Episode 128: Joel Edgerton On The Music Of Boy Erased & The Gift
We have another polymath for you in the latest episode of Soundtracking - this time in the shape of Australian actor, writer and director Joel Edgerton.
Joel's latest project is Boy Erased - in which he admirably deploys all three of these skills. Based on a memoir by Garrard Conley, the film stars Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Troye Sivan, and tells the story of the son of devout Baptist parents who is forced to take part in a gay conversion therapy program.
Boy Erased is scored by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, who also collaborated with Joel on his directorial debut, The Gift. At Joel's behest, it's a nuanced affair, hinting at the darker themes of the movie without ever over-stating them. They also make great use of choral voices.
We should mention that Joel and Edith discuss a key plot detail during the course of the interview, so if you're planning to see the film, you might want to hold fire before listening to this ...