For Cameron Post, being a lesbian is a bit like being a criminal on the run. She can make out with the girl she likes, Colely (Quinn Shepard), in private, but has to check the house for relatives first so she doesn't get caught. She will take pictures with the "boyfriend" on Prom Night, but quietly sulks, because she can't go with Colely because people wouldn't approve of that. She isn't fighting herself yet trying to fit so others can feel comfortable.
Co-writer/director Desiree Akhavan's The Miseducation of Cameron Post is set in 1993 and commences when Cameron is caught making out with Colely on Prom Night in a car by her boyfriend, and shipped off to God's Promise, a gay conversion center. You see, 25 years ago, being gay was pretty much outlawed, frowned upon like drug use and seen as rebellion from God's best wishes. If you had conservative parents or guardians like Cameron, this was the method. The troubling part is that it is still seen as the method in some areas.
I'll be honest with you and say that this movie made me angry. As a guy who believes every human should be able to find love whenever they can get it in this mad world, seeing people imprisoned and instructed to hate themselves for what comes natural to them sexually felt like watching a prison escape film where you hope the good ones break out in the end. I kept trying to convince myself that this was a wholly cinematic science fiction parable that had no place on Earth, but then you realize these places actually exist. Akhavan and screenwriter Cecilia Frugiuele adapted Emily Danforth's novel here without losing any juice from the central narrative.
When Cameron arrives at God's Promise, Reverend Rick (John Gallagher Jr.) and Dr. Lydia Marsh (Jennifer Ehle) hand a paper to her that looks like her choices are a boat trying to sail past the glacier resembling her sexual desires. Inside the glacier, she is told to write reasons for feeling this way. Initially, she has no idea what to write. To her, this feels natural and normal, but to the outside world, a foreign language.
She befriends Jane (Sasha Lane) and Adam ( Forrest Goodluck), two quirky fellow rebels who know the place is a sham, yet like Cameron, have no choice in the matter due to their guardians' best wishes. Cameron's roommate, Erin (Emilly Skaggs), is simmering pot of indecision, forcefully trying to shove the center's message down her own throat yet struggling to hide her true desires.
The best thing about this movie is that it moves at its own pace and manages to deliver a raw message without overstaying its welcome or preaching loudly. Instead of long-winded speeches about religion and choice, you see a lot of characters who aren't 100% invested in the words coming out of their mouth. You see a lot of damaged people instead of easy-to-digest and forget about "types." It's refreshing to see Akhavan paint a realistic picture and not just point a finger and scream.
The cast is understated and fit the roles. It's amazing to remember that Moretz is just 21 years old, because she handles the role of Cameron like a pro. A slow learner at the beginning of the movie who begins to become aware, the actress lets us slip into the character's skin gradually and experience the plot threads as one instead of overstepping with her dialogue readings. She holds back when it's needed and even when the end game nears, and a rebellion arises, it's a smooth adjustment in emotion and not unbelievable.
Out of the rest of the cast, Goodluck and Lane registers the most. as a wise-beyond-his-years teenager who knows where this is going yet has the wisdom to smile instead of cry. Movie fans should know this face from The Revenant, where Goodluck had a small yet key role as Leonardo DiCaprio's son, and he's good here as a wise beyond his years teenager. Lane scored in this year's Hearts Beat Loud, another film that spoke volumes about LGBT community without being glib. She has a good role her as a woman who takes Cameron under her wing. The three form a friendship that doesn't feel forced, which is impressive for a 91-minute film.
I'll tip my hat to Gallagher Jr. for creating a multi-faceted character out of what other actors may have simply turned into a general antagonist. Playing a gay man who think he's been changed by faith and found a true calling in the center who starts to show a straying disbelief, the Newsroom actor deftly handles the transformation. The actor has some tricks up his sleeve, and I think we are only beginning to see them.
The film takes a predictable dark turn in the third act and the ending does have an abrupt feel to it at first, but they don't lessen the impact of Akhavan's film. In the first of two gay conversion center films this year, the second being Joel Edgerton's Boy Erased later this year, she stokes the fire by creating raw and aware characters that should challenge everyone to rethink the notion of harnessing someone's soul due to their sexual preference.
By refusing to overdramatize certain scenes or add a bellowing score to heighten its message, Akhavan's film breathes and provokes you in unconventional ways. Even the sex scenes in the film manage to be erotic and real without being overly explicit.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post shows how far we have come while painfully reminding us how long we have to go in understanding and living with each other. In a world plunging in violence, there are places out there still worrying about a woman loving another woman or a boy falling in love with another boy instead of a girl.
Proudly independent and asking questions without providing all the answers, Cameron Post should start a conversation that doesn't end burns for a long time.
