Early Review: ‘Miller’s Girl’ is a bleak, derivative empty thriller

“If it’s it not controversial, it’s not interesting” Is Jenna trying to reinvent herself from being typecast in her most controversial role yet?

Beloved goth queen Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, Scream) takes on a provocative risque role in the awkward psychological thriller drama ‘Millers Girl’ that tries too hard in its nuanced approach of the controversial 90’s teacher-student drama trope.

The film which boasts to acknowledge the complexities between desire and desperation, villain and victim, adolescence and adulthood, fails to develop any conversation with its lackluster narrative, and lack of focus on the film’s main theme. The stylish and predictable film is not as thought-provoking and layered as it hoped to be and and is essentially creepy in the wrong way.

“If it’s it not controversial, its not interesting” boasts the films protagonist Cairo a young aspiring writer.

Written and directed by newcomer Jade Halley Bartlett, the film tells the cliched story of a troubled teen girl with a misguided crush on her literature professor. The film stars Jenna Ortega alongside Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, Black Panther). The trailer for Miller’s Girl introduces an 18-year-old college student, Cairo Sweet, and her much older professor, Jonathan Miller as the pair appear to share a deeper connection, with Professor Miller clearly interested in Cairo’s literary talent. However, the film, which is described as a psychological thriller, sees this student-teacher relationship grow more unsettling.

Ortega stars as Cairo Sweet, the bright, highly educated and uncensored eighteen year old high school student who enrolls in a creative writing class taught by novelist Jonathan Miller (Freeman).  Miller immediately takes a liking to the students distinct taste in literature as she dons a copy of his own debut novel and the salacious works of Henry Miller spread out on her desk.

Sweet (Ortega) a bold teenager wise beyond her years, lives in a small Tennessee town with absentee lawyer parents who travel the globe not seeming to care about their daughters whereabouts. Basically abandoned by her parents she lives alone in a luxurious grand estate that oozes old money and desires to leave it all behind and attend Yale as an aspiring writer.  

The weird and mysterious girl who is the only character who comes from wealth walks alone through the woods to school and has an icy cold personality and constantly delivers clever grammatic quips. Cairo is the type of student who reads the entire syllabus before school has even begun. She has a brag-worthy 4.6 GPA and appears to have only one friend. Her best friend Winnie (Gideon Adlon) is a salacious tease who loves to tease the high school coach (Bashir Salahuddin) in faux flirting.

Winnie is presented as the bad influence and hyper-sexualized friend who is always inappropriate with her teacher. Meanwhile Cairo starts to test out her own womanly prowess as the teens pursue their much-older teachers. Cairo even changes her physical aesthetic as she  tries to impress and win over her professor with her literary prowess, gothic charm and ostentatious writing talents.

Cairo begins to fawn over her teacher Jonathan Miler, a failed writer who hasn’t wrote anything since he got married and started to teach. Martin Freeman plays Miller, the washed-up writer lacking any inspiration or character. Aside from school his family dynamics aren’t so inspiring either as his work-a-holic and alcoholic wife (Dagmara Dominczyk, Succession) barely tolerates him. His wife is painted as a nagging shrew and a major B-word. Her direct bluntness is clearly associated with his fantasy and infatuation with his student. 

The seduction really begins during moments out of class with shared cigarettes and intimate stares. Miller starts to get close to his audacious and prized student even inviting her to a poetry reading off school-grounds. He often brings her up in conversation to his wife who gets a kick out of his excitement that someone has actually read his book.

Things take a turn when Miller assigns a project that entangles them in an extremely complex situation. Not only was it favoritism giving her a head start on the project but he allowed her to use a very controversial and inappropriate author as inspiration. This is where lines start to blur and their lives intertwine.

As lines blur and their lives intertwine, professor and protégé must confront their darkest selves while straining to preserve their individual sense of purpose and the things they hold most dear.

This is also when things start to get a bit confusing, as the film blurs between reality and escapism in her manuscript. What is actually happening, what has actually transpired between the two and what is part of her twisted dark erotic fantasy? The third act happens so rapidly as Cairo falsely accuses Miller of rape, placing his job and reputation on the line, all because he turned her down after she submitted an inappropriate and suggestive writing assignment. What we do know is that he acted inappropriately regardless if any sexual activity actually occurred. 

The musical entry at the very end of the film was especially confusing. Was this just a fantasy glorified moment in her head while she confessed to Winnie her plans were all for a story of her greatest achievement. Did she and Miller actually share the same feelings? Winnie showcased a moment of integrity and essentially realized this was morally wrong. However, the film barely developed her storyline although her and Bashir share a decent amount of screen time. 

What the film brushed through was Winnie and her inappropriate flirting with an older authoritative figure as well. Earlier in the film it suggested something may have happened with the coach but he simply brushed it off as simply deleting the photos she sent and never crossing the line with a student. Winnie showed up to school looking disheveled which suggested something may have occurred but it may only be her guilt for their behavior and how Cairo is the one that took it too far.

The most uncomfortable aspect of the film is actually the portrayal of teenage girls and how Cairo takes advantage of Winnie. Regardless of painting the improper teenagers or the teachers who played too close to the fire as villains, the film never directs the blame on the lack of adult supervision at home. All the kids in this film clearly have terrible parents. The film is produced by Seth Rogen among others which stems a discussion on enabling the films questionable creative choices. It’s marketed as a thriller comedy, but there is absolutely nothing comedic about it.

Jade Halley Bartlett, when talking about the film has expressed her thoughts on the portrayal of women. Which shows her complete lack of understanding as the film does no justice in its portrayal of women, and does little to nothing to establish any conversation as all the women seem to be portrayed in a negative light.

I’m exhausted by the ‘perfect victim’, particularly when it comes to writing women. It’s the same Damsel Box in which we’ve always been put, just with new wrapping. If there is a named villain in this story, does it make the person irredeemable? Do we needa directive on who to hate, and if so, why? I challenge the audience to consider their judgments of these characters, and how they make them, when the information they have is subjective.

Jade Halley Bartlett

 I agree with the sentiment that “The movie seems to perpetuate the harmful stereotype that young women seduce older men, potentially disregarding crimes against women.” The film does not highlight harmful stereotypes nor prompt any meaningful discussions about abusing authority, mediocre men fantasizing and fetishing young girls and the inappropriate ideology of “but she’s 18.” Ortega is the villain in this movie, when it should really be a conversation aimed at adult responsibility, bad parenting and therapy.

The film failed to tackle its only mission with its lack of focus in its direction and writing. It displays a very weak script, weak story, and sometimes unbearable dialogue that tries too hard to sound smart. Every line is a pretentious quote in prolonged monologues, however the performances are really the only thing that stand out. In a film with only six characters, five of which really get any screen-time they are some notable performances. 

While not as thought-provoking and layered as it hoped to be, the best thing about Miller’s Girl is simply the performances from both Freeman and Ortega. Ortega always owns the scene any time shes on camera she demands your full attention. She also took major risks by taking on such a challenging role different from her usual filmography. 

Miller’s Girl does not have the spark of say ‘Gone Girl’ and essentially does a disservice to its characters with sloppy scene structure, a predictable storyline and a lack of any of its advertised genres. It is not a dark comedy as there are zero comedic elements, there is zero mystery, and no elements of horror or any of the gothic intrigue that it tries to present itself as. However, it does offer some gorgeous cinematography worth highlighting, with enchanting and dreamlike scenes but unfortunately the story and script never match up. The film is set in a remote corner of Tennessee, however the accents often drop in and out and we don’t get to see enough of the Southern charm of the town.

Overall, while it features uncomfortable subject matter and controversial themes the film barely feels like a thriller. It plays it completely safe and is not as twisted and risk-taking as it proclaims. Miller’s Girl is disappointingly derivative of films like “The Crush” and leaves no lasting  impression. It’s an incredibly bleak film that does little to establish any important conversations. 

1/5

Distributor: Lionsgate

Exclusively In Theaters:

January 26, 2024

Starring:

Martin Freeman, Jenna Ortega, Dagmara Domińczyk, Bashir Salahuddin, Gideon Adlon

Directed by:

Jade Halley Bartlett

Written by:

Jade Halley Bartlett

Producers:

Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Josh Fagen, Mary-Margaret Kunze

Synopsis:

A talented young writer (Jenna Ortega) embarks on a creative odyssey when her teacher (Martin Freeman) assigns a project that entangles them both in an increasingly complex web. As lines blur and their lives intertwine, professor and protégé must confront their darkest selves while straining to preserve their individual sense of purpose and the things they hold most dear.

Run Time: 

93 minutes