Based on the novel by Emily M. Danforth, The Miseducation of Cameron Post is about a teenager who is sent to a gay conversion therapy center after her religious aunt learns about an incident where she is caught having sex with another girl. Directed by Desiree Akhavan and screenplay by Akhavan and Cecilia Frugiuele, the film is an exploration of the world of gay conversion therapy centers as it is set in the early 1990s at a time when the LGBT movement was becoming more open. Starring Chloe Grace Moretz, John Gallagher Jr., Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck, Marin Ireland, Owen Campbell, Kerry Butler, Quinn Shephard, Emily Skeggs, Melanie Ehrlich, and Jennifer Ehle. The Miseducation of Cameron Post is an evocative and riveting film from Desiree Akhavan.
Set in 1993, the film revolves around a teenage girl who is caught by her prom date for having sex with another girl in a car prompting her aunt to send to a gay conversion therapy center where she is trying to cope with her situations and others who are struggling with their own identity and sexuality. It’s a film that explore the world of gay conversion therapy as the titular character (Chloe Grace Moretz) is sent to the center as she tries to find out what she might be gay but also others at this center. The film’s screenplay by Desiree Akhavan and Cecilia Frugiuele is largely straightforward with bits of flashbacks but also moments that are dream-like as it play into Cameron Post’s own journey as she meets other teens who are living in this camp with some just trying to become straight with a couple of teens who don’t want to play by the rules but act out in secret.
Running the camp is Dr. Lydia Marsh (Jennifer Ehle) who is trying to get the kids in line with the help of her brother Reverend Rick (John Gallagher Jr.) who used to be gay until his sister saved him. The script does showcase some depth in both Reverend Rick and Dr. Marsh as well-meaning people who believe they’re doing God’s work yet they’re unable to understand everything as Post begins to ask questions though she doesn’t think they’re bad people. The script also play into this air of temptation but also a struggle with identity as two of the teens in the hippie-raised Jane Fonda (Sasha Lane) and the Lakota two-spirit Adam Red Eagle (Forrest Goodluck) are both aware of who they are as they start to become unhappy with their time at the center.
Akhavan’s direction is largely straightforward in terms of its compositions yet it does a lot in exploring this period in time when gays and lesbians start to have their voices heard and people starting to come out. Yet, it is set in a world where not everyone is embracing this growing sense of change as Akhavan would shoot the film in various parts of Upstate New York. The location adds to the tone of the film where it does play into something where these young people are living somewhere that is almost in the middle of nowhere and sort of cut off from civilization. Akhavan’s direction doesn’t have a lot of wide shots except to establish the locations as she aims for something more intimate in her approach to close-ups and medium shots. Notably the latter as she focuses on what happens during group meetings as well as intimate moments involving Post, Fonda, and Eagle as well as exercises with her roommate Erin (Emily Skeggs). Akhavan also uses long takes to play into the conversations and group meetings in order to maintain the building friendship for Post and others at the center including a scene late in the film with Reverend Rick as it is clear that with all of these questions that Post has.
It is obvious that even someone like Reverend Rick doesn’t have all the answers but is at least trying to help these kids no matter how wrong he and his sister are. It all play into Post not just struggling with the world she’s in that is oppressive not just to herself but also to other teens as well as the people running it as they’re also struggling to connect with what is happening in modern civilization away. Akhavan also showcases Post’s own personal struggles as she’s trying to contact the girl she got caught with but also questions about whether she can come home as it raises her questions about her place in the world at a time when gays and lesbians are coming out yet acceptance is becoming hard to gain. Overall, Akhavan crafts a somber yet mesmerizing film about a teenage girl coping with her sexuality at a gay conversion therapy center.
Cinematographer Ashley Connor does excellent work with the film’s low-key cinematography as it emphasizes on naturalistic yet dark colors in some of the daytime interior/exterior scenes as well as low-key lights for the scenes set at night. Editor Sara Shaw does terrific work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some jump-cuts to play into a few bits of Post jogging on a track field as well as some rhythmic cuts to play into the drama. Production designer Markus Kirschner, with set decorators John Arnos and Erin Blake plus art director Tori Lancaster, does amazing work with the look of the center and its buildings as well as the rooms that include decorations that teens put in the wall to motivate them getting straight.
Costume designer Stacey Berman does fantastic work with the costumes as it features some uniforms that the teens wear as well as a few casual pieces they would wear in the weekends or time to get out of the camp for a bit. Sound editor Ryan Billa does superb work with the sound as it is largely straightforward to play into the natural atmosphere of the locations as well as how music is heard on a radio or at a live Christian rock show. The film’s music by Julian Wass is wonderful for its mixture of low-key ambient music with elements of folk to play into the air of uncertainty that occur throughout the film while music supervisors Maggie Phillips and Christine Greene Roe create a soundtrack that does play into the period of the early 90s from the alternative music of the Feelies and 4 Non Blondes as well as music from Clarice Jensen, Melanie Ehrlich, Fredda Manzo, Irma Thomas, Wild Yawp with Justin Denis and Jack Reilly, and Timothy Blixseth.
The casting by Jessica Daniels is incredible as it feature some notable small roles from Dale Soules as Post’s grandmother, Christopher Dylan White as a teen named Dane who has a lot of attitude and puts people down over their problems, Melanie Ehrlich as a teen in Helen who is really into Christian rock, Quinn Shephard as the girl Post got caught with before she is sent to the center in Coley, Kerry Butler as Post’s aunt/guardian, Marin Ireland as a math teacher/Reverend Rick’s girlfriend Bethany whom Post dreams about making out with, and Owen Campbell as a troubled teen in Mark who is Adam’s roommate as he offers to help Post out while dealing with the idea that he might not be masculine enough for his father. Emily Skeggs is terrific as Erin as teenage girl who loves the Minnesota Vikings as she believes she’s a lesbian due to spending a lot of time with her dad as she finds herself becoming attracted towards Post. Jennifer Ehle is fantastic as Dr. Lydia Marsh as the center’s head as someone who is trying to help these teens though she is at times strict yet is willing to give people a chance to explain themselves while thinking she might have the answer to help them.
John Gallagher Jr. is excellent as Reverend Rick as Dr. Marsh’s brother who used to be gay as he is someone trying to help these kids as well as be a guide to them but eventually finds himself having a hard time when he is unable to give them easy or hard answers. Forrest Goodluck is brilliant as Adam Red Eagle as a two-spirit Lakota teen whose father has converted to Christianity as he has trouble trying to understand what the people at the center are doing while often likes to wear his hair down in a small act of rebellion. Sasha Lane is amazing as Jane Fonda as a hippie-raised teenage girl who sports a prosthetic leg as she is also rebellious but in secrecy as she also grows marijuana outside of the plant as a way to cope with her surroundings. Finally, there’s Chloe Grace Moretz in a phenomenal performance as the titular character as this young woman who is sent to this gay-conversion therapy center as she struggles with the idea of why she’s gay while trying to cope with the therapy itself though she doesn’t think the people running the place aren’t bad but misguided as she also deals with herself and other things at the center as it is one of Moretz’s finest performances to date.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post is an incredible film from Desiree Akhavan featuring a mesmerizing leading performance from Chloe Grace Moretz. Along with its brilliant ensemble cast and exploration of sexual identity during a time when not everyone is embracing the idea of coming out. It is also a film that explore a woman dealing with her situation as well as being in a world that is strict and religious yet with people who have good intentions but don’t have all the answers. In the end, The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a sensational film from Desiree Akhavan.
© thevoid99 2020
Based on the novel The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge by Michael Punke, The Revenant is the real-life story of American frontiersman Hugh Glass who was buried alive following an attack by a bear as he goes after those who had left him for dead. Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and screenplay by Inarritu and Mark L. Smith, the film is an exploration of survival and vengeance set in 1823 South Dakota and Montana with Leonardo diCaprio playing the role of Glass. Also starring Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Forrest Goodluck, Will Poulter, Brendan Fletcher, and Lukas Haas. The Revenant is a chilling and visceral film from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
It’s 1823 in the Rocky Mountains where a group of men are collecting fur and pelts while evading the Arikara tribe who has been pursuing them. The film revolves around Hugh Glass’ expedition in that world with his son where he is attacked by a grizzly bear and later left for dead by his men where he goes on a quest for vengeance. While it is a simple story about vengeance and survival during a harsh winter, it is a film that plays into Hugh Glass coping with loss as well as trying to do what is right where he is trying to survive near-death experiences and evade this tribe that is trying to find a chief’s daughter who had been kidnapped. The film’s screenplay by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Mark L. Smith does follow a simple structure in terms of its narrative which play into Glass and Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson) trying to survive the attack and then the former’s attack from a grizzly bear where he is left to dead by the trapper John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy).
The narrative is very straightforward yet it is more of a minimalist script that doesn’t rely much on plot but rather character motivations and what Glass is trying to do to survive. Even as he reflects on his own past and his reasons to live as he was accompanied by his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) on this hunting expedition. After the attack from the bear and being cared for by Hawk and a young trapper in Bridger (Will Poulter), Glass’ life hangs on the balance where Fitzgerald would make some decisions as he is a man driven by greed and thinking only for himself. For Glass who would be left for dead and buried alive, the actions of Fitzgerald would only make him determined for revenge but has to endure something more treacherous which is the cold and bruising weather, his damaged body, and the Arikara tribe who spare no one.
Inarritu’s direction is definitely sprawling in terms of not just the visual palette he creates but also in the atmosphere that is set which adds to the film’s very dreary tone. Shot largely on location in mountain and forest locations in Alberta and British Columbia provinces in Canada as well as some of it in Argentina, the film has this sense of physicality in what Inarritu is going for. The forest and the mountains are definitely characters in the film as it play into what Glass and the men in the film are trying to do in this terrible conditions of not snow but also winds and blizzards in the mountains. Inarritu’s usage of wide and medium shots would bring so much to the location as well as what these men have to do to get in this fort and be safe despite another presence from the Arikara tribe who will kill everyone including a group of Native Americans living outside of the fort. It adds to the tense tone of the film as well as elements of surrealism as it relates to Glass’ past and the sense of longing and loss that looms over him.
Inarritu would create something that is a bit dream-like but also moments that are filled with dazzling visual imagery in some of the intense action scenes along with some close-ups that play into the suspense and drama. Inarritu would also create this idea about death as it play into Glass’ own sense of grief and loss as it includes a flashback of him looking into this small hill filled with skulls. It adds to Glass’ determination to go after Fitzgerald where the two would have this climax where it’s not just a battle of wits but also a battle of will with the cold mountains and harsh weather conditions being their surroundings. Overall, Inarritu crafts a very gripping and evocative film about a man’s determination for revenge and survival in the Rocky Mountains.
Cinematographer Emmuanel Lubezki does incredible work with the film‘s cinematography with its naturalistic yet intoxicating approach to much of the lighting for many of the scenes set in day and night with the latter using natural lighting things such as fire and lamps as it is a major highlight of the film. Editor Stephen Mirrione does brilliant work with the editing in creating some unique jump-cuts and other stylish cuts to play into the film‘s offbeat rhythms as well as using fade-outs to structure the story. Production designer Jack Fisk, with art directors Laurel Bergman, Michael Diner, and Isabelle Guay and set decorator Hamish Purdy, does amazing work with the design of the ferry boats, the fort, and some of the smaller things that are created in the forest including the little tents that Glass would make in his journey.
Costume designer Jacqueline West does fantastic work with the costumes from the look of the clothes that the Native Americans wear as well as the array of furs and such that many of the trappers and frontiersmen wear. The hair/makeup work of Sian Grigg, Duncan Junman, and Robert Pandini do excellent work with the look of Glass from the beard and hair as well as the bruises and scars on his body as well as the look of Fitzgerald. Visual effects supervisor Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith, and Cameron Waldbauer do terrific work with the visual effects from the look of some of the animals including the bear that would attack Glass as it look and felt real.
Sound designers Lon Bender, Martin Hernandez, and Randy Thom, along with sound editor Victor J. Hernandez, do sensational work with the sound from the way the wind sounded as it creates a sense of unease in the locations as well as the sounds of arrows, gunfire, and all sorts of naturalistic sounds that is captured throughout the film. The film’s music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto, and Bryce Dessner is superb for its mixture of discordant string arrangements and bombastic percussions with an air of ambient textures while music supervisor Lynn Fainchtein would provide some traditional music pieces that were played during those times.
The casting by Francine Maisler is phenomenal as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Lukas Haas, Brendan Fletcher, Paul Anderson, and Kristoffer Jones as fellow trappers and soldiers who work under Captain Henry in hunting pelt while Fabrice Adde is terrific in a small role as head French trapper team named Toussaint. Other noteworthy small roles include Grace Dove as Glass’ late wife, Melaw Nakehk’o as the captured daughter of the Arikara chief, Arthur Redcloud as a Pawnee Indian Glass meets during his journey who would heal him, and Duane Howard as the Arikara chief Elk Dog who leads his tribe to find his daughter and kill whoever stands in his way. Forrest Goodluck is fantastic as Glass’ son Hawk as a young man who aids his father as he copes with Fitzgerald’s insults as well as the situation his father is in. Will Poulter is excellent as Bridger as a young trapper who deals with the severity of Glass’ situation where he tries to help him while understanding what Fitzgerald is doing and what kind of person he is.
Domhnall Gleeson is brilliant as Captain Andrew Henry as a military leader who is the leader of the expedition as he is someone that trusts Glass as he does whatever he can to help him while wondering about what Fitzgerald is about. Tom Hardy is incredible as John Fitzgerald as a trapper who is a man that is in it for himself and make a lot of money while seeing that carrying the injured Glass is a waste as he decides to leave him for dead without any remorse. Finally, there’s Leonardo diCaprio in a tremendous performance as Hugh Glass as this frontiersman that tries to survive as he gets attacked by a bear and then left for dead where it’s a performance from diCaprio that is astonishing in terms of how little he speaks and how determined he is to survive as the physicality of what he does is just eerie to watch in what is one of his finest performances to date.
The Revenant is a spectacular film from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu that features great performances from Leonardo diCaprio and Tom Hardy. Along with a strong supporting cast, dazzling visuals, high-octane sound, a thrilling soundtrack, and a harrowing story of death, survival, and vengeance. It’s a film that manages to be engrossing in its locations as well as what is going on during a time where hunting was natural and survival was key to living. In the end, The Revenant is a magnificent film from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Films: Amores Perros - The Hire-Powder Keg - 11'9'01-September 11-Mexico - 21 Grams - Babel - To Each His Own Cinema-Anna - Biutiful - Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) - The Auteurs #45: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
© thevoid99 2016
