: Marshall and Nancy are shown to make a tremendously harmful mistake by not vetting Love in Action and by not accepting and supporting their son for who he is in the first place. However, they are both shown to genuinely love Jared, their decision to sign him up for conversion coming from wanting to "help" him in accordance with their religious upbringings. [[spoiler:Both eventually come to realize their mistake and ask for Jared's forgiveness, though Marshall takes a few more years than Nancy.]]
43	* ThePastorsQueerKid: Jared is the gay son of a Baptist preacher. His conservative parents enter him into a [[CureYourGays conversion therapy program]].
44	* RageBreakingPoint: [[spoiler:Sykes tried to get Jared to bring up Henry, his rapist, during a "therapy" session, as well as trying to get him to say he hated his father. Jared has finally had enough and starts screaming at the counselors and stages an escape to meet his mom.]]
45	* RougeAnglesOfSatin: One of the most noticeable signs that Love in Action is ''not'' a reputable psychological institution is rampant misspellings and grammar errors in its handbooks, including spelling "God" as "Dog".
46	* VillainousLineage: Love in Action believes this to be the case; one of its exercises involves its patients writing down geneologies to trace where their sinful behavior comes from.

Context Film / BoyErased