Jenna Ortega's Film Lands in the Rotten Tomatoes Hall of Shame with Unfortunate Record

Summary

• Even before its release, Miller's Girl was controversial for its twisted relationship between a teacher and his student.
• After its premiere, the movie almost immediately received scathing reviews from critics.
• Many called the plot too pretentious and shallow, leaving it with an incredibly low score on Rotten Tomatoes.

When you're fully immersed in the world of literature, it's hard not to fall back on pre-existing narratives and clichés, and in the case of Jade Halley Bartlett's directorial debut, Miller's Girl, this is certainly true.

The film tries too hard to be artsy, like Cairo Sweet's writing, full of unnecessary metaphors and convoluted figures of speech. Except that Cairo is an ordinary (okay, it's just the script trying to portray her that way) high school student testing the morals of her teacher, and the screenwriter, Bartlett herself, could have clearly edited it. Or maybe even put it on the back burner.

Miller's Girl was released in US theaters just a few days ago, two weeks after it premiered at the Palm Springs Film Festival. Even before its release, there was a moderate amount of discussion about whether the film would be an instant hit or a complete flop due to its controversial premise.

The key was how self-aware the script would prove to be — it didn't, and Miller's Girl may already be one of the lowest-rated releases of 2024. But maybe it was the lack of self-awareness that gave the movie a slightly higher score, thanks to the campiness, because without it, the movie would have been completely shallow and unremarkable.

New Movie With Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman

In a Southern Gothic aesthetic, the movie follows Cairo Sweet, played by Jenna Ortega, an 18-year-old high school student from a wealthy background who lives alone in a sprawling antique mansion and finds solace in literature. The title character has a rather odd goal — to seduce a teacher, as this can serve as inspiration for her college admissions essay.

Also, her favorite writer is Henry Miller, but he is not mentioned for his freedom of speech or even his distinctive writing, even though Ortega's character tries to emulate his style. Miller exists in the film only for pretentious shock value.

The second protagonist is Jonathan Miller, Cairo's creative writing teacher and a struggling novelist, played by Martin Freeman. He finds himself admiring Cairo's literacy and writing skills, seemingly suppressing the feelings that simmer deep inside. On the contrary, Cairo doesn't hide her feelings, and when her teacher tries to stop her by threatening to expel her, she does everything she can to get her way, including blackmail that could destroy not only Miller's career, but his entire life.

What Critics Are Saying About Miller's Girl

Tennessee Williams and Henry Miller met one day and decided to write their own version of 1998's Wild Things. That's how the critics summed it up. Sounds fascinating, doesn't it? Except it's not a compliment at all, because this formula is missing an important link: Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, because it's as if Miller's Girl isn't even trying to convey a thoughtful and meaningful message. Burdened with attempts to be serious, the plot seems lost in itself, trying to be everything and nothing at once.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the critics score is a measly 35%. Yes, you have to take into account that this is the feature debut of Jade Halley Bartlett, and not every up-and-coming filmmaker manages to impress the picky critics. However, Miller's Girl is a rare example where such a low score is rather deserved.

This kind of relationship is not uncommon in real-life schools and universities, and in theory, Miller's Girl could have been a poignant drama touching on socially uncomfortable issues that question morality and ethics. But alas, the result was nothing more than a dull erotic thriller that few people enjoyed.