A coming-of-age drama under the shadow of Henry Miller stories.
Miller’s Girl is the directorial debut of Jade Halley Bartlett who is also the writer of the film.
It tells the story of Cairo Sweet, played by Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) and her complex relations with her creative writing teacher, Mr. Jonathan Miller, played by Martin Freeman.
The movie is not well received because many critics find it superficial and lacking coherence. Nevertheless, there is a lot to appreciate in the film and is definitely worth a watch.
First of all, it is very well written and as the story moves forward, the audience is completely absorbed by the journey the lead actors take, not only in terms of the characters’ self-discovery but also in the intense and complicated interaction that develops between the two.
Cairo Sweet is an ambitious, pretty young girl from a wealthy family with a bright future ahead of her. Mr. Miller, however, is a washed-up writer, stuck in an emotionless marriage.
As the relationship between Cairo and Mr. Miller deepens and they establish an intellectual connection, there are numerous hints at a sexual and also emotional tension between them, especially since Jonathan’s wife is distant and critical of his life choices.
The plot comes to peak when Cairo decides to submit a story in the style of the notorious American author Henry Miller. It must be mentioned that Miller’s works are forbidden in the school due to their explicit themes and subject matters.
The fact that the teacher shares the same family name with the famous author is of course intentional.
Near the end of the movie, Mr. Miller rejects the advances of Cairo. However, this helps little since Cairo’s story finds its way into the Vice-Principal’s office and their complicated relationship comes to the attention of the school administration.
At this point the viewer is most likely to hate Cairo, but the film ends with a twist and catches the viewer off-guard. At the end, we come to understand that the heroine’s intentions were not all that simple and straightforward as in other “hot for the teacher” stories.
If you are a lover of literature, you will definitely enjoy this movie. However, it must be mentioned that the dialogue can be heavy-handed because they contain difficult vocabulary and a complex narrative to keep up with the setting and the attitude of the main characters.
