Film Of The Month: ‘The Miseducation of Cameron Post’ Explores A Queer Teen’s Journey of Sexual Discovery

PUBLISHED June 25th, 2020 06:00 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 02:32 pm

Hollywood’s treatment of LGBTQ+ characters has definitely progressed, from playing purely stereotypical token roles to being offered iconic lead roles. Yet while movies like Love, Simon are heart-warming and end in happily-ever-afters, the reality couldn’t be further from that – even with major strides in gay civil liberties. And perhaps that’s what makes The Miseducation of Cameron Post a story we can still relate to, even though it’s set in the ’90s.

Based on a 2012 novel by Emily M Danforth, Desiree Akhavan’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning film is a coming-of-age drama about queer repression. Chloe Grace Moretz plays the titular role of Cameron Post, an orphaned teen who gets caught in the act with best friend Coley Taylor (Quinn Shephard) by her boyfriend on prom night. While Coley goes scot-free, Cameron’s life is turned upside down when her religious aunt forcefully sends her off to God’s Promise – a gay conversion camp where youngsters are told: “There’s no such thing as homosexuality, just the struggle with sin”.

At God’s Promise, SSA (same-sex attraction) is treated like a childhood trauma-induced mental disorder by the facility’s leaders – the emotionally removed Dr Lydia Marsh (Jennifer Ehle),  as well as supposedly ex-gay poster child Reverend Rick (John Gallagher Jr). And to cure the “illness”, all disciples undergo passive-aggressive therapies like filling out personality icebergs with their sinful roots that led to the development of SSA. Here, Akhavan steers clear of caricatures of physically abusive villains. In fact, the leaders are so oblivious to the absurdity of their “holy mission” that they genuinely believe they are helping, and not torturing, these lost causes of society.

Despite all the brainwashing she is put through, we see Cameron shrug it all off with her level-headed rationalism and refreshing self-awareness about her sexuality. She seeks comfort in her fellow likeminded misfits Jane Fonda (Sasha Lane), who hides weed in her prosthetic leg, and Lakota Two-Spirit Adam (Forrest Goodluck).

This trio of misfits offers a rare sliver of hope through their blossoming friendship, though it doesn’t last for long. Even the most resilient Cameron goes through a phase of uncertainty and desperation as circumstances turn against her and gnaw at her conscience.

Cameron’s wake-up call comes in the form of a tragedy when one of the disciples engages in an act of self-harm. It’s at this point that the dire consequences of seemingly harmless psychobabble are brought to light. When a government inquiry is launched into the incident, even the investigator is seen struggling to accept the fact that God’s Promise is inherently abusive. As Cameron says, “How is teaching us to hate ourselves not emotional abuse?”.

A film about gay conversion therapy may not feel relevant to present times, with such facilities dwindling in numbers around the world (some, however, still exist under the guise of counselling groups). But how truly different is it from the emotional abuse that the LGBTQ+ community still faces today in the form of ostracism from society?

While it may seem like The Miseducation of Cameron Post is all dark and gloomy, it isn’t. At its heart, it’s an inspiring movie about a teen’s empowerment and how she takes ownership of her sexuality. And in a country like Singapore, where even the legal system is wired against homosexuality, it’s a stark reminder that we, too, still have a long way to go to reach a Utopia where suffocating gender constructs no longer exist.

Catch The Miseducation of Cameron Post on Amazon Prime.

All photos courtesy of Filmrise.