The film stars Lucas Hedges as Jared Eamons, a fictionalized version of Conley, the closeted gay son of Baptist parents (portrayed by Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe), who is forced to take part in a conversion therapy program.

Edgerton, Joe Alwyn, Xavier Dolan, Troye Sivan, Cherry Jones, and Flea also appear in supporting roles.

The film was theatrically released in the United States on November 2, 2018, by Focus Features and grossed over $12 million worldwide.

On June 8, 2017, it was revealed that a bidding war had begun between Netflix, Annapurna Pictures, Focus Features, and Amazon Studios for distribution rights to a film package set to star Lucas Hedges, Joel Edgerton, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe, and be directed and written by Edgerton, based on Garrard Conley's memoir Boy Erased.

[4] In the press release, Edgerton spoke proudly of the project, stating: I'm excited to work with an ensemble of actors, seasoned and new, to bring Garrard's story to the screen.

One pivotal scene in the film depicts the director of Love in Action pushing a lapsed participant onto his knees in front of a coffin and then having the young man beaten with a Bible.

[14] Scenes where a young man is dunked underwater and guards physically attempt to prevent Conley from leaving the treatment facility were also not present in the memoir.

According to Ross Ufberg in his article "Survival Tales from the Ex-Gay Movement", conversion therapy is best understood as "a form of counseling (vigorously opposed by the American Psychiatric Association) that aims to change the sexual orientation of patients by treating homosexuality as a mental disorder".

[15] The specific program referenced in the movie, Love in Action (LIA), was a facility in which individuals spent anywhere from a few weeks to multiple years.

[15] LIA represented a faction of a broader Christian, ex-gay movement that was sparked following the removal of homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychological Association in 1973, according to Austin Williams Miller.

In further analysis of the true story behind the film, Ross Ufberg discussed John Smid, an individual who spent years preaching the LIA ideology but eventually abandoned the program to live an openly gay life.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Anchored in empathy by writer-director-star Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased proves the road to complex, powerfully performed drama can also be paved with good intentions.

"[23] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[25] Ben Travis's review of the film on the news site Empire held a similar sentiment to Scott's, acknowledging that it "navigates the intersection between traditional religious beliefs and internalized homophobia".

[26] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly held a similar attitude, noting the film's strong message but stating it could have been better executed.

[28] Benjamin Lee, writing for The Guardian, remarked, "It's a curiously underwhelming, muted, often plodding two hours that fails to reach the emotional highs and devastating lows" that would be anticipated.