The Miseducation of Cameron Post is based on the book of the same name written by Emily M Danforth and follows the story of Cameron Post, a queer teenager who is sent away to a religious conversion therapy camp after being caught with another girl in the back of a car on prom night.
One of the more noticeable things about The Miseducation of Cameron Post is the subtlety and quietness of the film. There are definite and obvious underlying themes (including sexuality, gender identity, substance abuse and even one instance of unseen yet verbally discussed self-harm) but for the most part, the film is delicate in its conversations and depictions of these topics. The audience views certain situations through the characters who are experiencing them and therefore nothing has to be over-explained or shown too graphically for the audience to understand it, which feels quite refreshing.
The characters in the film range from being impressively fleshed out to disappointingly two dimensional, but Cameron is definitely one of the impressively good ones. The film starts close to Prom and escalates quickly before she is whisked away to God’s Promise, the religious conversion therapy camp. While she is there we begin to find out more about her as a person, both through flashbacks as well as experiences she has while at God’s Promise that change her in the present day. The film feels as though it moves slowly as it only occurs over a short period, and yet by the end of the film, Cameron has become a different person. Chloë Grace Moretz, playing the title character of Cameron Post, is returning to the screen after taking some time off acting and has come back with what can definitely be labelled as one of her best and most emotional roles yet.
Other highlights of the film are John Gallagher Jr., who plays Reverend Rick, one of the two religious leaders running God’s Promise. John Gallagher Jr. will look familiar to a wide range of audiences, having been in 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Belko Experiment, and all three seasons of The Newsroom. He plays the character of Reverend Rick with a lot of emotion and a feeling that there are a lot of pent up issues sitting just beneath his cheery exterior. Another highlight was Forrest Goodluck (who may look familiar from his role in The Revenant) who played the character of Adam, a fellow ‘troubled teen’ who eventually befriends Cameron and shares his experiences with her helping her to feel less alone while she’s at God’s Promise.
The ending of the film feels inconclusive as the story is left fairly open to interpretation, however that can also be for the benefit of the audience who then get to fill in the blanks about what they hope happens for each of the characters they have grown to know and love over the course of the film.
Overall, The Miseducation of Cameron Post is an excellent film in terms of representation and telling of stories that need to be told; it is realistic, honest, and heartfelt, with both heart-warming and heart-shattering moments. It showcases strong performances from many of the cast members and provides multiple wildly varied characters for audiences to be drawn to. The film isn’t targeted at everyone, but it’s an amazingly important film for the people who need it.