Madelyn Cline

A group of friends are terrorized by a stalker who knows about a gruesome incident from their past.

Childhood videos of a sweet, innocent boy (real life footage of the film's star Lucas Hedges) play. The boy now grown, Jared, is a teenager sitting in church while his dad, Marshall Eamons (Russell Crowe), gives a sermon about how nobody's perfect. Jared's mom, Nancy (Nicole Kidman), is cheerful as she listens to the sermon while Jared gets the attention of a young lady nearby. We flash forward to shortly after when Jared, now 18, is being driven by his mom to some location. He puts his arm out the window to simulate surfing the air and his mom tells him not to do that. When he asks why, she says that a kid's arm was once taken off by a truck driver that way. He relents and rolls up the window. Jared gets to a facility where he has to sign in and also give up all his belongings until his mom returns to get him at 5 PM. Michael, an effeminate employee of the clinic, is rather sharp with him regarding him having to give up his belongings (including cell phones which were becoming common in 2004, when the story is set) and tells him that he has to delete anyone from his phone that will be a problem. They will dial numbers at random to verify that he has, so he'd better be honest about it. He takes Jared's journal and says it will have to be reviewed by Victor Sykes, who is in charge. Jared is given a tour of the facility and sees many young people in different rooms, all in various forms of therapy. At orientation, all the incoming teenagers and young adults read the rules out loud, one at a time - females are told they have to wear bras at all times; men are told can't make physical contact with each other except for the briefest of handshakes. Nobody can go into a bathroom without any staff member supervising them. It becomes clear the clinic, called Love in Action, is a gay conversion program. Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton, also writer/director) gives a sermon to the group. He holds up a dollar bill and tells them that even if he crumples it, it still has its value. Even if he rips it, you can tape it together - it will have a scar but still have value. He considers their homosexual feelings to be sins and a choice they made. He gestures towards a robust teen, Cameron, and points out he plays football though he wasn't born a football player - he chose to play football - and likewise he chose to have homosexual thoughts. Among the other students are Gary (played by musician Troye Sivan) and Jon (played by Xavier Dolan). Jon enters late and we learn he has done the program before and has been forced back - when we first meet him, he has a scratch on his nose and later he has a black eye, alluding to an abusive father. There is also a young woman named Sarah who seems very shy and nervous about being in attendance. The group is told that they have to make a sort of family tree and list all the hardships people in their family have faced. which is a direct line to why they are having homosexual thoughts. Among the list is homosexual/same sex attraction, drugs, alcoholism, gang affiliation, criminal behavior, and use of pornography. Jared makes his tree but can't think of a single thing to attribute to any of his relatives except suggesting that maybe his Uncle Chris is an alcoholic. Victor stops by and notes that his family's lack of toxic behavior is the sign that Jared is truly the son of a preacher. He encourages him to consider his Uncle Chris as an alcoholic since Jared has put a question mark next to the one and only affliction he felt was applicable. We flashback to Jared in high school. He is living a normal life in his Texas high school. He is on the basketball team (but only plays for five minutes) and dates a cheerleader. His dad, revealed to own a Ford dealership in town, grants him a new Ford vehicle for his upcoming birthday. Jared takes his girlfriend to the lake with friends and they have a fun night out. When he drops her off at home, they kiss in the car. She pressures him to do more, but he suggests maybe they should wait. She points out that they're going to college soon. In present day, Jared goes to collect his belongings and returns back to the hotel with his mom. He realizes that pages of his journal have been ripped out. Michael, the bitchy "ex-gay" employee, tells him journaling isn't allowed and Victor will have to evaluate the material to see if it's suitable to have written. Outside, Jared meets Jon, who says he had done the therapy before and is being forced to participate again. Jon has a scratch on his nose and explains his saluting people as a purposeful way to avoid male contact. That night, Jared and Nancy go out to dinner and he passes Sarah in the hall, staying at the same hotel with her parent. At the restaurant, Jared asks her if any of their relatives had any problems on the list; she tells him their family has always been "normal" and after reading the list, laughs about the idea that they could be related to someone with the kinds of problems listed. At night, she jokes that she was once in prison because of her gang affiliation and drug problems, showing her sense of humor and relationship with her son. The next day at Love in Action, Victor mocks the term LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) and the idea of inclusion for people with various sexual orientations. The group is introduced to an older man with a lot of tattoos named Brandon (played by Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers) who tells the group that he doesn't relate to their afflictions (same sex attraction) but he's guilty of a lot of others - implying he was a drug addict and alcoholic - and that his commitment to God had turned his life around. He says that all the counselors there were once like them, and that's when Jared learns that Victor is actually an "ex-gay" (shocking because he comes off so homophobic). Brandon evaluates the men on their masculinity and points out that some are sitting with crossed legs, which is not manly. The young men are next lined up outside and evaluated on the way they stand - telling them they have to put their hands on their hips so it forms the strong shape of a triangle. He berates one boy for having his hands turned inward on his hips. He then has female student Sarah line the boys up in terms of masculinity based on how they come off, using her instincts as to who is the least masculine. Cameron, the boy who was applauded earlier for being a football player, is placed at the very end of the line. Brandon berates him nonetheless and makes him feel like he is not masculine enough. The boys are then forced into a batting cage to try to make them more manly. One very small and fey boy is afraid of the ball, yet Victor demands he get close to where the balls are being loaded - one hits the boy in the helmet and he is knocked down. When Jared goes up to bat, he's the only one who is able to hit the ball with ease, which impresses Victor. Each group member has to make a Moral Inventory list of impurities they've suffered. Jared ponders what to write down. At Love in Action therapy, each student/client is required to get up in front of class and give a speech about all their impurities. Called up, Sarah nervously tells people that she ran away from home and stayed with a girl who "put her mouth on, touched" and can barely explain that she is referring to intercourse by adding "my vagina." It's obviously very painful for her to talk about this in a way where she has to be apologetic and ashamed, but Victor blows off her struggle with a congratulatory response. Afterward, seeing how wounded this public disclosure has left her, Jared tries to console Sarah but, left raw, she absolutely wants to be left alone. An outside ruckus draws everyone's attention. The boy who was beaned by a ball in the batting cage is being removed from the facility by his angry parents, who've paid $3,000 for the course where his son was put in danger and could have had a concussion. Afterward, Victor Sykes hotly admonishes everyone against talking about therapy outside of therapy. Back at the hotel with nothing to say to his mom, Jared writes down Henry's name in his Moral Inventory page. We flash back to Jared starting college. As he struggles to move a lot of heavy boxes, a young man, Henry (Joe Alwyn), assists him and helps him to his room. Henry takes an intense liking to Jared and the two go jogging together, the loser to attend the other's church. One night, Jared and Henry are in Jared's dorm while Jared's roommate is out of town. At Jared's invite, Henry decides to stay the night and goes to sleep on the top bunk. Later, Jared hears Henry tossing and turning and asks if he's having trouble sleeping. Henry climbs down and gets into bed with Jared. There's mutual but cautious attraction at first, but Henry soon climbs unexpectedly atop Jared and begins to rape him, covering Jared's mouth to muffle his screams. This goes on for a while until neighbors, beating on the wall, tell them to be quiet. Henry gets off of Jared, breaks down, admits he has a problem, and confesses that there was a guy at his church (whom Jared met earlier) that Henry'd done "bad things" with. (It is later implied he had sodomized that guy, too - not that they were in a consensual relationship). Now a victim of rape and crying in shame, Jared sits distracted in his classrooms and begins blowing off Henry. Henry, infuriated and nervous that Jared will tell authorities what he's done, calls Nancy, pretending to be a counselor at the school, and tells her that her son seems to be a homosexual and she should have cause for concern. Jared is forced to come home where Marshall confronts him about this and Nancy stands by. Jared explains it wasn't a counselor but another student who had admitted to raping someone at his church and made the call because he was afraid Jared would report it. There is still the lingering question of whether or not Jared has had homosexual feelings. After he takes some time, he finally decides to be forthright to his parents and admits that he has had thoughts of men. Both parents seem very distraught by this information. That night, two men come over and have a chat with Marshall. When Jared inquires about this, Nancy tells him that they are people from the church who were asked for advice on the situation. One of them, a pastor, has had a son in the same exact situation over ten years earlier, and they suggest Marshall respond in the same fashion -- to put Jared into gay conversion program. When Jared is asked if he wants to change (his homosexuality), he sees his mom's desperation and replies, "Yes." They all pray together. Jared is sent to a doctor (Cherry Jones) to give blood because his dad wants to check his testosterone levels. The doctor says she is a lover of God but also went to medical school and knows that they're not going to find anything except that Jared's a healthy teenage boy. She asks about his sexuality but he skirts the issue, now determined to not disappoint his mother and father. Victor discusses a story by Jared he read and ripped from his journal, a fictional love story about a boy and a girl. Victor asks if Jared secretly meant the two characters to be both boys. Jared says it's just a story for college. Victor tells him that colleges assign books like Dorian Gray and Lolita to students and he thinks it's not the right place for Jared to be right now. Jared always expected the gay conversion therapy to be a very short term thing but he starts to realize he might be forced to stay at the housing instead of returning to school. In therapy, client Gary gives a speech about how he had been living in sin by committing sodomy over am entire year, but now he's "awakened" to his sins and thanks everyone, especially Victor, for helping him get back on the path to righteousness. While riding again with his mom, Jared puts his hand out the window to surf the rush of air. She tells him again how she's nervous (that a truck will come by and take off his arm) and he tells her he knows that's never happened. Nancy admits that moms just worry about their kids and want them to be safe. Lying for that reason is a good thing. Growing distant from her at dinner, Jared decides to go on a late night run. While on the street, he passes an advertisement with a sexy male model. He touches the image then throws something at it, breaking it and shouting "FUCK YOU," angry at having feelings for men. Back at the hotel, Jared finds Nancy reading his program book to understand more about what he's going through. In his Moral Inventiory list, he scratches out Henry and writes "Zavier." In flashback back to college, Jared meets Xavier at an art school "God Vs. Science" exhibit. Xavier is a handsome young Viennese man and the two go back to Xavier's place after the show and discuss the belief of God. Xavier asks Jared if he believes in the devil and then wonders if he considers Xavier the devil (because he senses that Jared is attracted to him). Xavier promises to prove that God will not smite him. He crosses to his bedroom. stays clothed, and sits on the bed. (The scene ends here.) In therapy, Cameron, the boy praised for being a football player, is chosen to do an exercise where he has to talk to an invisible chair as if it was his father and tell him why he hates him - the implication being that hatred of a father is why a man has sexual feelings for other men. Cameron struggles with this, reluctant to call his homosexual yearnings "my sins" rather than "my problem. Coming to his defense, Jared volunteers to do the exercise in his place, but Victor shoots this down and says it's Cameron's task. He then embarrasses Cameron for struggling. Victor releases the class for a break, all but Cameron, who has to stay seated in the chair until he's ready to tap into his anger and show it convincingly to everyone. Sympathetically, Jared squeezes Cameron's shoulder as he passes. On the break, Gary (sporting a black eye) tells Jared that everyone saw his shoulder squeeze and that it violates the rule against touching other men. It's best if Jared abides by the rules and for all to succumb to what is being demanded of them. Jared says they're all struggling to make this work and that he's having a tough time, just like Gary. Gary claims he's fine, but Jared says it doesn't seem that way. Jared, winding up in am institute bathroom by himself, sees Victor outside the window, sneaking a cigarette while nervously looking around, apparently afraid he'll be caught. Brandon finds Jared and scolds him for being in a bathroom unattended. Jared tries to leave but Brandon encourages him to pee as planned. Pee shy, the stream comes off intermittently and Brandon says it sounds like he's using Morse code, asking "Are you sending me a message, faggot?" Jared says nothing in response, too afraid to say anything. Outside, Jon tells Jared that he has to "lean into" what is being requested of him by the staff or else they will decide that he, like Sarah, has to be housed (in an adjacent building) where he'll have to stay for a year instead of leaving daily like everyone else at 5:00 PM. He should get back home and then figure out what to do next, which could mean walking away from everything and everyone he knows. On the phone, Jared tells his dad he wants to leave, but Marshall tells him to find the strength and commitment inside himself to stick it out. Jared complies. The next morning, Nancy finds a note from Jared saying he's walking to the center and will meet her at 5:00. At Love in Action, the counselors stage a funeral for Cameron. Cameron's family attends, crying over a coffin and pretending that Cameron has died by "Satan's wishes." Victor asks Cameron if that's what he wants then invites others to come and "strike this demon down." Cameron's dad steps forth, takes a Bible, and beats Cameron with it to exorcise his demons, being very aggressive with how hard he hits Cameron. Cameron's sister is next invited to step forth and have a whack. Jared steps outside to avoid seeing more and to think about this. Jon grabs his arm to compel him to stay; Jared looks at this and both realize that Jon has broken his long-standing practice of not touching another male. While outside, Jared spots Sarah (as she does him). She looks isolated, friendless and trapped. It seems evident that Jared must fall into the program in order to make it through and out. At the next therapy session, Victor says he feels invigorated and asks Cameron how he feels. Cameron says he feels great with the true presence of God in his heart. Flashback: Jared and Zavier lie in bed together, fully dressed but looking at each other, lightly caressing each other's face. It's Jared's turn to give the inventory of his past sins, so he talks about being with Xavier. As he relays this to the class, Victor tells him he is leaving something out. Jared denies he had any other "gay" experiences, but Victor tells him his father told him about Henry. Jared says that's not applicable (since it was actually rape), but Victor insists he had slanted the truth to protect himself (upon explaining the situation to his father) and that he needs to stop lying. Jared tells him he isn't lying. He could make something up and say what Victor wants to hear, but then he WOULD be lying, and the whole purpose is to denounce sins. Noting his anger, Victor forces him to parlay that into the exercise where he yells at his invisible dad in the empty chair. Victor encourages him to tell his dad why he hates him and Jared says he doesn't hate his dad. This doesn't assuage Victor, who points out Jared is angry. Yes, Jared is angry, but at Victor, not his dad. As Victor refuses to believe this and keeps insisting Jared is lying to himself, Jared gets fed up and storms out of the room, saying that everyone there is crazy. Jared, chased by Victor and followed by the rest of the class, bursts into the administration area to retrieve his things from the storage unit where they keep the bins with everyone's belongings. Michael, the flamboyant staff member, chases after Jared but Victor tells Michael to let the counselors handle it. Jared runs to the bathroom, with Victor in pursuit, and asks Victor to give him a minute. From a stall, Jared then calls his mom with his retrieved cell phone; fortunately she picks up right away and he tells her, sobbing, that she needs to come get him. Jared then goes out in the hall and says his mom coming to pick him up and they can't keep him anymore. He is pursued and Jared says that if Victor puts his hands on him, the entire class is there and they will be witnesses. When Nancy arrives, Victor and other counselors are holding Jared down while they recite prayers. Nancy is locked out but can see her son through the window in the door. Victor tries to get her to come back later but she refuses and demands they open the door. Compelled, Cameron steps forward, shoves Victor aside, tells them to let Jared go, then guides Jared to the door. They finally unlock the doors and Nancy takes Jared out into the parking lot, pursued by Victor. As Victor tells her she's ruining the boy, she fires back and points out that he's not a legitimate counselor nor qualified to educate or psychologically evaluate, and she should have known better than to give him authority over her son. As she drives away, she shouts, "Shame on them, then says, "and shame on me, too." Jared waits for his mom at an empty restaurant while she has a phone conversation with his father. She returns and tells him his father wants him to go back to the center. While this sinks in, she explains that she had sat idly by while the men decided what would happen to Jared. She now needs her husband to sit by while she makes a decision. Jared returns home but his father has resentment towards him. At church, his dad gives a strong sermon about how you can show up at church but it doesn't make you a Christian, focusing his gaze at Jared. The rest of the congregations shouts "amen" to this but Nancy shoots a look of disgust at her husband and clutches Jared tightly. Sometime Jater as Jared packs, the doorbell rings and Nancy asks Jared if he knows Cameron (the football player given a fake funeral who ushered Jared to freedom). Jared wonder in surprise if Cameron's at the door, but Nancy tells him she just learned from police that he had killed himself and the officers have come by to ask questions of him about Love in Action. He answers there questions but has no interest in talking with his dad. Four years later. Jared is now living in New York and has a lot of friends. He is a writer and working on an article. His mom emails him that she was right - he clicks on a link and it's an article about a kid who had his arm ripped off while sticking it out a car window. He Instant Messages her, asking if she's read the article. She has and is proud of him. He then asks if his dad has read it but she changes the subject, asking if he's coming for Thanksgiving. He doesn't drop the subject and says it's important for his father to read about his experience with the gay conversion therapy. She says he'll read it on his own time. When he learns that she's staying with his aunt, he wonders what is happening with their relationship. Nancy says it's only temporary, but it's obvious her relationship with Marshall is strained because she remains supportive of their son and he has not. When Jared next returns home, his dad is out and he asks his mom about their marriage. She says she knows that she has love for God and love for her son and the two don't conflict - for her father it's not that simple. That night, Jared waits on the patio for his dad and then asks him to read his article from the New York Times and tells him there are talks of him turning it into a book. Marshall is cordial but definitely doesn't exhibit any signs of unconditional love - it's clear he still wants his son to "choose" not to be gay anymore. One night, Nancy comes into the room with Marshall and gives him a folder - he opens it up and finds the article. He begins to read. When Jared and Marshall are next seen, it is at the Ford dealership Marshall owns. Marshall says he has a present for Jared. He suspects it will be a Ford vehicle, like when he was in high school, but it's actually an expensive pen that Marshall uses for sermons and says he wants to give it to him, "from one writer to another." Jared tells him he's gay and that will never change and he thinks they should stop forcing a relationship if it results only in small talk and no connection. Marshall admits he is disappointed he won't have grandkids and also that the dealership won't be Jared's - explaining he always pictured him taking over the family business. Even though Marshall still has issues with him, they seem to find a peace between the two of them. In the end, title cards reveal that the inspiration for Jared, Garrard Conley, now lives with his husband in NYC. The man who inspired Victor Sykes left Love in Action in 2008, and now lives in Texas with his husband. It also informs the audience that, in 36 states in the country, it is still legal to force a minor into gay conversion therapy, which has affected 700,000 people.