Boy Erased

A deeply disturbing and uncomfortable watch. Lucas Hedges gives a deeply rooted, present performance. Nicole Kidman's role is the pivot of this piece, and, unsurprisingly, she completely embodies the compassion and love needed. Russell Crowe does well with what he is given, but this is where I think the film fails - it never sees the father's crisis of faith and oversimplifies a very complex internal battle by characterizing faith as judgemental, manipulative and ultimately hateful, so it gave Crowe very little to work with (I think this was the unresolved issue of the author - he never really sees his father, and so that story is never told or the crisis resolved). Personally, I'm still waiting for a film that faithfully brings both real crises to the screens. I give this film a 7 (good) out of 10, but the whole story remains untold. [Drama]

Boy Erased was amazing. Incredibly tragic story. It felt like a remake of Full Metal Jacket at times, were it not a true story. Great cast. You know who deserves the nod for best supporting actor? Flea. Incredible asshole presence. Good luck not crying. 9/10