Miller's Girl's Jenna Ortega & Martin Freeman Sex Scene Controversy Explained

Miller’s Girl includes an X-rated sex scene between Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman that’s caused a massive controversy. Directed and written by Jade Halley Bartlett, Miller’s Girl explores what happens when the relationship between a student named Cairo Sweet (Jenna Ortega) and a creative writing teacher named Mr. Miller (Martin Freeman) crosses ethical boundaries. Due to the uncomfortable subject, critics correctly predicted that Miller’s Girl would be Jenna Ortega’s most controversial film.

There are numerous aspects of the movie that make Miller’s Girl so controversial. A storyline surrounding a student-teacher relationship must be handled with care, lest it become problematic. Unfortunately, the film perpetuates the idea that teacher-student relationships are caused by seductive young women. It also ignores the multiple power imbalances that exist between the two main characters. However, the biggest controversy about Miller’s Girlcenters on the sex scene between Mr. Miller and Cairo. This scene caused outrage from many viewers.

Miller’s Girl’s Sex Scene Is Part Of Cairo’s Short Story: Did It Really Happen?

While The Sex Scene Was Played As Fantasy, Mr. Miller’s Reaction Hints It Happened

Miller’s Girl’s sex scene occurs while Mr. Miller is reading Cairo’s short story in the shed. Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman both provide voiceovers narrating the story, and his imagination causes many parts of it to occur onscreen. It’s clear that this one specific sexual encounter was fantasy because of the dreamy lighting and ivy growing on the walls. It isn’t a flashback to a real encounter. What’s not clear is whether Mr. Miller and Cairo actually had sex in the movie. It’s possible that the short story was reality-based even if she expanded it with fictional elements.

At the start of the imagined scene, there are glimpses of reality intercut with the fantasy. None of them show sexual encounters, but it does imply that some of the events are parallel. She also wears the same dress in the short story that she wore when he came to her house. Additionally, Cairo reminds Miller later that he told her to write what she knows, at which point they share a knowing look. He doesn’t say that they never had sex. Mr. Miller asserts that she needs to rewrite the paper. This reaction is strange and suspect.

The last noteworthy scene occurs at the end of Miller’s Girl when the principal interviews Mr. Miller. During his interview, Mr. Miller repeatedly lies about events the audience saw. He denies seeing her socially. He says they shared a cigarette once, then admits it happened more than once. He says he went over to her house but skirts around what happened, who was there, and whether he went inside. His facial expression looks guilty during the part of the conversation about the house. Ultimately, the ambiguity throughout the movie leaves it up to the viewer to interpret what happened.

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Why Jenna Ortega & Martin Freeman’s Miller’s Girl Scene Is Controversial

Fans Reacted Negatively To The Age Gap Between The Actors

Miller’s Girl has created controversy online due to the 31-year age gap between Martin Freeman and Jenna Ortega. At the time of release, Freeman was 52, and Ortega was 21. While there was discussion about this prior to release, the conversation took a turn after the movie was released. Viewers immediately took to social media to call the sex scene gross, uncomfortable, and distressing to watch. Many people disturbed by Miller’s Girl said they’ve written off age-gap movies entirely after watching Ortega and Freeman simulating sex. Others called the casting choices unethical, given the age gap and sex scene.

Something that made the already bothersome scene worse for viewers is that the sex doesn’t leave much to the imagination. While there isn’t lewd nudity, the scene does show Ortega bent over the bed with Martin Freeman behind her. Only a slip dress covers her body. There’s also movement that implies he’s sliding his hand up her dress. Though some viewers would’ve been uncomfortable no matter the sexual contact, viewers mentioned the graphic elements as disturbing given their age difference. Had Miller’s Girl implied sex without showing it, there might not have been as much backlash.

On the other hand, a small group of viewers has pushed back against the negative response. Some think that anyone who watched the trailer should’ve expected this out of Miller’s Girl. Others believe the naysayers are infantilizing Ortega since all parties were adults. It’s true that Ortega is a young woman able to make decisions about her body. However, the age gap changes the dynamic because it adds an extra power imbalance, at least in what is perceived on screen. Ultimately, the nuance means that there’s truth in both sides of the argument.

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Jenna Ortega Was Comfortable With Miller’s Girl’s Sex Scene

There Was An Intimacy Coordinator On Set At All Times

No matter how comfortable or uncomfortable viewers were watching the controversial sex scene in Miller’s Girl, it’s important to acknowledge that there was an intimacy coordinator – Kristina Arjona – on set as they filmed the sex scenes. Arjona walked The Daily Mail through the process of filming this movie. According to Arjona, informed and continuous consent was the central focus when filming the sex scene between Ortega and Freeman. As the younger actor in the age gap, extra attention was given to Jenna Ortega throughout the process to make sure she was okay with everything happening.

According to Arjona, Ortega felt entirely comfortable on set and was very certain about what she wanted to do. The actor hasn’t commented on this herself, so it’s impossible to know if this matches up with Ortega’s internal experience. However, it’s promising to know that the intimacy coordinator, who acts as an advocate for actors while filming simulated sex, believes Ortega felt empowered in the filming process. While it probably won’t change how people feel watching the controversial Miller’s Girl scene, it’s ultimately most important that the actress felt safe to give and withdraw consent at any time.

What The Cast Said About The Miller’s Girl Controversy

Martin Freeman And Jenna Ortega Both Believe The Sex Scene Was Necessary

The controversial sex scene in Miller’s Girl continues to create conversations months after it released. While there was an intimacy coordinator on set, many viewers continue to comment on social media on just how uncomfortable they find watching this particular moment between Martin Freeman and Jenna Ortega given the age gap between the two cast members. However, both stars have since spoken out about the scene itself, and each feels that director Jade Halley Bartlett was right to include it.

Martin Freeman spoke out about the scene in April 2024, defending Miller’s Girl and the depiction of a sexual encounter with such a wide age gap. Speaking to The Times Of London,Freeman shared his view that the uncomfortable moment perfectly suited the tone of the movie. The erotic thriller is a complex story, and Freeman stressed that there’s a difference between depicting the affair between Jonathan Miller and Cairo Sweet and suggesting that it was acceptable.

Marting Freeman importantly reiterated that movies like Miller’s Girl don’t suggest the uncomfortable moments they show are acceptable, and that viewers remembering the nuance of the story and its thematic message is important. Speaking directly about the sex scene in Miller’s Girl, Freeman said “it’s not saying, ‘isn’t this great?’“. He then made comparisons to films like Schindler’s List, reflecting on the importance of remembering that actors aren’t condoning the actions of characters they depict or events in the films they star in:

“Are we gonna have a go at Liam Neeson for being in a film about the Holocaust?”

It’s not only Martin Freeman who’s spoken out in defense of the sex scene in Miller’s Girl either. Speaking to Vanity Fair in September 2024, Jenna Ortega commented on the scene with Freeman, and like her co-star, believes that the depiction of Miller and Sweet’s physical intimacy was important for the story:

“It’s not supposed to be a comfortable movie. It’s supposed to be awful at times. Art isn’t always meant to be pleasant or happy, and everyone skips off into the sunset at the end. We all have f**ked-up experiences at one point or another.”

Both actors made important points about the purpose of the Miller’s Girl sex scene and how it’s vital to remember that showcasing moments that are difficult to watch isn’t the same as encouraging or condoning them. MIller’s Girl was never intended to be an easy to watch movie. It tells an incredibly complex and nuanced story, and one that raises many questions about morals and boundaries. While the sex scene may have made many viewers uncomfortable, both Martin Freeman and Jenna Ortega stand firm in their belief that the film wouldn’t have been as effective without it.

Other Controversial Scenes With Major Age Gaps

Twilight, The Reader, Indecent Proposal, & Blame It On Rio

Several movies feature large age gaps in the characters, with young adult supernatural movies, but in many cases, the actors are around the same age. This is how things work in movies like Twilight, where Edward and Bella have a 90-year age difference. However, viewers can ignore the exact same aspect of an age gap because the actors are close to the same age. The problem seems to come when the actors also have an age gap that equals that of the characters which is when fans react differently.

One of these came in The Reader, a movie that saw 33-year-old Kate Winslet play a German woman, Hanna, who has an affair with a 15-year-old named Michael, played by 18-year-old David Cross. While the film had a disturbing affair between the two, the real story played out years later when Michael was now a grown man, and Hanna was on trial for Nazi war crimes. The affair was controversial, but it didn’t get the same backlash as Miller’s Girl, likely because the genders were flipped.

Many movies with large age differences are dismissed because the characters are older. An example is Indecent Proposal, in which characters played by 55-year-old Robert Redford and 31-year-old Demi Moore had an affair. However, others are unforgivable like in the 1984 movie Blame It On Rio, where 51-year-old Michael Caine had a sex scene with actress Michelle Johnson, who was only 17 at the time. The movie’s relationship is much worse than Miller’s Girl, even if the love scenes are played for comedy.

Miller’s Girl is a comedy drama from writer and director Jade Halley Bartlett. The film follows a teacher named Jonathan Miller (Martin Freeman) and his young, talented student, played by Jenna Ortega, who become entangled in a complex relationship after a creative writing assignment yields unexpected results.

Director

Jade Bartlett

Release Date

January 26, 2024

Studio(s)

Point Grey Pictures

Distributor(s)

Lionsgate

Writers

Jade Bartlett

Runtime

93 Minutes

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