Martin Freeman Defends His Film MILLER'S GIRL Over Controversial Age Gap with Jenna Ortega
The controversial drama Miller’s Girl was released this past January to a mixed bag of reviews from fans and critics alike that mostly landed in the not so great category.
The film was about the budding inappropriate relationship between a teacher, played by Martin Freeman (Sherlock, Fargo), and student, played by Wednesday star Jenna Ortega.
The film’s synopsis reads: “A talented young writer (Ortega) embarks upon a creative odyssey when her professor (Freeman) assigns a project that entangles them both in an increasingly complex web.
“As lines blur and their lives intertwine, professor and protégé must confront their darkest selves while straining to preserve their individual sense of purpose and the things they hold most dear.”
While some viewers may have felt that the film took the subject matter too far, Freeman stands by the story, and in a recent interview, he described it as "grown-up and nuanced."
In an interview with The Sunday Times, the British actor, 52, said that the film is not intended to glamorize the relationship between his and Ortega's characters. "It's not saying, 'Isn't this great,'" Freeman said. Musing that stories about difficult subjects can be tainted by association, he added, "And that's a shame."
He then invoked Schindler's List and said, "Are we gonna have a go at Liam Neeson for being in a film about the Holocaust?"
Yeah, that feels really different there, buddy. The holocaust was an atrocious historical event that everyone should be taught about. We’ve all seen your tired Lolita story play out several times bro.
Back in February, the film's intimacy coordinator, Kristina Arjona, said Ortega was "comfortable" with the material and actively involved with the execution.
Arjona told the Daily Mail: "There was many, many people throughout this process, engaging with [Ortega] 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.”
"I'm hyper aware of both of my talent and making sure that we're consistently checking in and that at no point are any of their boundaries.”
via: EW