Miller Girl is a poorly conceived movie that relies on stereotypes to tell a story that takes no narrative leaps. Both Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman are capable – at times almost too good for the material – but even they cannot save an uninspired tale that seems to have no real idea of what it wants to say.
Sure, there’s an interesting story hidden somewhere in the dynamics of teacher Jonathan (Freeman) and student Cairo (Ortega), particularly when considering he spends half the movie deluding himself into thinking he is only attracted to her intellectually and not physically. But the movie never really goes deep into the interesting parts, and it’s hard to conceptualize how it even could.
Instead, the movie ends up being pretty much what movies like these always are – told in pretty much the way we would expect it. Not just that, the characters in the movie all treat it like an inevitability because that’s what happens in the South. It’s not just all formulaic, it’s also all predictable and because of all of that, boring. The combination makes even Ortega, who is doing her very best, feel like a caricature.
Not that the movie is trying. No, Miller’s Girl seems to be attempting to be deep with its social commentary, but instead, it flounders by being blasé about situations that require a little more examination. The characters are too superficial, and everything is too on the nose to be believable. If this were a Lifetime movie, we might have an easier time going with it, but it isn’t.
Originally billed as Jenna Ortega’s attempt at showing range, Miller’s Girl ends up presenting the actress with a very similar role as Wednesday Addams, even if she gets to play off the seduction a little more – or at least, do so a little more knowingly. There’s nothing about Cairo Sweet that is a departure for Ortega, who still gets to do deadpan and creepy in the way that she’s known for. If anything, it would be good for her to go do a romantic comedy. That would showcase her range more than anything. This is just more of the same.
Freeman, on the other hand, is doing something somewhat different here, but considering what he has to play with, it’s hard to say this is his best decision. He doesn’t get the best script to help him, and there are some moments of truth in his performance, but in the end, the lasting impression of him is of someone who would have been better off passing on this role.
Miller’s Girl could have been an interesting study of the complexities of human relationships. Instead, it’s a bland, formulaic story about a teacher-student relationship gone wrong. Been there, and seen that, multiple times before.
Miller’s Girl will be in theaters on Friday, January 26th.