Russel Crowe, Nicole Kidman, and the immensely talented young actor Lucas Hedges (Manchester By the Sea) form an amazing pack of talent in this excellent drama. The story is based on the memoir by Garrard Conley, a true story. Set among deeply pious Christians in Arkansas, Hedges plays 18-year-old Jared Eamons, who discovers that he is gay. Crowe plays the father, a car dealer and a preacher, and Kidman the mom, who is a sweet-natured hairdresser with traditional values. When their son comes out to them after concealing his sexuality for some time, they pressure Jared into going to a Christian conversion camp, where his “lifestyle choice” is to be “prayed away”. The unspeakable camp is led by the Victor Sykes, who is as sinister as he is stupid, played with aplomb by Joel Edgerton, the writer and director. It’s a funny sidenote to a serious movie that many actors in this Southern drama are from Australia, including Edgerton, Crowe, and Kidman as well as Red Hot Chili Peppers bass player extraordinaire, Flea, who plays a drill-instructor-type PE teacher at the camp. The powerful performances are indeed what drive this drama and they contribute significantly to telling a story that needed to be told.
"Edgerton proves an incisive filmmaker. Every beat has weight. Every close-up registers. He values silence - he trusts you to feel things along with his characters."
— David Edelstein
"However imperfect, Edgerton's film aims to intimately speak with parents like them and, who knows, perhaps to even change their hearts for the better."
— Tomris Laffly
Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.
Golden Globes
2 nominations
It’s hard to believe there are hideous organizations like this. The movie pisses you off more and more as the story unravels and these children are scarred for life.
This make sense!
A simple movie about a complex reality. Even today, many parents don’t understand that they’re wrong to prevent their kids from being who they are. That’s what this movie shows.
I love this movie
Great movie! Emotional roller coaster, I love how they told this story about a harsh reality. ** I stood and I applauded for Nicole Kidman’s character