The Miseducation of Cameron Post asks a lot from its star, and Moretz is more than up to the task, showcasing a heartbreaking amount of vulnerability and delivering a performance that is not only her best work in years, but possibly her best work, period.

An understated yet powerful portrait of identity, sexuality and acceptance set against an immovable religious backdrop, it's a sobering reminder of the systemic prejudice that accompanies those who identify as 'other'.

What it is... is an honest reflection of harrowing uncertainty, broken up by moments of unbridled joy -- which Akhavan captures like lightning in a bottle -- as lost souls push back against a seemingly universal unfairness.

The repressive setting would be, in a less nuanced film, a site of unadulterated horror. But Cameron, Jane, and Adam, like queer people through the ages, find ways to bond, joke, and help each other through the circumstances.

There is no desire to cajole or sweetly mock the naïve biases of godly oppressors... the movie is not interested in empathizing with the mistaken or in persuading a sheltered, skeptical audience.

The events and portrayals in The Miseducation of Cameron Post feel real and authentic.

While the characters are well drawn and the script gently amusing, it is also on the preachy side for adults - although young LGBTQ audiences certainly deserve the same sort of heroes and heroines that the straight kids have been indulged with for years

[Desiree] Akhavan is a master at balancing the highs and lows of Post's story.

Desiree Akhavan's Sundance-winning drama pulls back the curtain on gay-conversion camps, offering a valuable (albeit simplistic) alternative to self-questioning young viewers.

If there's any justice a tale like The Miseducation of Cameron Post will in time feel even more archaic

Every supporting character is a heartbreaking story of a child whose parents don't accept them. They each cope and manifest differently, but there's no excuse. Parents have to love their children, period.

While it doesn't land with as much impact as it should, the contradictory, heart-numbing effects of such a dehabiliting program are conveyed with a keen sense of nuance by Akhavan.

The wheels are always turning, but the performance is subtle. It is far and away the best thing [Chloe Grace Moretz has] done.

Natural, low-key performances from a cast led by Chloë Grace Moretz highlight a movie that eschews grandstanding - this modest story about self-discovery and community would rather celebrate the small victories against intolerance.

t beautifully articulates the need for young people to realize the validity of who they are, and even more beautifully crystalizes the moment when that starts to happen.