In our society, there’s often this message that queerness is “monstrous”, it’s evil. That it’s something that lives within us as if it’s not as much a part of us as our eye color or our skin color. That can be something that’s really difficult for people to understand if they haven’t lived it.
In his feature film debut, Leviticus writer-director Adrian Chiarella found a way to illustrate that experience in a way that I hope will make it more tangible for all audiences, which is the most important thing that you can do with art. Sharing a human experience outside of your own and maybe having a slightly better understanding of what someone else’s time on this planet has been like.
Early reviews of Leviticus have praised it as a mashup of It Follows and Heated Rivalry, which is not inaccurate, but it does oversimplify it a bit. The story follows two teenage boys growing up in rural Australia. When their parents find out the boys have romantic feelings for one another, they are forced to undergo a strange conversion therapy ritual to “cleanse” the homosexuality out of them.
The ritual in the film is a fictional one, as is the supernatural horror tale that follows. But for those who aren’t familiar, conversion therapy itself is a very real thing, and it takes many forms across continents and cultures. It’s about the scariest damn thing I can think of, and while the specific steps of the therapy may differ, the throughline is always the same. Queer individuals are sent (often against their will) to conversion therapy, where they undergo a series of treatments to “cure” them and make them “normal” (heterosexual).
Treatments range from shock therapies to spiritual/religious rituals and anything in between. It seems nothing is off limits when trying to “cure the queer” out of someone. The horrifying truth of the matter is that whether chosen by an individual or the family of an individual, the message is that physical pain, torture, etc., are better than being gay. Let that sink in for just a moment. “I would rather torture you than accept you and love you as you are.”
For the fictional conversion therapy method featured in the movie, writer-director Chiarella chose to combine methods from his research to create a monstrous Frankenstein ritual. “The movie is a metaphor for homophobia in all its shades, but I did talk to a lot of people who’d been through all sorts of coercive practices,” Chiarella shared.
“There was a friend of mine who had Taoist parents, and they sent him to this priest who mimed cutting the gayness away from him, like with an actual knife. Just stuff like that that sounded really horrific to me. So, it was an amalgam of a lot of different experiences that had been brought together.”
Chiarella had Leviticus stars Joe Bird and Stacey Clausen watch a documentary about conversion therapy to familiarize them with the concept. Bird shared that Adrian even pulled “verbatim quotes” from his research, that these real boys in this real experience have said.” Something about the blending of reality into the fiction adds another layer of the unsettled, disturbing feeling the film elicits.
“It’s something that even though we are sort of veiling it behind this metaphor, we hoped that it would speak to people in that way,” Chiarella said.
Joe Bird has already built up an impressive body of work. Following his heartbreaking and disturbing portrayal in Talk To Me, he continues to absolutely dominate every role he takes on. “I’m always really interested in doing the opposite of what people expect because I feel like people wouldn’t really expect me to want to go straight into this other horror film. But to me, this film isn’t the traditional horror,” Bird shared.
“It’s drama. It’s romance. It’s coming of age. It touches on so many different themes that all live in this space, and all intermingle harmoniously to create this message and this film,” he continued. “It was just such an interesting concept, because it’s not that traditional monster you’re visually scared of. It’s like you build all this groundwork in the film. So, when those horror moments happen towards the latter end, it’s really effective.”
“Adrian’s writing of the script was just so honest and raw and authentic, I was like, ‘I have to be a part of this.’ Then I tracked down his email, and I just sent him my thoughts and feelings after I read it because I was just like, ‘Person to person, this is a great script, and he deserves to know that.’”
As for Chiarella’s reaction when he opened that email from Bird, “I was super moved, and I thought, ‘What an awesome human.’” the director shared. “I was already so impressed with Joe’s tapes. He’d sent in a couple of self-tapes by that stage in the process. I remember not only appreciating how much you’ve connected with the character, but I remember there were songs that you referenced and particular things that showed me, ‘Oh, this guy has got the real soul of an artist,’ and I really wanted to meet with him and hopefully work with him.”
As Bird explored Naim’s inner world and the tone of the script, some of those songs he referenced for Chiarella included “Seigfried by Frank Ocean, which was in there because I really loved the line, ‘I’d do anything for you in the dark,’ because I feel like that line really relates to this film. I also had Making the Bed by Olivia Rodrigo in that email as well, because I feel like he [Naim] makes his own bed in this film a lot of the time.”
Music wasn’t the only thing that Bird sent to Chiarella in that initial email. “I think I also sent some of the colors as well, just like the vibe and whatnot. I think I’m very vibe-based, and I wanted to explain what I got from the script. Because what’s great about art is that it’s subjective and you can take so many different things from it.”
But Bird wasn’t sure he had landed the role. In fact, he was pretty convinced otherwise. “ In the callback, he [Chiarella] refused to look me in the eye. So, I left the callback thinking, ‘Oh, no. He hates me, and I’m not going to get the role. This sucks.’ And then I found out the next day, so it was all good.”
Undoubtedly, this movie will speak to many people, whether they’re questioning aspects of themselves, recognizing pieces of their past, or even seeing pieces of their loved ones in these characters. Outside of the audience takeaway, this is the message Chiarella would want young Adrian to take away from this film: “Oh, wow. I don’t want to give away the ending of the movie, but there is a choice that Joe’s character makes in the final, final frames that, to me, sums up what this metaphor of this monster is and what to do when it’s lurking there. If you are feeling these forces that are sort of coming for you and for the way that you feel, push past that and just go with your heart, I guess.”
As for the future, Bird “Would love to explore literally every single genre there is. I think being in a musical would be really fun, or doing a comedy. I think what it boils down to, though, is I just want to be a part of good stories that have something to say. Doesn’t matter if it’s a lead role or a role with two lines. I just want to be a part of good projects that people hopefully connect to because, just as myself, as an actor, I just want to be part of something that connects to people and inspires people.”
If we have more horror to look forward to from Chiarella, it will certainly be grounded. “I’ve really had a lot of fun with this one with this genre, but I’m interested in a lot of different genres as long as there’s room to do what I did with Leviticus, which is to keep it grounded and keep the performances and the version of life that we present as just this observation of real people. You still might have that balance of these heightened elements to it, like a supernatural monster or something.”
The movie certainly deals with heavy subject matter and hits some very emotional notes. But the vibe on set while building trust between cast and crew involved a lot of diners and road trips.
“We had an amazing time making it,” Bird shared. “So, even though it’s depressing and whatnot, we had a very good time making it.
“It feels nice in some places,” Chiarella interjected. “It’s nice in places,” Bird agreed.
“Not super depressing,” Chiarella added. “Well, you know,” Bird smiled.
Leviticus is in theaters June 19. Happy Pride.
