Jenna Ortega has addressed the controversy surrounding her film “Miller’s Girl,” which has sparked discussions about its provocative content. The film, released in January and now streaming on Netflix, features Ortega, 21, alongside Martin Freeman, 52. Some viewers have raised concerns about the dynamics between their characters.
In a cover story for Vanity Fair, Ortega emphasized that the film is intended to be uncomfortable. “It’s not supposed to be a comfortable movie. It’s supposed to be awful at times,” she stated. Ortega added, “Art isn’t always meant to be pleasant or happy and everyone skips off into the sunset at the end. We all have f—ed up experiences at one point or another.”
“Miller’s Girl” stars Ortega as Cairo, an 18-year-old high school student who develops a close relationship with her writing teacher, portrayed by Freeman. Her friends suggest she attempt to seduce him, which forms a central theme of the film.
Freeman had previously discussed the film’s portrayal of the age difference, describing it as “grown-up and nuanced” in an interview with The Times. He pointed out that the film doesn’t glorify the situation, questioning if similar critiques would be applied to other serious subjects in the film.
In February, intimacy coordinator Kristina Arjona, who worked on “Miller’s Girl,” confirmed that Ortega and Freeman felt comfortable with the intimate scenes. “There [were] many, many people throughout this process engaging with [Jenna] to make sure that it was consistent with what she was comfortable with, and she was very determined and very sure of what she wanted to do,” Arjona said.
Ortega is set to appear next in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and in the second season of her Netflix series “Wednesday.” While she remained tight-lipped about the details of the upcoming movie, she expressed deep appreciation for working with director Tim Burton and costars Winona Ryder, Willem Dafoe, and Michael Keaton. “Every time I walked onto that set, I wanted to remember it for the rest of my life,” Ortega shared.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” hits theaters on September 6.
