Genre: Drama
Director: Antonio Campos
Writer: Lon Charles
Cast: Casey Affleck, Tye Sheridan, Jennifer Connelly, Melissa Leo, Clayne Crawford, Paul Walter Hauser, Scoot McNairy, Aden Young
Plot: Ray Orser (Casey Affleck) is a cult deprogrammer and anti-cult activist. Just a few years after the Waco siege, Ray is still haunted by not being able to help stop the cult before the siege that resulted in the death of 76 people.
Jimmy Searcy (Tye Sheridan) lives with his mother Karen Traylor (Jennifer Connelly). Both are members of the Christ's Mercy Church in rural Washington. Karen begins to withdraw from the church as the teachings are strawing further and further from the Bible at the behest of the Reverend Max Rearden (Aden Young). Jimmy is angry at his mother for her lack of involvement with 's church. Karen decides that the best way to get her and her son away from the church is to move away from the town. Jimmy, however, refuses to leave with his mother and stays with Reverend Rearden.
Karen, believing the Reverend may be having an inappropriate relationship with her son and has turned him against her, contacts a representative of the Anti-Cult Network (ACN), Sheryl Larsson (Melissa Leo). After meeting with Karen in-person, Sheryl refers Karen to Ray Orser to help with her situation. Ray and Karen meet, where Ray has Karen take him to the small town to show him the locations her son is known to frequent. He then has her sign paperwork to give him complete autonomy over the deprogramming process.
To help with the operation, Ray hires two freelance "security specialists": Cal Rosso (Clayne Crawford), a self-proclaimed karate expert, and his buddy Mike Walton (Paul Walter Hauser).
Ray has rented out a small cottage on the shores of Puget Sound to perform the deprogramming at. Ray, Cal and Mike fortify the house. They cover all the windows with thick nylon straps, and set up motion detector lights around the house.
Ray, Cal and Mike wait ouside of Reverend Rearden's house inside a rented van. They spot Jimmy leaving the house and ambush him. Jimmy struggles as Cal and Mike handcuff him, cover his mouth with duct tape and pull him into the van. They drive off, but Jimmy is flailing about the inside of the van. Ray tells Mike to sit on top of Jimmy. After Jimmy kicks Mike several times, Cal ties Jimmy's legs up with rope.
They drive the van out to the cottage and take Jimmy inside. Ray locks Jimmy in a bedroom and has Cal and Mike stand guard at the door. Jimmy begins screaming that he is going to have them arrested. Ray shows Jimmy videos on cults and tells Jimmy that Reverend Rearden's church is no different, that Rearden is just another David Koresh in the making. Every time Ray makes a point to Jimmy, he hits him in the head to underscore his points.
After a few days, Jimmy is exhausted. Ray has not allowed Jimmy to sleep. Ray tells Jimmy that he will only regain his freedom once the deprogramming has been successfully concluded and Jimmy has given up his belief in Reverend Rearden and his church.
On the fourth day, Jimmy begins pretending to have changed his mind. He begins crying and tells Ray that he understands now that Reverend Rearden is dangerous. He spends the day assuring Ray that he is done with Reverend Rearden's church. Finally, Ray announces that the deprogramming has been successful. He calls Karen and arranges to return Jimmy to her that night at a restaurant for a celebratory dinner.
At the restaurant, after hugging his mother, Jimmy excuses himself to use the restroom. He leaves through the bathroom window and calls the police from a payphone, telling them that he was kidnapped. The police arrive and arrest Ray, Cal and Mike on suspicion of unlawful imprisonment.
In court, Ray argues that he was hired to deprogram Jimmy, but that the actual restraining was done by Cal and Mike, resulting in acquittal. Cal testifies for the prosecution and ends up cleared of all charges. Mike pleads guilty to coercion and gets 30 days in jail.
Jimmy Searcy meets with high powered attorney Ken Malcomson (Scoot McNairy) to file a civil suit against Ray Orson and the ACN. Malcomson brings the case to the media's attention, making a big deal that he's taking on the case pro bono. At trial, Malcomson asks the jury to decide whether Jimmy's civil rights had been violated by the defendants, including the right to practice and believe in the religion of his choice, free from force, violence, threats, retaliation or intimidation. Ray's attorney argues that his role had been limited to counseling and providing information to Jimmy, while the ACN's lawyers asserts that their leaders and employees were unaware of the deprogramming. The jury ends up awarding over $3 million in damages to Jimmy from the defendants.
During an television interview, Jimmy says he thinks the amount awarded is justified, while Malcomson adds that he thinks the case will provide important precedent to deter other religious deprogrammers.
After the ACN and Ray both declare bankruptcy, Jimmy meets with his mother Karen. He is frustrated about what to do since he will never be able to collect the damages the jury awarded. She asks him if the lawsuit was really all about money. He tells her he doesn't even know what it was all about anymore. Jimmy meets with his lawyer, who wants to keep fighting to get every cent and every piece of property the ACN and Ray have. Jimmy disagrees with this approach and fires Malcomson. Jimmy asks his mother to call Ray and arrange a meeting. Jimmy and Ray meet at a restaurant, where Jimmy tells Ray that he forgives him and just wants everything to be over with. They reach a settlement and shake hands.
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