"I'm tired of feeling disgusted with myself."
It is interesting how we label certain movies as “disturbing”
and what exactly constitutes those disturbing aspects of said movie. We often
associate it with the pure reaction of seeing something that unnerves us on a visceral
level, which most often comes down to physical mutilation or act of violence. However
there is something to be said for the subtler ways movies can disturb us, how certain
subjects and practises seem so alien and absurd that it is not until we truly
dwell on them and witness them in detail that the horror emerges.
After being caught in a sexual encounter with another young
girl, Cameron Post (Chloe Grace Moretz) is sent by her devoutly Christian aunt
to an institution called God’s Promise, a centre that offers “gay conversion
therapy”. Soon Cameron finds herself bonding with the other teenagers in the establishment,
each one of them coming to terms with their own identity and the prejudice
surrounding them.
It is both surprising and entirely inevitable that Desiree
Akhavan, the director of this film, cites John Hughes as being one of her
biggest influences. The gender dynamics and sexual politics of Hughes coming of
age movies were often limited to their own era, but his core themes of identity
and disenfranchisement have an enduring legacy which is felt keenly in ‘The
Miseducation of Cameron Post’. The biggest difference between the two is that
where Hughes found humour and optimism in the struggles of his teenagers,
Akhavan builds towards a much bleaker and more disturbing picture.
That is not to say ‘The Miseducation of Cameron Post’ is
incapable of finding humour in certain places. In fact the first act almost
seems to enjoy finding comedy in the measures God’s Promise puts in place and
the idiotic details of its procedures. From fear that a boy having long hair
will attribute to his sexuality to encouraging the girls not to abbreviate
their names for fear of making them more masculine, one can’t help but laugh at
the stupidity of such “logic”.
However as the film moves along the sense of entrapment
truly sinks in as it dawns upon Cameron and the viewer that a facility like
this is only the manifestation of a prejudice that is just as prevalent on the
outside world. Certain story beats drive this point home with heart-breaking
effect and with each impactful moment Akhavan is skilled amount to utilise a
sense of quietness so as to allow the true existential horror of the
circumstances to really sink into the viewer. Those circumstances are
essentially an institution devoted to pushing self-hatred, one that aims to
condition its residents to believe that the hatred and rejection hurled at them
is entirely their own doing.
This is overtly stated in a scene near the end of the movie.
Institutions like the ones presented in this film are emotionally abusive by
design, their whole functionality is to tear down the identity young people are
trying to craft for themselves. The scene also reminds the viewer that this
emotional abuse was not even considered illegal in the 1990s, and in some parts
of the world is Stillwell within the confines of the law. Cameron is asked
whether she trusts the councillors, and though she trusts them to perform the
most basic level of hospitality, she can’t say they do anything to make her
feel safe or secure in who she is. To the contrary their mission is to destroy
any faith these young people have in themselves.
This scene also showcases just how brilliant Chloe Grace-Moretz
is in this movie. The role of Cameron is a decidedly difficult one that Grace-Moretz
navigates excellently. She conveys the maturity and emotional stability Cameron
has, because despite her predicament she is confident in her own budding
feelings. However the versatility of her performance shines through as she
communicates the insecurity and doubt Cameron starts to feel as every peer
around her continually insists that there is something wrong with her.
The tone of the movie is a similarly brilliant balancing
act, reconciling the ambiguous humour with the underlying tragedy to great
effect. The intimate staging and direction by Desiree Akhavan takes note of the
small moment of freedom as well as the interpersonal relationships Cameron
forms there. It is ironic that being sent to conversion therapy allows Cameron
to find other outsider with whom she can bond with and relate to. But as the
film moves forward it is hard not to be weighed down by the crushing reality of
the situation. In some ways the visual language of Akhavan’s film reminded me
of other dramas such as ‘Short Term 12’ and ‘Girl, Interrupted’, both of which
deal with young people battling their own demons. But where ‘The Miseducation
of Cameron Post’ sets itself apart is to remind the audience that in its world
it is the institution housing those young people is not for their benefit, and
far from being internal the demons here are very much external.
Disturbing and emotionally provocative yet simultaneously
intimate, observant and surprisingly hopeful, ‘The Miseducation of Cameron Post’ is an insightful
work of drama.
No comments:
Post a Comment