Page to Screen
The Page to Screen series explores the cinematic adaptations of books and my criticisms of them, comparing the two works and reviewing them separately and as a whole.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
2012, Written by Emily Danforth2018, Directed by Desiree Akhavan
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| The book Source |
I recently finished reading this wonderful book and deliberately waited until I had finished it to watch the film, knowing the difference that there would be, and of course not wanting to spoil the end of the book for myself.
Obviously, this post contains spoilers for The Miseducation of Cameron Post, both book and film.
Written by Emily Danforth, The Miseducation of Cameron Post explores the upbringing of a young girl in Miles City, Montana (where Danforth herself is from) and how the actions she takes cause consequences for her future.
The first half of the book goes through her early teen years, as she realises her homosexuality and learns about it, acting on it more and more until she is discovered. The second half then takes us through her experience at God's Promise, a Christian conversion camp for homosexual youths. The book isn't short; it shows us aspects of Cameron's life in detail, background stories that are necessary for us to better understand her time at promise. The film, however, begins just a short while before she is sent away, and only really takes place at the camp. This is the first thing that was changed that I was not a big fan of.
One thing I did enjoy about the time was the era in which it is set. The majority of the story takes place in 1991, and the film never states this, not like the book does. However, it is shown through little things, the decor, especially the carpets and chairs; the fashion and the way people look and dress, and my favourite, a Bill Clinton sticker on the back of a pickup truck. It's subtle, and it works for me.
One of the reasons why I enjoyed the book so much was because we got to know Cameron and her friends, her life, what was happening to her. In the book, we meet three major influences: Irene, Lindsey, and Mona. Irene is Cameron's first love, she helps her to realise her sexuality at the age of twelve. She is not in the movie, not even mentioned. Lindsey shows Cameron more about what it is to be gay, coming from a more liberal city where the culture is open and not looked down upon. She is also not in the movie. Mona is another influence, a fellow lifeguard (also on this, the film makes no mention of Cameron's swimming prowess, which seemed pretty significant to me in the book) with whom Cam does a lot of experimenting. You guessed it, she is also not mentioned in the film. These three girls are a huge influence on Cameron and are a large part of the reason why she went to God's Promise. A mere mention of them, in perhaps one of her sessions, would have satisfied me, but they are totally disregarded in the film.
Another thing is Cameron's family. Her parents die when she is 12, when she is still friends with Irene. They die at Quake Lake, a lake which was formed by a deadly earthquake, which her mother survived. They don't talk about her parents death and this important location is barely even mentioned. Her aunt Ruth, who raises her after her parents' deaths, also seems unimportant, and her husband Ray is nowhere to be seen. Equally, her Grandma Post has been sidelined. The lack of inclusion of her important family members is understandable, based on where they started the film, but a passing mention of them and their importance would have been nice.
The last thing I'll say about part one of the book is something that actually did make it into the film, shocking I know. Although it is less shocking when we see that it is a totally different situation than that of the book. Coley Taylor, the hot girl that Cameron is in love with, is much less open in the book. Jamie, one of her best friends, knows about her homosexuality fairly early on. The prom goes fairly smoothly in the book, the conviction comes later, when Coley's older brother almost catches the two of them having sex.
In the film, they are caught having sex at the prom, by a very angry and shocked Jamie. The thing I dislike most about this version of events is Coley's confidence, that she is the one performing the act, whereas in the book she is nervous and Cameron is forced to take the lead. It seems to me that she has less of a reason to be upset with Coley in this situation, as she is just as guilty and doesn't make accusations. She still has a good reason to be mad at her though, as in both situations Coley doesn't get into trouble, whereas Cameron does and gets sent away by her religious guardians.
Moving onto part two, aka the whole of the film, at God's Promise. My first positive point is the portrayal of the friends that Cameron makes when she arrives at God's Promise. Jane Fonda was raised on a commune; her mother had multiple partners and so the portrayal of the character as mixed race seems like an excellent choice to me. Adam Red Eagle is a Native American who "carries two spirits", or in simple terms, is not gender conforming. I liked the way they are both introduced and portrayed throughout.
It just goes downhill again from there. The introduction of Lydia, the main counsellor, is disappointing. First of all, she is the sister of the Pastor, Rick, but in the book she is Rick's cousin. Also, in the book she is English, which I really like along with the cousin relation as it makes her seem colder and less approachable.
In the film, she is American, which I guess makes sense if she is also Rick's sister. Overall, my impression of the film's portrayal of Lydia is not good, as I was expecting a cold English lady, and although she is cold and scary, I think the English accent would have added a lot to this image.
Another thing is Cameron's roommate, Erin the Viking's fan. As a football fan from Minnesota, I imagined Erin as fairly tall and muscular, a bit older since she'd been at the camp for a while, and a big girl, not necessarily fat, with long hair pulled back in a ponytail. In the film, she is more petite, she has short hair and a reasonably pretty face. This is not how I would have ever imagined her. However, the scene in which Erin enters Cameron's bed and they have sex is spot on. It happens exactly as it does in the book and just as I imagined it, which in a way made up for the portrayal of Erin the Viking.
Something which confused me more than anything was the change in chronology. Mark, one of the more committed students, has a breakdown partway through, and it happened a lot later in the film than it did in the book. However, I really enjoyed the way in which it was presented. His breakdown during the circle group, his shouting and crying, is interspersed with images and sounds of him harming himself. I thought that this made it very dramatic, adding to it something that cannot be expressed through only writing.
My final observation is Cameron, Jane and Adam's escape. In the book, it is a long-meditated, planned out escape from Promise. It relates back to the importance of Quake Lake, of Cameron's connection to it; it is their excuse for leaving the campus. In the film, they just decide to leave, no thinking about it, they just do it. No journey of discovery or significant scene at Quake Lake for Cameron, nothing like that at all. Just a simple escape. I wish this part was different, just because of the importance of the Lake in the book and how much it is disregarded in the film.
I did like the very ending, which had the same sense; the same tone and atmosphere as the end of the book. It ends abruptly; they've escaped; we don't know what they'll do next or where they'll go, but we know that they are free and their true selves will no longer be oppressed.
Compared with the book, I believe it is a bad adaptation and changes too much of the detail of the story. However, as a film alone, it is good and I did enjoy it.
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The first half of the book goes through her early teen years, as she realises her homosexuality and learns about it, acting on it more and more until she is discovered. The second half then takes us through her experience at God's Promise, a Christian conversion camp for homosexual youths. The book isn't short; it shows us aspects of Cameron's life in detail, background stories that are necessary for us to better understand her time at promise. The film, however, begins just a short while before she is sent away, and only really takes place at the camp. This is the first thing that was changed that I was not a big fan of.
One thing I did enjoy about the time was the era in which it is set. The majority of the story takes place in 1991, and the film never states this, not like the book does. However, it is shown through little things, the decor, especially the carpets and chairs; the fashion and the way people look and dress, and my favourite, a Bill Clinton sticker on the back of a pickup truck. It's subtle, and it works for me.
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| An example of the 90's decor Source |
Another thing is Cameron's family. Her parents die when she is 12, when she is still friends with Irene. They die at Quake Lake, a lake which was formed by a deadly earthquake, which her mother survived. They don't talk about her parents death and this important location is barely even mentioned. Her aunt Ruth, who raises her after her parents' deaths, also seems unimportant, and her husband Ray is nowhere to be seen. Equally, her Grandma Post has been sidelined. The lack of inclusion of her important family members is understandable, based on where they started the film, but a passing mention of them and their importance would have been nice.
The last thing I'll say about part one of the book is something that actually did make it into the film, shocking I know. Although it is less shocking when we see that it is a totally different situation than that of the book. Coley Taylor, the hot girl that Cameron is in love with, is much less open in the book. Jamie, one of her best friends, knows about her homosexuality fairly early on. The prom goes fairly smoothly in the book, the conviction comes later, when Coley's older brother almost catches the two of them having sex.
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| Coley and Cameron Source |
In the film, they are caught having sex at the prom, by a very angry and shocked Jamie. The thing I dislike most about this version of events is Coley's confidence, that she is the one performing the act, whereas in the book she is nervous and Cameron is forced to take the lead. It seems to me that she has less of a reason to be upset with Coley in this situation, as she is just as guilty and doesn't make accusations. She still has a good reason to be mad at her though, as in both situations Coley doesn't get into trouble, whereas Cameron does and gets sent away by her religious guardians.
Moving onto part two, aka the whole of the film, at God's Promise. My first positive point is the portrayal of the friends that Cameron makes when she arrives at God's Promise. Jane Fonda was raised on a commune; her mother had multiple partners and so the portrayal of the character as mixed race seems like an excellent choice to me. Adam Red Eagle is a Native American who "carries two spirits", or in simple terms, is not gender conforming. I liked the way they are both introduced and portrayed throughout.
It just goes downhill again from there. The introduction of Lydia, the main counsellor, is disappointing. First of all, she is the sister of the Pastor, Rick, but in the book she is Rick's cousin. Also, in the book she is English, which I really like along with the cousin relation as it makes her seem colder and less approachable.
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| Pastor Rick and Lydia Source |
Another thing is Cameron's roommate, Erin the Viking's fan. As a football fan from Minnesota, I imagined Erin as fairly tall and muscular, a bit older since she'd been at the camp for a while, and a big girl, not necessarily fat, with long hair pulled back in a ponytail. In the film, she is more petite, she has short hair and a reasonably pretty face. This is not how I would have ever imagined her. However, the scene in which Erin enters Cameron's bed and they have sex is spot on. It happens exactly as it does in the book and just as I imagined it, which in a way made up for the portrayal of Erin the Viking.
Something which confused me more than anything was the change in chronology. Mark, one of the more committed students, has a breakdown partway through, and it happened a lot later in the film than it did in the book. However, I really enjoyed the way in which it was presented. His breakdown during the circle group, his shouting and crying, is interspersed with images and sounds of him harming himself. I thought that this made it very dramatic, adding to it something that cannot be expressed through only writing.
My final observation is Cameron, Jane and Adam's escape. In the book, it is a long-meditated, planned out escape from Promise. It relates back to the importance of Quake Lake, of Cameron's connection to it; it is their excuse for leaving the campus. In the film, they just decide to leave, no thinking about it, they just do it. No journey of discovery or significant scene at Quake Lake for Cameron, nothing like that at all. Just a simple escape. I wish this part was different, just because of the importance of the Lake in the book and how much it is disregarded in the film.
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| Adam, Jane and Cameron Source |
Compared with the book, I believe it is a bad adaptation and changes too much of the detail of the story. However, as a film alone, it is good and I did enjoy it.
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