The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Description
The sensational Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass, 2010) delivers yet another great performance, here as a sexually ambivalent teen sent to “gay conversion therapy,” after her affair with another girl is discovered by her prom date. Abandoned by her family and erstwhile lover, she finds common cause with a group of queer misfits while avoiding the bizarre staff and leadership at the remote camp. The film deftly balances the confusion and pain of the kids with a rebellious spirit and quirky charm that leaves you cheering for them by its end.
“[Desiree Akhavan’s] film about a teen gay conversion retreat has humor, but isn’t jokey, and while its drama doesn’t speak down to young people, it won’t leave adults feeling out of the loop. This is a gripping and sad drama that puts a tremendous amount of faith in its performers and audience, and for all the emotion and tenderness in the rest of this year’s Sundance crop, this is the first film that left me a complete broken-down mess by the end.” – Jordan Hoffman, The Guardian
“The gentle, conventional rhythms of The Miseducation of Cameron Post belie the sadness and muted anger at the core of this compassionate film. Borrowing from the prison genre, group-therapy drama, and even the John Hughes teen flick, director Desiree Akhavan’s adaptation of the Emily M. Danforth novel takes us inside the world of conversion therapy centers, demonstrating just how much more difficult adolescence is for gay youngsters being forced to recant their sexuality.” – Tim Grierson, Screen Daily
Desiree Akhavan wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the internet series The Slope before making her feature debut Appropriate Behavior (2014), which won the Tangerine Entertainment Juice Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at the San Diego Asian Film Festival and was nominated for a Best First Screenplay Independent Spirit Award. She is currently developing a Channel 4/Hulu series The Bisexual. The Miseducation of Cameron Post was the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival. Akhavan describes her approach to adapting the 480-page novel the movie is based on: “For this story to shine, it needs to be about one particular moment and one particular battle. For me, that was Cameron going into God’s Promise having a sense of who she is and then having to question that; what does that do to her? And what does meeting other gay kids do to her? There’s so much beauty, good intention, and kindness, but I really wanted to reflect the ugliness in the book and how honest it felt and how …real.” (autostraddle.com)
Film Details
Year 2018
Runtime 91
Country USA
Director Desiree Akhavan
Producer Cecilia Frugiuele, Jonathan Montepare, Michael B. Clark, Alex Turtletaub
Writer Desiree Akhavan, Cecilia Frugiuele
Editor Sara Shaw
Cinematographer Ashley Connor
Music Julian Wass
Cast Chloë Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck