I was looking forward to seeing ‘The Miseducation Of Cameron Post’ because I know it won the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance. And of course, it covers an important topic: gay conversion therapy. Chloe Grace Moretz stars as Cameron, a young lady who in the beginning of the movie is caught by her ‘boyfriend’ having sex with another young lady. To ‘fix’ her, she is sent to fay conversion therapy camp by her grandmother and the film follows her as she deals with what goes on there.
Desiree Akhavan’s film is well-intentioned, but I found it claustrophobic. Maybe that is the point – to show how a place like that constricts you – but it made me feel uncomfortable and I just wanted to get out of there and leave the theater. I also found most of it slow and dragging – there was really no big surprise for me. I do admire some great performances here, though. Moretz shows that she can give depth to a real character, and I thought Jennifer Ehle as the icy therapist arresting to look at and certainly scary to deal with. But all in all, the movie felt like an unpleasant experience, not unlike sitting through a horror flick. I don’t know if that was Akhavan’s intention, but I didn’t think it was enjoyable at all.