THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST – Review

Audiences and critics are quick to label a film. Well, that’s a superhero film. Oh, that’s a cheesy comedy. Yeah, that’s that gay film that’s coming out. Sure, you could say that THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST deals with gay and queer topics at a gay conversion therapy camp for teenagers. What’s interesting though about the film is the lack of labels the kids put on themselves or on their friends. They don’t say, “I’m gay or I’m a lesbian or I’m bi.” There is a childlike quality to this that speaks volumes of how they view themselves. Sure, you can call it “the delicate unique snowflake” generation, but I think there is more to it than that. They don’t see themselves as unique and without labels as much as they are still discovering who they are. These are high school students after all. They haven’t declared a college major, yet alone declared who they love and why they feel the way they do. The title character, Cameron (Chloe-Grace Moretz), at one point explains, “I don’t think of myself as a homosexual.” She doesn’t say this outta pure shame – though I think a part of it might be from that – but more out of the fact that she hasn’t quite found her path in life just yet.

Paths and finding your footing is a recurring theme in the dialogue and imagery throughout the film. One of the boys in camp who has the most dramatic arc, Mark (Owen Campbell in a heart-wrenching performance), describes to Cameron that finding your faith is simply a matter of “putting one foot in front of the other.” Another more symbolic example of this theme is that the trio of main characters often go on hikes through the woods as a means of escape. While the film stays firm in not answering what the clear path or answer may be (nothing proves this more than the last lingering shot), it’s clear that writer and director Desiree Akhavan is willing to say that there are multiple paths for young people to take in life.

Chloe Grace Moretz plays the part of Cameron perfectly. Even though the camera stays glued to her face in closeup for far too long at times, she remains strong even though you can see the many questions swirling about her head. That’s not an easy feat to pull off – to convey deep-seated questions spinning around inside without looking about or down in a tiresome manner. While the film offers very little comedic energy or breaks, actor Forrest Goodluck as Adam provides just a touch with his deadpan delivery of a few lines. Unfortunately Cameron’s friendship with Adam and Jane (AMERICAN HONEY breakout star Sasha Lane) isn’t explored as much as the trials and activities that go on in the camp. The positive light the three exude when they are together would add a little more warmth to the film if the focus was shifted just a little.

Director and writer Desiree Akhavan (adapting the book by Emily M. Danforth) seems to purposefully not paint the leaders of the religious camp as the villains. Of course, their methods at times are cruel (at one point the leader has her foot on a boy’s back) and as Cameron points out are examples of “emotional abuse,” but the film doesn’t paint them as fanatical tyrants ruling with a God-like iron fist. There are scenes where their humanity comes out in odd and unsettling ways, especially in the second half of the film. The fact that the filmmakers didn’t paint them in a more ugly fashion is slightly off-putting. The audiences who will flock to this knows that camps like this aren’t ethically right, and because of this, the unorthodox approach to depicting the camp leaders will divide some audiences.

THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST isn’t necessarily a learning exercise but rather an exploration of teen struggles. We often forget how tumultuous these formative years can be. As adults, we brush it off since they aren’t paying bills or working a 9-5. Between Bo Burnham’s film EIGHTH GRADE from earlier this year and now this, the struggles of growing up as a teenager have never felt more real and heartbreaking. There’s nothing illuminating or groundbreaking in the story of THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST or in the way the story is told, but it’s a nice reminder that we all lived through a time when we didn’t have all the answers and it was up to us to forge our own path.

Overall score: 4 out of 5

THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST is now playing in select cities