As sometimes happens during the Hollywood release calendar, pairs of films get released the same year that feature remarkably similar narratives. Though this is an observable pattern—and seems to be most frequent with high-concept, studio-backed movies—it is still an uncommon occurrence. This is why it is especially surprising that 2018 saw the release of two indie dramas centered on teenagers being sent to gay conversion camps. The more well-known of this pair, Boy Erased, received critical acclaim and made its way around the awards circuit. The lesser-known The Miseducation of Cameron Post also received critical respect, but flew under audiences’ radars. Cameron Post may have been overshadowed the year of their release (unsurprising considering Boy Erased was distributed by Focus Features and stars Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe), but the film absolutely deserves recognition. Rather than evaluating the films against one another—as it is so tempting to do with these pairs of movies—it is more productive to compare the films as companion pieces that strengthen each other’s differing perspectives. In their explorations of conversion therapy, Boy Erased maintains its focus on the individual, while Cameron Post’s scope extends to the community.
'Boy Erased' Focuses on Its Protagonist's Perspective
Boy Erased, based on the memoir by Garrard Conley, captures the essayistic qualities of a personal reflection. The film centers on eighteen-year-old Jared Eamons (Lucas Hedges), who is sent to a conversion camp by his pastor father (Crowe), and his compliant mother (Kidman). The film opens with a montage of home videos from Jared’s childhood, indicating that what unfolds on screen is an extension of these captured memories. From this moment, almost the entirety of the film unfolds from Jared’s vantage point. He is in nearly every scene of the film, and it is through his eyes, as captured via close-ups and point-of-view shots, that the audience experiences the traumas of the conversion program. Even the scenes he is not in, like when his mother realizes that he is being harmed by the camp, are filtered through his orbit. Within the conversion program, the audience only learns about the other members through Jared’s perspective. This means that while we do get to see and understand other characters, like Xavier Dolan’s Jon, who is so ashamed of his desire that he lives by a zero-contact rule, it is only for the narrative purpose of Jared bearing witness to the horrors of conversion therapy.
The significance of Jared’s perspective in Boy Erased is emphasized by the film’s nonlinear, flashback structure. As Jared contemplates the invasive questions he is asked to ponder by the program’s leader, Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton), he frequently thinks back on the “sinful” events of his life. The flashbacks take the audience directly into Jared’s recollection and create a juxtaposition between what is revealed by the flashbacks and what Sykes tries to convince Jared to make of these memories. The flashbacks reveal a boy struggling with his identity, but Sykes’ venomous preaching convinces Jared his struggle is a deserved consequence of sinful behavior and thought. The flashbacks here are thus used to emphasize the effects of conversion on the individual mind.
Cameron Post, an adaptation of Emily M. Danforth's novel, on the other hand, extends its scope beyond just its protagonist. Like Boy Erased, the film is centered around an individual teen, Cameron Post (Chloë Grace Moretz), who, after her prom date walks in on her having sex with her best female friend, is sent to a conversion camp by her devout guardian, Aunt Ruth (Kerry Butler). Like Jared, she becomes our guide through the traumatic world of conversion therapy, and it is through her perspective that many of the camp’s abuses are revealed. However, unlike the more restricted camerawork of Boy Erased, Cameron Post’s cinematography opens to perspectives beyond Cameron’s. This is most evident in the film’s depiction of the rebellious duo Jane (Sasha Lane) and Adam (Forrest Goodluck), whose experiences are not exclusively dependent on Cameron’s presence.
'The Miseducation of Cameron Post' Offers a More Varied Perspective of Oppression
For example, in one scene, Adam’s long hair is shaved by the camp’s zealous leader, Dr. Marsh (Jennifer Ehle) for being too feminine. This scene not only demonstrates the oppressive control of the camp but also gestures to a perspective outside Cameron’s. Not only is Adam being marginalized because of his queer identity, but also because of his indigenous heritage. The head-shaving scene recalls the horrific treatment Native Americans were forced to endure at Boarding Schools during the colonization of America in an effort to assimilate them into American culture. The intersection of these two forms of oppression extends the scope of conversion therapy’s cultural impact beyond Cameron’s exclusive point of view.
Significantly, Cameron Post features flashbacks from other kids at the camp as well as Cameron. When Cameron works on her “iceberg” (a cliché-based worksheet where the campers are forced to think through what caused their same-sex attraction [i.e., what is below the surface]), she reads the worksheets of other members for guidance. As she reads the lists of causes listed on the other kids’ icebergs, the film cuts to flashbacks that visualize the written words. For example, when Cameron reads Erin’s (Emily Skeggs) list that reads, “Too much masculine bonding with dad over football,” the film cuts to a flashback of Erin cheering on the Vikings alongside her father. Meaningfully, these visual shifts are accompanied by voiceover narration from the camper who wrote them, which maintains their authority over the image. Cameron Post thus expands its perspective by including voices apart from its protagonist.
'Boy Erased' Isn't Afraid to Show the Horrors and Trauma of Conversion Camps
The film’s complementary qualities are not restricted to narrative and perspective. Genre-wise, both films would be most comfortable in the relatively neutral category of “drama.” But through their tonal properties, the movies capture a range of feelings beyond just the dramatic. Boy Erased focuses its attention on the individual horror of the conversion experience. When Jared first enters the program, he is stripped of any access to the outside world and questioned about his personal possessions. Edited via montage, the introduction demonstrates the prison-like quality of the camp through short, punctuated scenes. The plucking strings of the film’s score heighten the anxiety that accompanies his entrance. Later, after one camper, Cameron (Britton Sear), is uncooperative during a traumatic role-play activity, he is forced to live out a dramatization of his own funeral and beaten with bibles by his loved ones. The psychological trauma and physical violence of moments like these recall the conventions of horror, redeployed here as rhetorical evidence of conversion’s terrifying practice. By drawing from horror but not literally becoming a horror film (like the ethically questionable They/Them), the film perfectly captures Jared’s individual horrific experience.
'Cameron Post' Pokes Fun at the Absurdity of Conversion Therapy
While still adhering to the conventions of drama, Cameron Post adds avenues of levity by wringing comedy from the ridiculousness of conversion therapy’s foundational principles. Now, this is not to say that the film could be considered a comedy à la the irreverent campiness of But I’m a Cheerleader or Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds. However, the film’s witty tone makes use of the comedic. In a sight gag, a grainy VHS tape is played by Erin. The tape is a “Blessercize” workout video featuring an earnest fitness instructor who helps people work out their bodies for the lord. The scene comedically parodies the silliness of workout videos and furthers its humor by acknowledging the goofiness of “Jesus-branding” even the most mundane of products. A later group therapy exercise wittily wrings laughter from the dialogue.
When Cameron is forced to open up to the entire group, Dr. Marsh tells her she only experienced lesbian desire because she wanted to be just like the girl she developed feelings for. Helen (Melanie Ehrlich), a camper known for her devotion to the choir, chimes in with the epiphany that she must not have experienced desire for a choir mate as she thought but was just jealous of her perfect pitch. Lines such as this one punctuate the absurdity of conversion therapy’s foundations. As these moments often involve the supporting characters, the film weaves comedy into the group dynamics of the ensemble, thus supporting the levity that can be created through shared experience.
'Boy Erased' and 'Cameron Post's Endings Complement Each Other
For two films that are already similar, they both share startlingly similar endings. And yet, the endings do not read as repetitive, but as harmonizing. In Boy Erased, the film ends with Jared driving on an open road after he confronts his father’s enduring lack of acceptance. He gently places his hand out of the window (a behavior his mother repeatedly discouraged) and moves his hand through the wind. No longer restricted by his parents’ control, Jared journeys toward his future on the open road. Cameron Post also ends with its protagonist driving away from forces of control. After pretending to go on a hike, Cameron escapes the conversion camp and hitchhikes away from the property. Unlike Jared, though, Cameron is not alone. Alongside her are Adam and Jane. The final shot of the film is an extended take in which the three characters cozy up to one another in the bed of a truck. The choice to end on this trio rather than just Cameron is telling. Through her experience, Cameron found community in Adam and Jane, and they journey toward their future as a found family.
Cinematic explorations of conversion therapy are still relatively new and scarce. As a pair, Boy Erased and The Miseducation of Cameron Post add empathetic portraits of the individual and collective experiences, respectfully, to the catalog. The sheer sobriety of such a topic makes it a heavy task to bring to the screen, which is why it is so significant that 2018 saw the release of two powerfully compassionate films that complement each other’s perspectives so well.