Actor Martin Freeman Defends 'Miller's Girl' Amid Age Gap Controversy

Martin Freeman, the actor in the recent film "Miller's Girl," has responded to criticism about the film's inappropriate portrayal of an age gap relationship. The film received criticism for including a controversial sex scene starring Freeman and Jenna Ortega, who were 51 and 19 years old at the time of production, respectively.

Morgan Freeman Defends Controversial Film Amidst Criticism

"Miller's Girl" is an erotic thriller that shows an inappropriate relationship between a high school senior, Cairo Sweet and her creative writing teacher, Jonathan Miller. Cairo and Jonathan have a brief intimate moment, based on which Cairo writes an erotic story. She submits the story to Jonathan, who immediately asks her to rewrite it. In an act of defiance, Cairo submits the story to the vice-principal and suggests that the story was inspired by her real-life affair with Jonathan. As a result, Jonathan loses his job and his wife.

The film has drawn criticism over its portrayal of Cairo as a conniving temptress and Jonathan as someone who fell for her tricks, an extremely dated narrative often used in films about age-gap relationships. On top of this, the film also drew criticism for the real-life 31-year age gap between Freeman and Ortega at the time of shooting the film. This becomes even more jarring when we realise that the two actors shared an intimate scene in the movie.

Addressing the criticism leveled against the film, Freeman drew parallels to other controversial cinematic endeavors, notably citing Liam Neeson's involvement in a film centered on the Holocaust. By questioning the validity of condemning films for addressing challenging topics, Freeman encouraged audiences to approach "Miller's Girl" with an open mind and a willingness to grapple with its complexities.

"I'm not saying this is great," he went on to say, "instead saying that the shame element in such stories often prevents people from understanding the full depth of it," he went on to explain. He invoked the film 'Schindler's List", stating how it wasn't criticised just because it was a film about the Holocaust. He also added that any discomfort that audiences might have from watching the film was intended. 

"Miller's Girl" is now available on Prime Video.