Boy Erased Trailer Reaction: 5 Ups & 1 Down

An Oscar-worthy film?

Trailer Kidman Crowe Edgerton In Boy Erased
Focus Features

The trailer for the highly anticipated Boy Erased has finally dropped and, if the short preview is anything to go by, the coming-of-age drama could end up being one of this year's best films.

Written for the screen by Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased centres around a small-town teenager named Garrard (Lucas Hedges), who comes to the realisation that he is gay. His religious mother Nancy (Nicole Kidman), and father Marshall (Russel Crowe) - who is a Baptist pastor - struggle to come to terms with this, and enrol their son in a gay conversation therapy program. While in therapy, he clashes with therapist Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton). The film is a true story, and is based on Garrard Conley's Boy Erased: A Memoir.

Using an emotional track from singer Troye Sivan (who also plays a part in the film), the trailer tugs on our heartstrings, and makes it pretty clear that Boy Erased will have us welling up on plenty of occasions. With some of the biggest actors in Hollywood playing significant parts in the film, and a story that will touch the hearts of many, Boy Erased has all the credentials to be one of this year's biggest hits.

Here's the trailer...

So how did it go down? First to the negatives...

Downs...

1. The Trailer Gives Too Much Away

Boy Erased Kidman
Focus Features

While this trailer did increase our desire to want to go and see Boy Erased, it also gave away too much of the actual film. Sure, the premise has been known for a while now, and the true story is out there for us all to read, but we'd still like to be surprised when watching the actual film. Some of us prefer to watch the drama unfold without knowing what happens first.

Moreover, there are moments in the trailer that potentially reveal some of the movie's biggest twists. For example, Nancy's attempt to burst into one of the conversion meetings implies that she eventually comes round to the idea of her son being gay. If this does end up being the case, it's a pity a plot development of this nature was seen in the trailer.

The potential spoilers in the trailer isn't a problem exclusive to this film though, however, as it's something affecting the industry as a whole right now. Blockbuster movies such as Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Terminator Genisys were criticised for giving away too much information in their initial trailers also.

For Boy Erased, it's a shame that Focus Features didn't employ a strategy similar to that of Call Me By Your Name - as the trailer for the Sony Picture Classics film was incredibly intriguing and made us want to go and see it, and yet gave away next to nothing about the plot.

And now on to the positives...

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Stephen Patterson is an experienced writer and reviewer. He's also a TV addict.