Miller's Girl

Miller's Girl presents a perspective of a romantic affair between a student (Jenna Ortega as Cairo Sweet) and its teacher (Martin Freeman as Jonathan Miller). It is a very ambitious and intriguing idea to explore, I really liked the plot and how it slowly unfolded, how the characters evolved and how eventually Cairo and Martin turned out to be complex characters that carried a lot of personal and professional baggage yet they connected and felt heard and understood thanks to their mutual interest in literature and writing. Now, obviously there's a lot more that's going on, more nuances, subtlety and delicacy and not to even mention the other "situationship" presented but it makes you wonder on another level... does love have limits? Is there such a thing as a forbidden love? Does even right or wrong exist when love is involved? Or, at the same time... is it really about love or is it something else?

Both Freeman and Ortega deliver good performances and it serve their characters well, but it sometimes felt during the first acts like they lacked that chemistry, that connection that was supposed to urge their attraction, desire, tension; that "I want it so bad that nothing else matters"; their interaction with other characters involved seemed more natural than when they were together.

Jade Halley Bartlett creates this motion picture with a sort of aristocratic dark fantasy visual language and score in mind which plays an important part in the production itself especially in certain scenes implying the ideas of mystery, of desire, even of the forbidden and the unacceptable - yet, it felt a bit all over the place and unnecessary at times because it created a few clichés such as the mysterious girl that comes out of a misty forest thingy and it just pulls you out of the story.

Throughout the film it seems to be an incomplete puzzle yet in such a good way because you get most of the pieces, but you also have to create the missing ones by yourself. The ending is arguably the most impactful and well made on this matter because even though an open ending is not reinventing the wheel, this time the final scene can actually be interpreted in such many ways, all of them viable and credible since, as earlier mentioned, the film was packed with many nuances and tones, hints and implies of what actually might have happened.

The film is pretty good when reflected a bit upon it.

The film had so much potential,so much backstory it could use to drive plot,for instance why is Jonathans wife an alcoholic and what exactly does she write? Why is she foul mouthed and why exactly does she constantly undermine her own husband.

The films dialogue was mature,atleast,F words were used, people insulted,none of the over the top infantalization of movies shown today where the characters speak only baby language in an effort to rake more money at the box office by making it pg13.

At times,the film was confusing,the character Cairo sweet laments that she is unremarkable and mature yet she destroys an entire man's life simply because of rejection.

It's unfair for Jonathan to be fired and it's unfair for his whole life to be brought down by a single incident that isnt even legal in most jurisprudences,a life should be structured in such a way that it is decentralized so that no bodies lives can be destroyed due to anger felt by any 3rd party.

The film was met with controversy, audiences critiqued the age gap in ridiculous amounts,but that was just an exercise in sanctimoniousness and indulgence in it as well as nothing more than a fear projected,I don't exactly know when when it was decided that such arrangements were "evil","immoral" and even "pedophilic" but they are not Age Gap arrangements are not necessarily any of those let alone a fully blown psychiatric disorder.

The film wanted to put this in full show, specific societies across the western world bad a mirror put Infront of them and they didn't like what the saw so they reacted partly in due to cognitive dissonance since such actions are depicted in collosal amounts in adult content and often have power imbalances that are too great.

For some reason it is assumed that age Gap arrangements have 2 parties,the first party is the older one that is "predatory" and the second "being taken advantage of" effectively undermining the freewill and decision of the parties (M&F).

The film was unfairly critiqued and given a low score first by failed actors that indulge in their pedanticness and their pseudo image as beimg cinematically "cultured" that will often bash a film that is controversial by mimicking exactly what the average person is saying but in bigger words and by audiences particularly women that have had negative experiences with that leading them to shout their anecdotals as universal truths.

I rated the film a 6/10 because of other factors such an incomplete plot, confusion,lack of character building in some parts and failure to properly distinguish between imagined scenes and real scenes as well as the subtle undertones of proselytizing certain narratives and the almighty way everyone cut of Jonathan and left him even though previously they were all friends for this.

Student teacher arrangements are illegal and bad,but age gap arrangements are not.

The film had good color grading and sound, aesthetically pleasing,and the classrooms for once were not boring and badly structured,there were carpets,oak tables,wooden cabinets,you could see an effort was made,and it wasn't the Plastic dullness most films show.

I wouldn't say it is a good film but it was Decent in it's own category.

A more complex movie than it first appears, the acting from the entire cast was outstanding. At times I found the characters actually made me feel uncomfortable on their behalf and it took me a while to realise that this is exactly what was intended. The entire movie is a study of the emotional struggle of crossing boundaries and this required an impressive intensity from both Ortega and Freeman. In exactly the same vein, Miller's wife, played by Dagmara Dominczyk, was a masterclass in how to develop a character from superficial attractiveness into gin-soaked malignance - an outstanding performance.

I've no doubt that some will find the movie "slow" and "meandering", but if you are prepared to invest in it, the cast will repay you with a moving (and slightly terrifying!) emotional journey that will stay with you for a long time. A feat which few works can manage.

I had high hopes. From the trailer it looked interesting and aesthetically pleasing but I was very wrong. Unfortunately by the end of the movie I was left feeling frustrated because, the main thing about this movie - the tension, it was non existent.

There was no chemistry between the main protagonists. Zero. And Martin's heavy breathing in Jenna's face was very uncomfortable to watch...

Jenna on the other hand... Oh God, where do I even start?? She was so stiff the whole time it was seriously hard to watch. I don't know when this movie was filmed, but she seems stuck in her "Wednesday" role. Yes, her character is supposed to be strong, opinionated, witty, charming, seductive... But she fails to deliver any of it! She doesn't seem like clever teenage girl suddenly shaken and intrigued by an unexpected new variable in her life, at times she kinda looks bored. Her narrating was good though. But like I mentioned, the main point of the movie, the taboo of the desire and magnetism between main characters, is absolutely lacking. It's almost cringe and uncomfortable watching their scenes of "passion and attraction"...

To sum it up - good idea, poorly executed. Shame.

A creative writing assignment yields complex results between a teacher and his talented student.

I note many poor reviews and I'm unsure why that is. The acting is great from every single member of the cast.

The dialogue is meaningful and well thought out.

The plot echoes what is happening around the world right now with thousands of teachers and students: some will get caught and some won't. But it's real and so it's great to see the inner workings of the process, by such great acting and story telling.

There's even a bit in there about how women in fact have all the power in the world, they just don't realise it.

There's an insightful comment too about how "We know where the line is and don't cross it." Except some do, and when they have it's too late to walk it back.

I was surprised at Ortega's depth of character acting, but in hindsight perhaps not a great distance from her Wednesday character.

But there's an interplay between her and Winnie, as power and courage shift between one and the other as the story goes on.

Great film, I liked it a lot.