

Fri, Oct 25
|Laguna Beach Seniors Inc
Movie Night - Boy Erased
'Boy Erased' Review: A Harrowing Outline of Conversion Camp
Time & Location
Oct 25, 2019, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Laguna Beach Seniors Inc, 380 3rd St, Laguna Beach, CA 92651, USA
About the event
“God knows what’s on your heart” is a Christian maxim that, while not appearing in the Bible, is tossed around frequently in Protestant circles like those on display in Boy Erased. The phrase is never spoken in the film, which is based on Garrard Conley’s memoir of the same name, but it looms large over nearly every scene. Writer/director Joel Edgerton’s drama sets out to tackle several thorny questions surrounding good intentions, contrasting the detrimental effects of its gay conversion camp setting with religious adult characters’ frequent, earnest (yet clearly paradoxical) expressions of love and value for the LGBTQ teens in their care. Does what you say matter if it doesn’t line up with what you do? The question becomes doubly relevant when applied to Jared (Lucas Hedges), the pastor’s son who’s forced to join a program that believes “fake it til you make it” is the best path to heterosexuality. By movie’s end, we’re given an answer to the central question that’s at once emotional in its affirmation and rote in its obviousness.