It’s infuriating to think that the kind of conversion therapy camps depicted in The Miseducation of Cameron Post are still active in parts of the United States; that teens and young adults are still being psychologically abused and conditioned to believe they are aberrations simply for who they’re attracted to, and that this must be corrected through highly unverified pseudo-scientific rehabilitation. And it makes this movie (based on the book by Emily M. Danforth) frustrating to watch at times. But only because of the quackery being peddled. In fact, director Desiree Akhaven, her cast and crew have really told a rather stunning story about life in such a constrictive commune.
When teenager Cameron Post (Chloe Grace Moretz) is discovered having sex with another girl in the back seat of a car on prom night, her Evangelical Christian community expels her to a conversion therapy camp called God’s Promise. As she tries to get through the strict practices, probing sessions, and toxic lifestyle, she befriends two other teens, Jane (Sasha Lane) and Adam (Forrest Goodluck) doing their best to resist the oppressive circumstances.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post reminds me of two other movies I’ve seen this year: Disobedience and Indian Horse, both also fantastic. Like Disobedience it deals with shaming and sexuality being repressed. Like Indian Horse it’s focussed on an institutional school forcing conformity and rejecting identity. And like both, the perpetrators of these injustices are religious organizations. Set almost entirely at God’s Promise, the movie is paced like a prison film, with an uncertain amount of time passing and anxiety pervading all the while. The camp is governed by authoritarian rule and though never harmed physically by their instructors, the students are constantly devalued as sinners, forced to abide by gender roles, denied contact with the outside world, and their orientation is often referred to as “gender confusion”. All of this is conveyed to the kids with a matter-of-fact demeanour and the movie even nails the duplicitous friendliness found in some Christian environments. Just as in Indian Horse, Cameron is stripped of her preferred name -”Cam” being declared too masculine. Despite all of this however, Cameron and her friends are outliers; most of their peers, including Cameron’s roommate Erin (Emily Skeggs) believe what they’re told and genuinely work to be “cured”. A couple even have their own subplots as they struggle to assimilate to heterosexuality. Through exploring these characters the film paints an even bleaker picture of the denial this camp is fostering, and the consequences therein.
For all of this, the movie is still subjective. It’s Cameron’s story more than an exposé. Yet at the same time her role seems often that of an observer to the stories and trials of the other kids. The audience gets an insight into her mind through the occasional flashback to her secret trysts, and even a few dreams and fantasies -we do get to know her character, but she’s not suffering an especially harsh ordeal. She has tough moments for sure, when her resolve begins to break, but unlike most of the others, she has fortitude and real friends encouraging her true self. And in her perception of her peers and what they’re going through it cultivates her growth and emotional development; it even saves her. Moretz gives a tremendous performance both of misery and strength in this, and she’s supported brilliantly by Lane (who I saw in this directly after Hearts Beat Loud, coincidentally where she plays another lesbian), and Goodluck, who between this and Indian Horse is really padding his resume rather well this year. One of the movies’ central themes is friendship, as Cameron’s relationship with Jane and Adam is really the thing that gets her through the hardship, and they’re a really endearing trio with terrific chemistry. Some of the best scenes are just the chances they have to be alone and can make fun of their lessons and teachers. Over the course of the film more is revealed about them as well which really fleshes out their situations. You really grow to love them over the course of the movie. Elsewhere in the cast, Jennifer Ehle plays the steely runner of God’s Promise, Lydia March, while John Gallagher Jr. is her brother Reverend Rick, a subject of conversion therapy himself.
Ultimately though, for its rigorous condemnation of these practices, The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a coming-of-age story. There’s a delight in how despite the intentions of Cameron’s community and the shackles of God’s Promise, her experiences there actually help her grow into her sexuality. She sees the falseness, immorality, and repercussions of what the March’s are doing and it has a profound impact on her accepting herself.
And so much of this is to the credit of Akhaven’s superb directing and writing. She perfectly knows how to put the audience in the shoes of this teenage girl going through harmful conditioning, and how to both highlight its insidiousness and find the uplifting story of growth buried within. The Miseducation of Cameron Post is wildly affecting, and maddening, but comfortingly encouraging, as it stands proud in the face of homophobia and accentuates the endurance of the human spirit.
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