The Miseducation of Cameron Post follows the titular character after she is sent to a straight conversion camp. Based on the novel by Emily Danforth, Cameron Post is a competent movie and a close adaption of its source material. However, it lacks personality as its own piece of storytelling .
Unlike the novel, in which Cameron doesn’t step foot in the straight conversion camp until more than halfway through, the movie begins there. Cameron’s life before being sent to camp is told through flashbacks. I’m not sure how well this works. The viewer is incapable of getting as deep into Cameron’s character as when these events are experienced linearly. It also means what we see of her life beforehand is limited to major events. As such, Cameron’s behavior in said flashbacks seems like shallow rebellion without reason behind it.
Perhaps because of this, Cameron ends up being one of the least interesting characters at the camp. It’s hard not to want the lead of the film to be Adam, Jane or Mark. Mark in particular is one of the most intriguing characters in the film. This is weird because we hardly know this character yet he gets the most powerful monologue. His breakdown is the best scene in the movie. He basically steals the movie with that singular scene .
More than Cameron or the other campers, the movie’s focus is on the camp itself and the people who run it. In some ways it’s interesting because that focus suggests that the most unusual aspect of the film is not homosexuality or teenage rebellion which is portrayed as normal to unremarkable. Instead, it’s these religious leaders and their beliefs who are unusual. However, in films with queer protagonists, I would prefer that the focus and energy of the film making stays on said queer protagonist. That is, after all, why am I watching this movie in the first place.
What’s good about the movie and its source material is that it is a nuanced, more gentle depiction of a straight conversion camp. The adults are not two-dimensional villains who hate all gays. They do seem to genuinely want to help but have been misguided in how to do so. Cameron Post walks the fine line of showing that these camps are inherently harmful and wrong without delving into exaggeration or a lack of depth in its believer characters.
What really would have taken this movie from good to great was more chemistry from the three leads. Chloë Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane and Forrest Goodluck all display talent as actors but there’s a disconnect between them as a group. It almost seems like each of them is working to get their own standout moment and as such, work against the other actors in a scene rather than with them.
I just needed more personality from this movie. It’s still fine and competent but it’s rather bland. I’m not gonna say definitely watch But I’m a Cheerleader instead of The Miseducation of Cameron Post. Both films have merit. But I will say that it is inferior to But I’m a Cheerleader. If you haven’t seen either, watch Cameron Post first because it is hard to go back from something with as much personality as But I’m a Cheerleader to something as bland as Cameron Post.
Overall rating: 6.1/10
Other WLW movies in similar genres
Religious-based oppression
Movies that take place in the 1990s
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