Tropic Sprockets / The Miseducation of Cameron Post

By Ian Brockway “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” by director Desiree Akhavan (Appropriate Behavior) is a plainly told study of a teenage girl coerced into submitting to a right-wing Christian program of conversion therapy. This intolerant system is instituted in the hopes of “reprogramming” gay teens straight and is not based in science. Worse, the rigorous therapy can cause harm and suffering. The film, which has some bright performances by Sasha Lane (American Honey) and Forrest Goodluck is weakened by a melodramatic treatment and several simplistic characters. While it is true that the material is geared for young adults, the narrative still deserves a richer and more passionate expression. Cameron (Chloe Grace Moretz) is a teen caught having sex with another girl during her prom. At the insistence of her aunt, Cameron is sent to a fundamentalist Christian camp in the hope of changing her orientation. Blankly undecided in how to proceed, Cameron signs the consent form. The girl is greeted by two campers Jane (Lane) and Adam (Goodluck) who are honest, glib and refreshingly vibrant in contrast to the other joyless members. The camp is headed by Doctor Marsh (Jennifer Ehrle) who acts like someone between a stereotypical nun and a wicked Disney Queen, and Reverend Rick (John Gallagher Jr.) a reserved and milquetoast man. Cameron’s roommate is Erin (Emily D. Skeggs ) a model participant who has every intention of going through the therapy. There is also Mark (Owen Campbell) a gentle, yet conflicted boy who is determined to reverse his urges. Moretz executes her role well, despite dealing with the heavy melodrama. Unfortunately this camp is cheerless with little variety other than Bible verses and dogma with a capital D. Doctor Marsh is a sadist who steps on the back of the tormented Mark and we get little sense of who these people are, beyond simple tones. Both Marsh and Rick feel like stereotypes rather than actual people. Rick is overly cheerful or uptight by turns in the manner of Ned Flanders from “The Simpsons.” The very real and serious subject of conversion therapy requires more varied roles of depth and feeling. Rick and the doctor offer little beyond monosyllabic replies and withering looks, while the youngsters laugh and smoke pot. The message is well taken: the camp is evil, but there is little verve or perspective offered. The film flattens in its lurid over the top treatment. Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck and Chloe Grace Moretz have a single winning scene when they sing What’s Up? by 4 Non Blondes in loud defiance to the “Cruella de Vil” Dr. Marsh. Yet by the time a grotesque incident happens, the response feels like a soap opera with little impact. Rick becomes a catatonic shadow, slurping his cereal while the villainous Marsh all but disappears. The three teens have an irreverent charge, but the rest of the characters are rote, zombie-like and evil with scarcely little personality in between. Despite the best intentions of the cast, “The Misseducation of Cameron Post” misses an opportunity. With a little more depth and subtlety the film could have been a dynamic and engaging experience instead of an overly emphatic morality tale that merely underscores the battle between minds, open and closed. Write Ian at [email protected]

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