Focus Features has released a new trailer for writer/director Joel Edgerton’s upcoming drama Boy Erased. The film is based on Garrard Conley’s memoir of the same name which chronicles his experience as a gay teenager who is sent to a conversion therapy program when he’s outed to his religious parents. Manchester by the Sea and Lady Bird breakout Lucas Hedges fills the lead role, but the film also boasts a terrific ensemble cast that includes Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman as the boy’s parents and filmmaker/actor Xavier Dolan.

I caught the film at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and it's a bit of a mixed bag. Its heart is in the right place and the performances are fantastic, but you never really get to dig into what's going on in Hedges' head—especially when it comes to how he reconciles his faith with his sexuality. That said, Crowe has one really tremendous scene, and Edgerton proves himself to be a versatile filmmaker as he handsomely crafts this story after telling a straight-up horror tale in his directorial debut The Gift. That said, this is a story that needed to be told, and it'll hopefully shine a light on these dangerous gay conversion therapy camps.

Check out the Boy Erased trailer below and click here to read my review from TIFF. The film also stars Cherry Jones, Michael “Flea” Balzary, Troye Sivan, Joe Alwyn, Emily Hinkler, Jesse LaTourette, David Joseph Craig, Théodore Pellerin, Madelyn Cline, and Britton Sear. Boy Erased opens in theaters on September 28th.

Here’s the official synopsis for Boy Erased:

“Boy Erased” tells the story of Jared (Hedges), the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, who is outed to his parents (Kidman and Crowe) at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith. Boy Erased is the true story of one young man’s struggle to find himself while being forced to question every aspect of his identity.