Boy Erased

Cert: 15A; Now showing

Jared (Lucas Hedges) is the son of a Baptist preacher and usedcar salesman (a portly Russell Crowe) and hairstylist (Nicole Kidman) in deeply conservative Arkansas.

His sexual orientation is revealed when he is 19, and mum, and especially dad, come down hard on him. He will be entered into a “conversion therapy programme” in order to “cure” his homosexuality and restore dignity to the family and their congregation.

At the clinic, Jared encounters a host of colourful fellow inmates (including cameo roles from director Xavier Dolan and YouTuber-turned actor Troye Sivan) all forced to sit and absorb the doctrine of head therapist Sykes (Joel Edgerton, who also directs). A more confrontational approach is meted out, however, by assistant Brandon (Flea).

Based on Garrard Conley’s source memoir, Boy Erased is a tale for our times, one that exposes archaic beliefs for what they are while triumphing the human spirit to overcome oppression. In this sense, it is something of an own-goal and unlikely to bowl anyone away with an illuminating take on a plainly one-sided issue.

What it does achieve, however, is efficiently crafted film drama featuring a robust array of acting turns, even in periphery roles beyond the Hedges-Crowe-Kidman-Edgerton core. As an actor himself, Edgerton clearly displays a talent for getting results from his fellow colleagues.