19-year-old Jared (Lucas Hedges) grows up in a strict religious environment. His father (Russell Crowe) is a respected Baptist preacher to whose rigid views Jared's mother (Nicole Kidman) is also devoted. When his parents learn of his homosexuality, the boy is left with a choice: break with his family forever, or undergo reparative therapy. Out of love for his parents, Jared agrees to the questionable treatment. He is accompanied by his mother to the facility where a self-appointed therapist (Joel Edgerton) seeks to cure young people of their homosexuality and return them to the path of faith. The methods he uses to do so are often degrading and inhumane. Soon Jared is wondering if he is really ready to go down this path and deny his true self.
The Prodigal Son is based on the memoirs of Garrard Conley, who in it writes about his experiences at the Love in Action facility. In it, he not only describes the more than questionable methods of the Twelve Step program, but also exposes a bigotry that is just infuriating. Love is such a wonderful and important thing, we can't really have enough of it. People who love should be celebrated, not oppressed, no matter who they love. But the fact that a certain form of love is met with hatred, humiliation and psychological violence, that can only make you angry.
Joel Edgerton, who not only directed the film but also took on the difficult role of the fanatical therapist, worked closely with Conley and his family to adapt the young man's experiences and turn them into a gripping drama, which admittedly runs a bit thick, especially towards the end. However, this shortcoming is made up for by some very stirring scenes and the great cast. While Russel Crowe remains rather pale in his rather small role, especially Edgerton, Nicole Kidman and Lucas Hedges can convince. Sure, Hedges seems to be subscribed to the role of the teenager struggling with problems since his big break with the drama Manchester by the Sea, but he does it really well.
The Prodigal Son is not without its minor flaws. Edgerton doesn't always hit the right tone as a director, making the film feel a bit unbalanced at times. But the overall impression is absolutely positive, as the story is stirring and stirringly realized and leaves you thinking about it long after the film is over. A moving drama and a strong plea for tolerance and love and therefore also: Absolutely worth seeing!
Ein Artikel von Frankfurt-Tipp
