Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Miseducation of Cameron Post Blu-ray Movie Review

Girl Erased.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 18, 2019

How many films covering a certain subject need to come out before we can accept that there at least may be a certain cultural zeitgeist moment being realized? Just a couple of weeks ago I reviewed the intermittently effective Boy Erased, a film which posited the son of a Baptist preacher having to go through so-called “gay conversion therapy”, and now into my queue The Miseducation of Cameron Post has arrived. The gender of the focal “afflicted” youth has changed, but many of the other underlying plot dynamics are almost frighteningly similar, with, in this case, Cameron Post (Chloë Grace Moretz) sent to an ultra conservative Christian “conversion” camp where her lesbianism is going to supposedly be “educated” right out of her. The Miseducation of Cameron Post beat Boy Erased to the big screens by several months, but it's kind of interesting to contrast and compare how the two come at various issues, including what a conversion therapist might call an "indoctrination" into the "gay lifestyle". The Miseducation of Cameron Post begins with one of those overwrought pastoral "counseling" sessions delivered to a bunch of amorous teens, after which it's shown quite overtly that Cameron is a willing participant in gay sex. Boy Erased on the other hand offered a frankly shocking scene where that film’s main character was more or less sexually assaulted against his will, with his assaulter then “outing” him. That element seemed to add insult to injury (in a manner of speaking), making the poor kid at the center of that story a victim twice (and maybe more than twice) over, but it also perhaps tended to add a rather melodramatic, and maybe even slightly smarmy, aspect to the story. Now The Miseducation of Cameron Post arguably has a few melodramatic aspects itself as it unfolds, and Cameron of course gets outed, too, but in this case it’s by the “innocent bystander” (male) date who has brought her to a high school prom, probably thinking he, and not Cameron’s special friend Coley (Quinn Shepherd), was going to end up in the back seat of his car with her after the dance.

More in line with the dynamic that Boy Erased also portrays, however, is Cameron’s home life, where she’s surrounded by extremely conservative evangelical types (the film almost elides the fact that Cameron’s parents were recently killed in a car accident, and she’s living with other relatives). The upshot is that Cameron is sent to a camp very much like the one shown in Boy Erased, though this one seems a bit more rural, and in fact more like what one might think of as a “camp”. In that regard, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, for all of its sexually repressed harridan and/or martinet “therapists”, actually shows Cameron and some of the other kids going through “treatment” there to have some significant freedoms in terms of being able to get out and about in some of the sylvan environments surrounding the camp proper. In that regard, The Miseducation of Cameron Post is arguably less “claustrophobic” than Boy Erased.

There are a number of sidebars in The Miseducation of Cameron Post that separate it from Boy Erased, and one of those involves a Native American named Adam Red Eagle (Forrest Goodluck), who talks about some of his (literal) tribe’s beliefs in people with “two spirits”, one masculine, one feminine. Another boy named Mark (Owen Campbell) is suffering from a dysfunctional relationship with his father which frankly sounds at least somewhat like the family dynamic seen in Boy Erased, though in this case that emotionally roiled situation leads to what is arguably this film’s most melodramatic aspect. There's also the very distinctive Jane (Sasha Lane), whose prosthetic leg turns out to have some "surprises" in store.

That aforementioned melodramatic plot development leads to a catharsis of sorts, though The Miseducation of Cameron Post seems to suggest that “official” (as in government) response to perceived abuses may be pretty tepid. There’s a feeling of unresolved issues at the end of this film which perhaps makes it more emotionally accurate than Boy Erased. The Miseducation of Cameron Post benefits from some unusually fine performances, including a nice, resilient turn by Moretz, who makes Cameron appealingly strong but also vulnerable. The emphasis on the kids rather than the adults also provides nice opportunities for Goodluck, Lane and Campbell, all of whom are quite memorable.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual and FilmRise with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.84:1. While the IMDb is once again devoid of much technical data on the shoot, I found an interesting interview with cinematographer Ashley Connor here where she discusses the Arri Amira and some of the choices that were made for the film, including a rather tamped down, "institutional" palette which can be gleaned in some of the screenshots accompanying this review. Some of the low light scenes in this film are actually fairly impressive, all things considered, with above average shadow detail and some good levels of fine detail. The bulk of the normally lit material offers very good to excellent detail levels and a naturalistic if again somewhat drab palette. This is another FilmRise release like The Boy Downstairs where contrast and brightness looked just slightly washed out at times to my eyes, something that's especially noticeable in some of the interior scenes. The outdoor material can look at least marginally better in this regard.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As I've discussed in several previous reviews of FilmRise releases, they have yet to consistently indulge in lossless audio, and The Miseducation of Cameron Post is another of their Blu-ray outings that offers only Dolby 5.1 and 2.0 mixes. Again as in some previous FilmRise releases (some of which were "talking head" documentaries), this may not be a complete deal killer since the film doesn't really attempt to exploit any "showy" sonics in its sound design. That said, I couldn't help but feel some of the ubiquitous outdoor material might have had more punchy low end and involving surround activity with a lossless presentation. There is decent if never really overwhelming immersion scattered throughout the film, including several group scenes, the aforementioned outdoor material (which is copious) and the placement of Julian Wass' score. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director & Co-Writer Desiree Akhavan and Producer & Co-Writer Cecilia Frugiuele


• Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery (1080i) has been authored without a timecode, but employs auto advance, so have your Pause button handy if you want to linger on any given image.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:59)


• Accolades Trailer (1080p; 1:00)

The Miseducation of Cameron Post Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Perhaps because Moretz' take on Cameron is so (seemingly?) strong and self assured, there's a certain lack of "threat" with regard to her character that may at least slightly undermine the dramatic intensity of the film. That said, what happens to at least a couple of other characters does provide sufficient impact (and then some, some viewers may feel). There is one passing moment in this film which may strike some viewers, at least those who are fans of a certain long running American sitcom, as being somewhat humorous. At one point early in her stay, Cameron is advised by the camp director (Jennifer Ehle) that Cameron is a "masculine" name and has contributed to Cam's uncertainty about her sexuality. One assumes this director has never witnessed the unapologetically gay behaviors of Cam (which I believe even his partner Mitch in the show has described as "flouncing") in Modern Family . Video is generally okay looking here, but FilmRise needs to start providing lossless audio on its Blu-ray releases. With caveats noted, Recommended.