Joe Bell: Tragic Tale of a Bereaved Father and His Gay Son

The new film Joe Bell, which opens July 23 in Denver-area theaters, is getting decidedly mixed reviews from various critics. While this reviewer found it a bit preachy in parts, overall the film packs a powerful punch with its anti-bullying message.

Joe Bell is a true story. In 2013 Joe’s gay son Jadin committed suicide at age 15 after enduring years of relentless bullying, both in school and online. Joe, who loved his son but still struggled to accept his son’s sexuality, takes it upon himself to walk clear across the United States, from Oregon to New York, to talk about bullying to anyone who will listen. Joe speaks to school and church groups about the harm bullying can do to the targeted person’s life. He asks people to be tolerant of those who are different, and he begins to make an impact. But several months into his journey, another tragedy strikes. While walking along the side of a road in Colorado, Joe is hit by a truck and killed.

The film recounts this sad story, with Mark Wahlberg giving a standout performance as a man who lives with many regrets, but the film’s top acting honors go to young newcomer Reid Miller in a breakout performance as Jadin. Miller is heartbreaking as a young gay man who just wants to live as his authentic self.

“I’m gay,” Jadin tells his father.

“We’ll let nature take its course,” replies Joe, who seems to be more interested in what’s on the television than in what’s going on in his son’s life. “It’ll work itself out.”

“It’s not going to work itself out,” says Joe’s much wiser wife Lola (Connie Britton.)

Jadin’s school guidance counsellor suggests therapy.

“I don’t need therapy; they do,” says the anguished young man.

There are several harrowing scenes in which viewers see the brutal bullying that Jadin endures. These scenes may be hard to watch for anyone who has survived childhood bullying. A tearful Jadin reaches out for help, but no one listens.

“I never let him know that it was OK,” Joe says after his son’s death. “I gotta live with that.”

As a film, Joe Bell serves as a cautionary tale to parents who have LGBTQ children. Wahlberg digs deep into his own psyche to reveal the broken heart of a man who realized too late that he should have listened to what his son was trying to tell him. Making Joe Bell might be looked upon as Wahlberg trying to make amends for the horrible things he did in his own youth—the actor served time in jail after committing several racially motivated attacks during his teen years, for which he has since expressed regret. With Joe Bell, Wahlberg might be asking for forgiveness. 

The script by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana (who also wrote the classic Brokeback Mountain) underscores the important point that, in spite of the advances that have been made in LGBTQ equality, there are still too many places where it remains unsafe to be gay, places where far too many adolescents live with the horrific bullying that Jadin is subjected to. But the screenplay is not without its faults. Brief scenes in which Joe is addressing an audience about bullying come across as though the writers are lecturing the audience. A sequence in which Joe and a kindly police officer (Gary Sinise) talk about their gay sons likewise comes across as though the characters are talking to the audience and not to each other.

But overall, Joe Bell carries an important message. The film needs to be seen by parents who are struggling with the reality of having a gay child. It should be required viewing in high schools, where bullying remains prevalent. 

Hopefully the film will reach that audience. 

Joe Bell opens July 23 at Denver Pavillions and Harkins Northfield 18 in Denver, and other area theaters. 

Photo credit: Quantrell D. Colbert, courtesy of Roadside Attractions