MILLER'S GIRL Review - A Deluge of MELODRAMA

This thriller brings Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman together for a dazzling and discomforting tale of a teacher and student seeing more in each other than what is socially acceptable.
RESOURCES: www.lionsgate....

[@aeolia80]

I'm not saying it's not possible that a girl can seduce her teacher, but I feel like the story would've been more enjoyable and relatable if it was set in a university setting and not in high school, which just made it super creepy like ick in not in an enjoyable way at all

[@hydrofrolicwildflower3393]

Um university? That’s creepy still just not as creepy as hs.

[@saniyacantey4108]

Yeah no it’s impossible, you don’t get “seduced” by a high school student as a teacher. You should never even be in that mindset around students.

[@TheTrmetzgar]

@@saniyacantey4108 I agree with you on a some level but you need to apply that sane logic to all the female teacher. A lot of women that have been caught Sexually Assul_ing young boys only were allowed to teach again in another Highschool because the media won't use the word R_PE when allegations are brought again a women. These types of law breakers have used these same excuses that they were seduced or were in love and couldn't control themselves. Who is right?

[@rerikm]

virtue signaling at its best! bunch of hypocrites, you definitely didn't go to school then because most kids talk about teachers in inappropriate ways (among themselves). Most likely a tiny amount of them actually do something about it but the thoughts are there, we're just humans after all.

[@boricuakey]

Yeah but thats the thing....a college student and a teacher wouldnt be that big of a deal. A high school student its more prohibit

[@popsandpuns]

It's problematic but not because of the age gap or the power imbalance between teacher and student. It's problematic cause of the awful script.

[@annedubouch1137]

Yeah, the scenarists didn't allow the love relationship between Mr Miller and Cairo to grow. Building the entire plot on the assignment was a mistake: he just reads it, gets upset, and she tells the principal that they're having an affair when there was no real physical event, so nothing real happens and the movie ends on another pseudo life lesson very typical of bad young adult movies.

[@serenitysubs933]

Wdym not because of the age gap? WDYMMMM

[@popsandpuns]

@@serenitysubs933read the second sentence. I explain it there.

[@ipshitajee]

Exactly

[@MsJubjubbird]

@@annedubouch1137 he gets upset because, when he reads her story, he imagines himself and Cairo being the main characters and climaxes in the process. That's when he realises it's gone too far. It then reminds me a bit of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, where Frollo blames Esmerelda for his lust,. The difference is he is not vindictive or possessive (but Cairo is)

[@dreamwind55]

Finally someone said it. Cairo was a self-absorbed, pompous teen, who took herself much too serious...And she spoke in cliches. But Winnie did the same. Stunning acting and visuals, but it felt like a "paint by numbers" movie.

[@mesalouis8976]

You just described every teenager on the planet. 🤣

[@merrytunes8697]

Agreed. Cairo was easily the character I detested the most.

[@Black_pearl_adrift]

It actually wouldn’t have been that hard to make it a college movie.

[@AnoraFan-z1v]

Jenna was 21 too so it would’ve worked, I guess they wanted to push the ick factor

[@ihangaroundyoutube8052]

Exactly, ''wouldn’t have been that hard''😏...that's why they didn't choose the college route

[@hydrofrolicwildflower3393]

I didn’t really watch it but I saw a summary vid and I thought it was?? There’s like a grown man in the classroom. Thought it was community college

[@deadartist8827]

That would have defeated the purpose.

[@Black_pearl_adrift]

@@deadartist8827 yes it would have. It still would have been an improper power dynamic, the sets clearly look like they should be a liberal arts collage classroom, the actors ages make more sense for a collage movie and the professor meeting a student and smoking with her at a poetry reading only makes more sense in a collage setting. One of the younger characters even works at a dinner places and serves drinks which could only happen if she was collage aged. It makes more sense in that setting

[@gingerisevil02]

The fact the wife wasn’t concerned was creepy and not realistic

[@chrisb.1214]

Their marriage was unraveling anyway. She was mean and unsupportive to him.

[@MsBigact]

Yeah I think that was the point, she was already distant from him

[@merrytunes8697]

I detested Cairo the most, and Miller's wife was a runner up. They were both manipulative and uncaring characters.

[@chrisb.1214]

@@merrytunes8697 Cairo definitely used her friend to get revenge on her teacher. Felt sorry for her friend.

[@merrytunes8697]

@@chrisb.1214 yes, it’s obvious the friend had feelings for her, and she even blackmailed her! Cairo was on a narcissistic arc!

[@alexismarin-miramontes2914]

in my opinion, I truly i enjoyed the movie more than I thought i would. SPOILERS my favorite line of the movie is this Miller: "This is Pornography?" Cairo: "Yes." Miller: "So put it in your diary not on my fucking desk."

[@MovieMuseOfficial]

That was a solid line! And thank you for spoiler tagging your comment!

[@mr_knowitall]

I liked it too. I find it interesting that nobody seems to notice that Boris probably had sex with Winnie.

[@Gorillatagmaster-676]

my favorite part is how they hilariously portray tennessee as a swampy louisiana bayou

[@TheTrmetzgar]

After watching this movie I have a different take on the ending. This might trigger a lot of people but I think they end up together after the credits, Let me explain. Cairo and her teacher had a genuine infatuation for each other but not in the way she wanted. Although her fixation was on her mentor she turned on him because in her eyes he was an impostor of his real self and in a way she was correct. It seemed like everyone including his wife didn't completely respect him as a writer for playing it safe. in regards to his wife, was it just me or was his wife just an older version of Cairo. Like Cairo, his wife expressed the same desire for her husband but wanted him to be a little more adventurous but he refused to explore that side of himself and stay steady which is why he turned away from Cairo because he realized that he was wrong? Although Cairo was upset by the rejection she was very smart so on some levels understood that this weak, sad version of the man she desired would need to be transformed into what he wanted one way or and other. I think Cairo planned everything so when she confessed how she basically destroyed her teacher it became clear to me that she wanted to separate him from his current life trappings and release the writer inside and by extension the man she wanted. Not quite "The Crush" but a more nuance approach to the guilted lover / get him back plotline. I think the whole movie was his written confessing to the world that although his stepped over the line and used his position of power in and inappropriate manor he lied about not wanting to be with her and that is what she really wanted. In the finale scene it looked like after being made aware of his confession she forgave him. The tears in her eyes and the minimal smile she had implied to me that she still wants him and now that he has lost everything he is free to be he man she wants. I might be wrong but that is my take.

[@temiamone976]

Not bad. I actually like how you think they ended up together because Cairo wanted to strip miller from his weak self and make him come out of his safe zone. It's commendable really. However, after I watched it, I really took a bitter hate to miller after telling her that the material he happily jerked off to was going to be reason to fail her in midterms. Any way I think miller was just simply scared and confused. He clearly wanted her. I thought that whole rain scene with them kissing and the bed room scene with miller clearly leading the way was Cairo just day dreaming. I didn't realize that that is what Miller actually did and now he's acting all defensive like nothing ever happened and everything is Cairo's fault. Miller from the beginning looks like a good teacher who just wanted a little validation about his book but he ended up just looking after the wellbeing of himself and not for the wellbeing of both him and Cairo. And look at where that got him.... Honestly tho, I would also like for them both to end up together. They both clearly have a thing for literature and they can't seem to get enough of each others company. I just hate the way miller changed character after reading "what Cairo knows". It's just Unfair.

[@a.j.b.8658]

Jade Halley Bartlett.. is that really you?

[@amberjulia123]

I also had a similar take. She imploded his life in order to propel him to extract his potential…to force him to choose the passionate and reckless path over the stagnant and insecure one. Which, it seems to have worked to an extent. He can’t teach anymore (which was never his dream job anyway), he now has inspiration for his next book (and is forced to write bc he can’t teach…and he’s always wanted to be a writer), and he finally stood up to his wife (who had zero respect for him or real love for him) and they ended their marriage (which was his primary source of income since she was the breadwinner). So, even if he doesn’t end up with Cairo - she can certainly take credit for transforming his life into the one he always secretly wanted …but didn’t have the guts or the confidence to create for himself without it being forced upon him. He thought he, as the teacher, was helping Cairo to reach her full potential…when in reality, Cairo was the one helping HIM reach his full potential. I think that by the end, he may have realized this himself and therefore be grateful for what she has done. Cairo can become a writer without a college degree, and I could see her choosing to opt out of college completely to immediately pursue writing and a life with Mr. Miller if he wants a relationship. Both of them leaving TN for someplace else…since they’ve both thrown away their relationships in the process of this transformation (Cairo used and discarded Winnie…Miller lost his wife AND his best friend who no longer respects him). But Miller has essentially fallen for the younger version of his wife…and Cairo has essentially fallen for the paternal figure she was abandoned by. They are attracted and bonded to one another by subconscious trauma…not real, healthy love. They will be disappointed by one another in the end, even if they become trapped to each other until death.

[@temiamone976]

@@amberjulia123 Well damn...

[@deadartist8827]

Nah.

[@Pduarte79]

Bilbo Baggins found a new precious in Wednesday Addams, lol.

[@finfen9730]

I still enjoyed the movie but really agree that right when Cairo was rejected, the movie took a weird turn.

[@temiamone976]

I must confess. In every scene where Cairo spoke, I had to use a dictionary.

[@MovieMuseOfficial]

We appreciate your honesty. Thanks for watching!

[@uzumakidluffy43]

Broooooooooooooooooooo I'm like who's vituperation and what they ever do you 😭😭

[@denzelchinho7628]

😭😭😭

[@Onwards06]

“Oh right this is a southern gothic, they’re just not doing it very well” 😂😂😂

[@amberjulia123]

The movie feels like the rough draft of a potentially great movie…that never got completed.

[@nickmccabe2327]

Solid review. Yeah the main problem with the movie was the script. Here are my criticisms: 1) Too horny. The whole "Cairo's BFF wants to do Cairo" was not needed in this movie. This angle felt unearned and forced 2) Mrs Miller initial reaction to Cairo. Her reaction to Cairo being interested in her husband with him reciprocating this interest seemed too mild. I think the script was trying to say she didn't initially react to it because this isn't the first time and because she's a drunk but I don't think that makes sense. 3) The absence of Cairo's parents seemed too convenient for Cairo having the opportunity to pursue her relationship with Mr Miller. At the very least, there should have been either inner dialog from Cairo or a monologue from Mr Miller about how the absence of her parents might have affected her behavior. I would rather that her parents physically at home but too busy in their lives to see what Cairo is doing. 4) Cairo's blackmailing of her BFF at the end seemed too forced and like this review said, makes her look like a different character. The screenwriter/director even said that she didn't want to make Cairo be a villain. But blackmail makes you a baddie

[@DocDarkness]

I liked it, I enjoy movies that have moral ambiguity and don't just serve up a cookie cutter good guy bad guy dynamic. While I agree that the script drips with pretentious prose that no normal student would say. Cairo is established pretty early on as not at all your typical 18 year old. She's savant level smart way above her contemporary classmates. That's what made it okay in my book for her verbose dialogue.

[@MovieMuseOfficial]

Right, I addressed that at 3:51.

[@strictlyme3711]

If you are a fan of Martin Freeman you might also enjoy this film! :) I really liked the scene where they recited passages from each other's stories. Both seemed genuinely touched to have found someone who appreciates their writing. But as a whole, yeah, it was a pretty messy film.

[@annieboookhall]

Yeah, I wasn't happy with the monologue in the trailer

[@FlightReacts23]

I just kept laughing the whole movie

[@jaylesebrown7664]

There were some funny lines. Where in the movie did you laugh when you wasn't supposed to?

[@RayPaganJr]

As i posted somewhere, this was so boring. After 45 minutes my wife sighed loudly, I agreed and turned it off.

[@YahyaAlfitna]

I really liked the movie because of the performances of all the actors, particularly the main two. The chemistry between them and between the leading man and his friend was very enjoyable to watch.

[@carmeliaoquinn2441]

She looks like a 12yr old. When they kissed I threw up in my mouth a little. I know she's 21, but it still don't like right. Thats like putting Megan Fox & Peewee Herman in a love affair.😂

[@crazyleg2006]

I've seen it twice in just 3 days... and I'm already Hungie for my 3rd viewing. It's a fantastic motion picture... I can't believe this was Jade Bartlett's first real movie project.... wow... We see you now, Little Ghost.

[@alchemyst321]

I liked the movie a lot until the ending came and then just blew my whole buzz. I hate movies that don't wrap everything up in the end unless there's going to be a sequel or they do it in a way where the movie pretty much wraps itself up without the need of an actual ending.

[@blessing291]

true...somehow...it reminded me of the movie "Tar" in a way because of the "teacher-student" ...the movie Tar is kind of a bit long for me but the phasing was solid and the ending paved the way unlike what they did here, the actors here tho are great..it started good but went as flat 🙆

[@MrXabungle]

It would have been a better movie if it was about a college teacher and student having a questionable and complicated relationship. I was more surprised that Seth Rogen co-produced this and his deal with Lionsgate led to a string of box office bombs.

[@Acme633]

Right, a typical high school student couldn't even write a complete sentence correctly, not to mention a composition with long paragraphs imitating the style of a writer. Cairo was not really a believable character in the film.

[@dickeyy]

i think the movie would have been 10x better if it was set in college. that said, there wouldn't have been the dynamic of risk on the part of miller, and naivety on cairo. still super fucking creepy and uncomfortable to watch

[@RavensOsFan89]

Absolutely awful. Worst ending I’ve seen in years. The writing was amateur.

[@Ex4lted_]

No shit it's hollyweird 😂

[@IamTonyCashCOD]

They should've just made it a series I think the build up would've been better over time

[@jamessimon3433]

I enjoyed your review, and I understand where youre coming from. For me, a 42 year old guy mind you, the film was nearly unbearable. I think this was an attempt at some strange "elevated Disney" style story. Unto itself this isnt necessarily bad, its alarming however, but not without potential. However the execution fails on nearly every level. Perhaps the worst algorythmic surreal horrid dialogue ive ever endured. Not an exaggeration. I had to fast forward through a couple parts out of discomfort. And i adore bad film. And then the ending. My god.

[@r.babylon2885]

HATED the wife character

[@a.j.b.8658]

It's another 🥱 Lolita production, aimed at those that prioritise titillation above substance.

[@kefinkamed]

Oh damn, I've been looking forward to this one, but I think I'll skip it 🤷‍♀️

[@SonOroSound]

Don't. It's actually great and for some reason everyone is jumping on this hate train. This is exactly why I don't read critics before watching a movie.

[@liampatrick3110]

@@SonOroSound What's so great about it???

[@lilachodan4941]

2:16 Maybe she just has daddy issues

[@AESTHETICCosmopolitan]

The first 1/3 of the movie is solid, and beautifully written. Past the point where Miller rejects Cairo, it becomes garbage, and that ending is a train wreck.

[@Lone_Paladin]

I haven't seen the film, but I like the premise, that the 18 year old holds the power in the relationship in contrast to the illusion we have that middle aged teachers have the power to seduce young, impressionable girls. As an adult, Ortega's character has the maturity to decide whether she wants a relationship with an older man. Her character's 18, not 12. Most guys would see it as incredibly good fortune to be past their prime and still attract girls her age, assuming the relationship didn't lead to the destruction of their marriages or careers.

[@chrisb.1214]

And it did lead to the destruction of his marriage and career.

[@aasthasoni3450]

i havent decided if the MOVIE was good but it made me FEEL good. i was expecting a bit more but whatever i got out of 1 and half hour long movie was still worth it.

[@lilachodan4941]

5:21 so that's not a movie for me. I will probably not watch it. Maybe for Jenna even though her dialogs are overrated

[@RomanStern]

I feel like the timing of the movie was way off. It's like I totally don't understand it. Pity because I thought the performances were great but all of a sudden the movie is over and I feel that without it being full circle, ... this is simply very underwhelming

[@unknown183]

You can either watch this movie in its entirely or just listen to "Into The Night" by Benny Mardones continuously for about the same time length. Meh.

[@hopeemch8511]

Such hullabaloo about nothing! HS girls are every bit as sophisticated and romance addicted as college girls in the 50s and 60s. If anything, it's a perfectly believable cautionary tale for teachers who may be targeted. The poor man loses everything to the whim of a girl he rejects. Can't see what's so salacious about that!

[@imani7979]

it’s hilarious that you’re coddling an adult man for playing his own part in crossing the boundaries in his relationship with his student. it’s thinking like that lets predators get away with their despicable behaviour. he at ANY POINT could’ve established boundaries with Cairo prior to reading her midterm paper (which he jacked off to btw) but only waited until AFTER he realized she had sexual feelings for him (and himself for her) to draw that line. he failed as a teacher and as the adult in this situation. there’s a reason why he got fired in the movie and in real life he would receive the same exact treatment. teenage girls are really not that sophisticated, they’re treated like they are but they’re still very naive when it comes to things like love and sexuality. that’s why it’s our job as adults to guide them and draw that line for them. unfortunately, many adults would rather prey on teen girls and their naive ideas about love and sex because they’re easy targets.

[@maloneaqua]

They attempt this taboo teacher-student drama at least once every five years and this is one of the weakest. Still waiting for something to come even close to 2009 cracks -

[@TrickyD]

🤔 *Miller's Girl* is exactly like entrapment if Cairo was an undercovercop pretendin' to be underage. For the story Cairo is underage, otherwise it's just a normal morality tale, but *Miller's Girl* is more complex than that. I'd classify *Miller's Girl* as the reverse *Easy A.* 🧠Where the protagonist in *Easy A* did the wrong thing for the right reason, Cairo did the right thing for the wrong reasons.

[@jichaeljacksoniv310]

nice the explanation about the movie I somehow needed. Made me subscribe.

[@mr_knowitall]

I thought the movie was very good! The movie successfully pitted the way we actually feel against the way we wished we felt.

[@lilachodan4941]

1:16 that's why they connect

[@jkfame]

Looking forward to watching and critiquing the movie

[@hinatachan1075]

They tried to make an erotic thriller... I feel like wasted my time watching this film, Posin Ivy who starred Drew Barrymore, that film did a much better job tackling the subject matter.. This film, Miller's Girl felt like a cheap nock off... Ive seen erotic thrillers, this isn't it.

[@kenziii5973]

Hated it to put it lightly but that's further from being objective cause first i didn't get the cast and second its somehow mixed unrealistic with relatable in the worst way ..again the cast was not who they should've chosen for me like jenne Ortega strikes me as a girl who it seems like she never had a school life to know how girls who are smart and entitled act like in school or college and Martin freeman did slightly better but unconvincingly too

[@lilachodan4941]

0:37 O my God he is married 😬😬 please don't tell me has kids.

[@mimiben6557]

No and to be fair his wife is extremely insufferable, self absorbed and uncaring which doesn’t help the movie much

[@aria2aria2]

i ended up watching the movie as a huge fan of Jenna and I was very disappointed. I’m also from the south (and went to an American public school, allegations like Cairo’s were incredibly rare but taken seriously-but usually involved some form of intimate relations. Aka ultimate risk, which I feel the movie missed by only having it as strongly implied as it was in Cairo’s story.) And I noticed Jenna’s accent slipping often. it seems like there was no climax during what should’ve been the most climatic moment-everything was heavily predictable once Miller rejects Cairo. Beautiful visuals though. No one bat an eye when she did another nsfw age gap scene in X with Kid Cudi that was far more explicit, so I doubt this will “ruin” her career like some are assuming.

[@ihangaroundyoutube8052]

Exactly, some people want to act like she wasn't in her underwear filming an explicit scene in the movie X...smh

[@jenniferruble4593]

Beatrice is my absolute girl-crush!!!

[@BarisKPunkt]

Jenny Ortega answering the door, while "Lover you should come over" is playing .... one of the most erotic thingss i have seen in my life.

[@lilachodan4941]

Why they make a movie like that?! Because they didn't know what movies to make anymore?

[@stephenmartinez5296]

If you're a Miller's Girl fan, you will enjoy this movie but if you're a Jenna Ortega fan you will enjoy her acting if you're a Cairo sweet fan enjoy that character

[@thepoetspace]

I hate to be that person but I think you just don't get it! The whole point is to show you that no matter how smart and eloquent a high school girl is a high school girl and no matter how hot or fascinating, a writer who doesn't write is just a teacher waiting for someone to validate him. I think the dialogue does what its meant to do, give you this bored girl's perspective of the world and this man she chooses to put her out of her misery: there is nothing but ennui in her life, so she makes bad things happen in order to become the interesting person she thinks she deserves to be. It's that darkness that changes her. When you say "it feels like a completely different character" duh! She has definitely changed for the worse and it was deliberate. But in the end, he does start writing again, and his marriage was already failing so, without ending up together, the two characters deserve each other.

[@chillymilly7005]

Yes, Cairo's choice of words is not typical of a high schooler, but can we not accept that literary genius can come in any form, even that of a teenage girl.

[@CptCoitus]

Excellent! You nailed this movie. Good acting in spots, nice scenes in spots, interesting dialogue in spots, but reached too high without the proper support or reason.

[@Acme633]

You said Cairo's character changed at the end, which would be true if originally, they were attracted to each other only at the intellectual level. I am not so sure whether she was really impressed by his books, or just wanted to make an impression and get close to him. In that case, it was simply the story of a jilted Lolita taking revenge on Mr. Humbert the teacher. You didn't say anything about the other teacher-student relationship - between Winnie and Mr. Fillmore, which was actually the more interesting. The attraction was clearly sexual in this case, but somehow Winnie knew it was not right and was horrified when she knew Cairo testified to the school board against Miller and even threatened to expose her.

[@kuzan1121]

This is reality though so for it to be called "weird" shows the lack of empathy people have towards current events.

[@tiffanymoton704]

this was a good review! made me laugh and so i have no choice but to subscribe [:

[@tylerberryhill8029]

This movie was just awful from start to finish

[@mo337]

Yeah this movie is ick

[@fadelhajmurad1722]

How is anyone saying it’s awful? I loved the movie, not every movie has to follow the script of a typical erotic drama.

[@JosephIrvin-pm4cr]

It didn’t go anywhere. Pos

[@lilachodan4941]

This seems to be the case when one actress is saving the movie this actress in this movie is Jenna Ortega

[@agalIam]

he is my fave actor and i loved the subtlety of this film, baffled by the ending i had to read what it meant

[@CDN296]

yup all i got from the trailer is she felt rejected and decided to ruin his life

[@Lialove-cw2jd]

Weird but I like it

[@Elliefurtado]

Horrible movie!

[@MissTsapovska]

Some personalities are like this, thinking and talking in high language

[@RampKing22]

But there are gifted young kids in the world, who are highly intelligent, you don’t agree, your hypothesis about this is wrong

[@hydrofrolicwildflower3393]

Cry about it

[@MarkCarter-j5n]

This is a true story that was made into a Movie Jenna Ortega when she was 12 years old had to sleep with a Jewish Movie director to become a TV star.

[@stevenbanks8482]

Cringe 😢

[@leehall7301]

Bad, bad, bad. Bad movie. Bad acting. Bad directing. Hated. Do not waste. Jenna Ortega doesn't fit the character, stinks in it. Makes you feel like career, is in the toilet, with her choices.

[@dolphine675]

I've not seen this movie , only the trailers but your review suggests the movie was not what you were expecting, I said the same thing about Alien v predator but this movie has a bit more detail , real actors , different accents etc much more of a story akin to real life

[@V_is_bored]

This is disgusting

[@EmiliaSkade]

I just feel bad for Winnie🥲