Cinema Scholars interviews Jade Halley Bartlett, writer/director of the new psychological thriller Miller’s Girl. Lionsgate released Miller’s Girl exclusively in theaters on January 26, 2024.
Introduction
Nothing breaks up the tedium of middle age like fresh blood injected into the everyday ho-hum. Especially in the context of a mentor/protege pairing. Adults at mid-life can identify with questions about realizing (and more often not realizing) life-long dreams. The young among us are still identifying those aspirations and plotting their strategy. When the two intersect, an interesting dynamic between wisdom and naivety emerges from both sides of the equation.
Even when an elder should know better in these situations, it is sometimes easy to be seduced by the camaraderie of an invigorating consort. The younger partner, typically defaulted as the innocent, may not always be as guileless as expected. Throw in a good helping of erotic tension and questionable intent, and this type of misadventure takes on a whole new level of scandalous intrigue. In Jade Halley Bartlett’s new drama, Miller’s Girl, the writer/director explores these themes and more in a dangerously delightful tale of twisted infatuation.
Miller’s Girl centers on Cairo Sweet (Jenna Ortega), a clever young woman left to her own devices by absentee parents. Fortunately, those devices are limited to breezing through straight-A’s at her high school and wandering the rooms of her family’s plantation-style mansion with her bestie, Winnie (Gideon Adlon). Fresh off her 18th birthday, Cairo embarks on her senior year with one mission. To escape the idyllic doldrums of rural Tennessee for the great big world waiting for her.
When she meets her new English instructor, Jonathan Miller (Martin Freeman), she finds a kindred spirit in the one-time author and fellow literary nerd. Miller is delighted to discover a student who is not only engaged in her studies. She is also a like-minded intellectual. Soon, however, Miller’s simple encouragement of his new muse is contorted by the calculated yet still immature Cairo.
Discussion
With a gloriously rich and moody palette, Bartlett paints a tantalizing portrait of wanton intrigue. Jenna Ortega exudes cerebral indifference as Cairo. All while working her new-found feminine potency. Even as her plight takes a hard left turn, her wit and wile remain a captivating constant. Martin Freeman keeps it mostly relatable as the carelessly eager teacher. His folly can be seen from a mile away. But Freeman’s take on the unfulfilled author/instructor keeps the character far more sympathetic than pathetic.
Bartlett’s satisfyingly sardonic screenplay (think of an updated Kevin Williamson or a scholarly Diablo Cody) is itself an ode to the highbrow book nerdery central to the plot. Her conjuring of compelling and complex characters, especially with supporting players, gives the film an additional layer of substance that elevates the gambit’s many levels. All of this unfolds in a slightly decayed Southern Gothic aesthetic creating a timeless context for the scorching morality tale.
Cinema Scholar’s Rebecca Elliott recently caught up with writer/director Jade Halley Bartlett via email to uncover some of the details in making Miller’s Girl. Bartlett answers questions about being a literary nerd, finding the perfect cast, and how creeping kudzu is a good metaphor for invasive relationships.
Interview
Rebecca Elliott:
Hello! Many thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk Miller’s Girl with me. I adored the film and can’t wait to spread the word.
Jade Halley Bartlett:
Thank you, truly. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Rebecca Elliott:
Miller’s Girl is a story about a complicated relationship between a teacher and his student, but it’s also about two literary nerds bonding. The answer to this question is likely obvious since your screenplay is divine (“Are you attracted to the sycophancy or the smell of teen spirit?” I almost died from that line, among many others). Are you also a literary nerd? And do you draw inspiration from any screenwriters in particular? I was definitely getting Kevin Williamson vibes.
Jade Halley Bartlett:
Yes, big time. My parents started reading Stephen King to me when I was six, so I’ve always had a real love of the macabre and grotesque (there are a few King easter eggs in the movie) – which led of course to Anne Rice and Daphne DuMaurier, all three of which are probably the biggest influences on my voice.
I’m also a real sucker for the 19th-century ladies – Austen (naturally, HRH of Clapbacks), the Brontës (what a couple of absolute creeps), Shelley (Our Gothic Lady of Sorrows), and for the Lost Gen writers, particularly Eliot, Miller, and Faulkner.
Thank you for the KW vibe! I’ve never had that comparison drawn and I will take it heartily. I grew up on KW’s work – he absolutely broke the mold with Scream. Perfect self-reference, zingers for days, and such good character development. And of course, Sorkin and Mamet because if I love anything it’s pages of dialogue. And then heart of hearts – Nora Ephron.
Rebecca Elliott:
Tell me about casting current “it girl” Jenna Ortega! She seems a custom fit for this role, but I know there’s always a lot more that goes into it. She perfectly nails that witty, yet ultimately immature, too-smart-for-her-own-good vibe. Rather, too-smart-for-anyone’s-good. Tell me about finding your Cairo Sweet.
Jade Halley Bartlett:
Jenna is exceptional, as an actress and a human being. Even though I grew up in the South and she grew up in the desert, we share the same gothic proclivities. When we met, the chemistry was instant and she absolutely floored me with her understanding of Cairo – particularly her loneliness and longing as the ghost of this Gothic.
This story is deliberately heightened, it is not intended to feel in any way naturalistic, but Cairo’s feelings and experience within it are very real- so Jenna had to exact a delicate balance between the fairytale nature of the world/language and the reality of bitter heartbreak, which I think she accomplishes with absolute panache.
It would be easy to play Cairo as arch or melodramatic, but Jenna never does. You watch her heartbreak, you watch the scales grow over her…and yet still within her, even at the end, is a very real heartbeat. I think her performance is astounding.
Rebecca Elliott:
Martin Freeman is amazingly sympathetic in a role that could otherwise tread into creepy territory. I wish I was a fly on the wall when you two discussed the complexity of Jonathan Miller’s dilemma. Tell me about developing the character and how you and Freeman approached it together.
Jade Halley Bartlett:
Martin understood the complexities of both the story and the character right away. Again, the story is intended to feel like a fairytale – too beautiful, too decadent. Striking both chords of fantasy and reality simultaneously is challenging enough, but to find humanity within a character that – as you said, could easily tread into perv-city – is no easy task, particularly in our current cultural climate.
I met many actors who were afraid of Jon, afraid of his weakness, his hubris, and perhaps afraid to examine themselves within this character. Martin is fearless, which I think is evident in his every single performance. He didn’t approach Jon as a (capital V) Villain because Jon cannot see himself that way.
Martin’s warmth is so disarming you almost can’t help but like Jon, feel for him, maybe. And that is exactly what was needed for this character. There are no Perfect Victims or Perfect Villains in this story. Despite the un-reality of the world itself, the moral and ethical grayness of every character is what, I think, is the most real.
Rebecca Elliott:
I love the timeless, Southern Gothic look of Miller’s Girl. How closely did you work with production designer Cheyenne Ford to achieve that classic but slightly decayed feel? Was most of that on the page, or does Ford take all the credit? Side note: I’m obsessed with your kudzu references, especially as it relates to creeping invasiveness.
Jade Halley Bartlett:
Cheyenne and I worked very closely in initial meetings, but it was clear (as it was with, I am dead serious, every single person who worked on this movie) that she entirely understood the assignment. This story is a Southern Gothic and the textures of the film had to reflect it in the most romantic and grotesque way.
She’s from New Orleans. She knows decayed Southern Gothic at its rotted European root. So once we got into it, I was able to just let her run because the trust between us as artists was so explicit. Cheyenne’s understanding of this very specific dripping Southern color, texture, and light is unmatched. Her production design almost seems to breathe and she made living characters of all the spaces.
Re: The Kudzu – it is also absolutely a character in this movie, I’m so glad you noticed! And it is everywhere. It creeps into Jon’s office, it is painted on the walls in Cairo’s bedroom. And, fun fact – kudzu flowers smell like grape jelly.
Rebecca Elliott:
Aside from the leads, you also write fascinating and complex supporting characters. Especially Dagmara Domińczyk as the not-so-scorned-wife. I adore that she was initially intrigued instead of jealous. And Gideon Adlon as Cairo’s bestie, Winnie, gets to show various sides of the teenage psyche- not just sexy sass. How do you approach such complicated character development? And how do you then translate that to film with limited screen time for supporting roles?
Jade Halley Bartlett:
What a great question. I’m not sure I can explain how I approach their development because they sort of wrote themselves. Beatrice is my favorite character, of all my characters, ever. She says in real-time the things we all wish we’d said when we’re replaying the argument, you know what I mean?
I find Beatrice and Winnie’s reactions and intimations to be wonderfully masculine, in the sense that they are sexually and emotionally empowered without a shred of the shame we usually see cloaked around women. Beatrice and Winnie are also voices of reason in a court entirely out of order – despite their flaws, they act as a moral compass within the story. And as far as their screen time, I wish I could have three more hours of them both. Dagmara and Gideon are such tremendous actors, how could you not want more?
Rebecca Elliott:
Again, thank you so much for your time. And thank you for such a clever and entertaining film!
Jade Halley Bartlett:
Thank you for such thoughtful interview questions! I hope next time we may meet face to face.
