The Miseducation of Cameron Post 2018
(WIKIPEDIA)
The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a 2018 American-British drama film directed by Desiree Akhavan, from a screenplay by Akhavan and Cecila Frugiuele, based upon the 2012 novel of the same name by Emily M. Danforth. It stars Chloë Grace Moretz, John Gallagher, Jr., Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck, Marin Ireland, Owen Campbell, Kerry Butler, Quinn Shephard, Emily Skeggs, Melanie Ehrlich.
PLOT :
In 1993 Montana, high school junior Cameron Post is caught by her boyfriend, Jamie, having sex with her friend Coley in the back seat of a car at their Homecoming dance. Cameron's religious aunt Ruth decides to send her to God’s Promise, a remote gay conversion therapy center. Upon their arrival, staff member Reverend Rick shows them to the room Cameron will be sharing with another “disciple,” Erin, who genuinely believes in the center’s mission. Rick gives her a contract to sign and tells her that privileges, including mail and decorating, will come in time. Ruth leaves Cameron dejected at her circumstances.
Her first night at God’s Promise, Cameron dreams about watching Desert Hearts with Coley. The two begin kissing and move to have sex for the first time when Cameron is awoken by the flashlight of a staff member doing random checks on rooms. The next morning at breakfast, Erin points out different people around the cafeteria and warns Cameron to surround herself with people that also want to “get better.” She also reveals that Rick had once been attracted to men but had supposedly been cured. During class, Dr. Lydia Marsh, a psychiatrist and the founder and director of God’s Promise, introduces herself to Cameron.
While on a run, Cameron sees two other “disciples,” Jane Fonda and Adam Red Eagle, smoking marijuana in secret. In her first therapy session, Rick and Lydia give Cameron a sheet of paper with an iceberg on it. Rick explains that Cameron’s same sex attraction is just the tip of the iceberg and is caused by underlying issues that she has to discern and address in order to be cured. Jane catches Cameron looking at her iceberg for inspiration and suggests she just write whatever Rick and Lydia want to hear. Cameron asks Jane where she gets her marijuana, and Jane tells her that she grows it herself in the woods around the center.
Cameron settles into a routine of chores, group therapy, and the occasional field trip. She also joins Jane and Adam on their hikes to harvest and smoke marijuana. Cameron questions why they don't just walk off, but Jane and Adam point out that as their families were the ones who sent them to God's Promise, the only alternative is living on the street. They tell Cameron that Lydia is Rick’s sister and started the center after testing out her treatment methods on him. Cameron tells them how she was outed, and Jane points out the unfairness that Cameron’s life had to stop and Coley’s didn’t.
During a sharing activity, Cameron’s partner Helen accuses Cameron of not putting in effort in her treatment. Cameron shares details about Coley, and Lydia suggests that Cameron confused her desire to be like Coley with a desire to be with her sexually. Later, Mark, a member of Cameron’s therapy group, happily announces that he will be going home at the end of the semester. In a one-on-one session with Lydia, Lydia warns Cameron that her success is dependent on the effort she puts in. That night, Cameron attempts to masturbate to the thought of her and Jamie kissing, but quickly gives up.
While on a field trip, Cameron sneaks away from the group and calls Coley on a pay phone. Cameron apologizes for the events leading up to her being sent away, and Coley asks if Cameron had received the letter she had sent. Cameron is forced to hang up and return to the group.
One day while doing chores, Cameron and a group of "disciples" sing along to What’s Up until Lydia interrupts and asks Cameron to follow her. Lydia hands Cameron a box full of mail for her including the letter from Coley. In it, Coley accuses Cameron of taking advantage of their friendship and reveals that she outed them, not Jamie. Cameron questions if maybe she is the problem, and people like Lydia are actually trying to help. Emotional, Cameron secretly calls Ruth and asks if she would let her come home. Ruth tells her to give the program a chance, and Cameron hangs up distraught.
Cameron decides to put in more effort, working on her iceberg and working out with Erin. One night, Cameron dreams about kissing her teacher Bethany and is awoken by Erin, who, to Cameron’s surprise, kisses her. They begin to have sex but when Cameron tries to touch her, Erin hurriedly returns to her own bed and asserts that she really does want to get better.
At a group therapy session, Mark shares that he is no longer going home because his father thinks that he is still too feminine. He begins to frantically recite Bible passages and jump up and down while Lydia attempts to calm him. Later that night, Cameron hears a commotion and finds Adam and Mark’s room empty and their bathroom floor covered in blood. The next morning, Rick reveals to Cameron that Mark was taken to the hospital after using a razor to cut his genitals and pouring bleach over the wounds. Cameron accuses Rick and Lydia of not knowing what they’re doing and making up their treatment as they go along.
Because of the incident, a man comes to investigate the conditions of the center. Cameron tells him that she doesn’t trust the staff and asserts that training kids to hate themselves is emotional abuse. Early one morning, Cameron, Jane, and Adam pack bags and act as though they are going on an all day hike. Once in the woods, they change out of their uniforms and walk to the nearest road. They hitch a ride in the back of a truck and drive away into the unknown.
