Some movies just come in waves topically. Armageddon and Deep Impact both came out in 1998, Dunkirk and Darkest Hour both came out last year, and this year a pair of films address teenage homosexuality in the face of religion and how that impacts relationships of everyone involved. The Miseducation of Cameron Post is like many coming-of-age stories that have come before and probably many more to come, this one just happens to be about a young lesbian coming to terms with her sexuality after being sent to a conversion camp.
Chloe Grace Moretz has had an interesting and diverse career to this point. After her breakout role as Hit-Girl in the Kick-Ass films, she’s displayed a wide range of character assets with roles in films like Let Me In and the remake of Stephen King’s 70s classic, Carrie. While Moretz has five projects coming down the pipe, including a role in another remake of a 70s horror classic (Dario Argento’s Suspiria), she may very well have given the best performance of her young career as Cameron Post. Convincing and genuine portrayals are difficult enough when there is a very clear character portrait in place, but capturing the angst and internal emotional turmoil that goes along with self discovery is a different challenge. It’s part of the package that makes good coming-of-age films endearing and Moretz embraced the grind…so to speak. The production companies have voiced their intentions to campaign for Moretz during awards season and rightfully so. While it was a strong and heartfelt performance, Best Actress is always a stacked category and I don’t see her atop the heap at the end of the year.
Desiree Akhavan has been fairly outspoken as a filmmaker so far. Before this latest venture, her TV show Slope and her debut film (which she wrote, directed and starred in) Appropriate Behavior focused on homosexuality or, more accurately, the lives and interactions of some individual lesbian characters. While she made a name for herself providing a voice for these characters, adapting the Emily Danforth novel of the same name was a different challenge. Character fidelity is always one of those things in jeopardy when writing an adaptation, but this was one of those right-time/right-place kind of moments. Akhavan had the perfect touch to bring out the best in her lead actress and make the character relatable to a wider audience. The screenplay, which she wrote alongside Cecilia Frugiuele, took full advantage of the 90s setting without ever feeling dated. It’s really funny in certain moments but doesn’t shy away from some of the heavier issues on the table. The dialogue rings with authenticity and is far more accessible than it appears from afar which creates more than enough intimacy to go around. Thematically, this movie is really about perception, expectation and reality. It has a big heart and Akhavan deserves a lot of credit for what she brought to the table. I get the feeling she’ll be on the outside looking in when it comes to Best Director honors at the end of the year, but I could be wrong.
All good coming-of-age tales need a strong antagonist to rally against, both for the characters and the audience, and Jennifer Ehle fits the mold wonderfully. Playing Dr. Lydia Marsh, the strict conversion therapist, we catch frightening glimpses of a woman who’s gone overboard with power. Ehle does a great job lulling the audience into a false sense of security then quickly turning the tables with unexpected outbursts. Those moments give the whole film a darker tone that should keep the audience on edge. There are certainly sinister moments, even if her character isn’t overtly evil in any particular way. She probably won’t be in consideration for best supporting actress, but this was a really strong performance and Ehle still deserves recognition.
The rest of the supporting cast wasn’t without its strengths either. John Gallagher Jr. played Reverend Rick, the camp counselor of sorts who serves as the poster child for “successful” conversion therapy. Sasha Lane and Forrest Goodluck play Cameron’s two closest friends at God’s Promise camp. They’re all good portrayals that help to define the lead character, but it was Owen Campbell that stole the show among the supporting cast. He was on my radar after playing the lead in Super Dark Times (an underrated indie film from last year that I never got around to reviewing) and he followed that up with a really strong performance here. His monologue serves as the climax and he certainly drives the point home in that moment. Jessica Daniels did a really nice job finding a diverse and talented cast to fill all the supporting roles.
Much of the success with both the aforementioned intimacy and edginess is due in large part to Cinematographer Ashley Connor. She used a heavy hand when it came to close-ups and wasn’t shy about getting right in the actors’ faces. Especially when dealing with internalized emotions, the eyes do a lot of the storytelling and Connor was wise to take full advantage of that…almost all the pivotal scenes are, at least in part, shot as very tight closeups. This wasn’t the kind of movie where the locations were breathtaking, so it was especially important to focus the camera lense on where the meat of the story was.
This film is getting a lot of attention for what it is: the story of a young lesbian girl who’s forced into a conversion therapy camp by her legal guardian after the death of her parents. It won the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic feature at Sundance and has received several other nominations on its festival tour. I’d hesitate to call it a great film, even though it does many things well. It’s going to resonate with some people more than others, but there is some universal appeal that shouldn’t be overlooked. I imagine there is going to be a strong groundswell for this film on the secondary market.
Recommendation: If you generally enjoy coming-of-age films, there’s no real reason you wouldn’t like this movie. The film has no MPAA rating and there are some intense sex scenes which may make it uncomfortable for any parents looking to take their teenagers, but sexual discovery is part of the teenage years and Cameron Post is certainly true to form in that department.