Miller's Girl Age Rating Explained: Why It's Rated R

Summary Miller's Girl is an R-rated movie due to sexual content, language, and teen smoking and drinking.

The movie stars Jenna Ortega, who is known for R-rated roles including many in the horror genre.

Controversy surrounds the film for its age-gap relationship and inappropriate teacher-student dynamic.

Miller's Girl is an R-rated movie for a variety of reasons. The 2024 erotic thriller, which premiered on Netflix in April after a theatrical release in January, was the directorial debut of Jade Halley Bartlett, who also wrote and executive-produced the project. Despite featuring a star-studded cast that includes Black Panther's Martin Freeman, Top Gun: Maverick's Bashir Salahuddin, and Succession's Dagmara Domińczyk, the movie struggled to make its budget back in theaters, only earning a total of $856,842 at the box office.

The Miller's Girl cast is led by Jenna Ortega, a young rising star known for her roles in projects including the smash hit Netflix show Wednesday, in which she plays Wednesday Addams. Ortega is no stranger to R-rated movies, having starred in Scream (2022), Scream VI, X, and Studio 666. However, much like her other R-rated movies The Fallout and Finestkind, her new movie is not in the horror genre, so the rating does not stem from more obvious sources such as violence and gore.

Related The 20 Best Jenna Ortega Movies And TV Shows The Wednesday star is well known for playing the popular Addams Family character, but the best Jenna Ortega movies and TV shows cover many genres.

Miller's Girl's R-Rating: Sexual Content, Language, Teen Smoking & Drinking

The Jenna Ortega Drama Contains Strong Sexual Themes

Your browser does not support the video tag.

According to the Motion Picture Association (MPA), Miller's Girl is rated R for "sexual content, language throughout, some teen smoking and drinking." Because of those factors, it was determined that the movie should only be viewable by those under 17 if they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. This provides some overlap with Jenna Ortega's other R-rated dramas outside of the horror genre, as 2023's Finestkind and 2021's The Fallout were also flagged for containing drug use and strong language.

The MPA was formerly known as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), a name that was retired in 2019.

The Miller's Girl Netflix release has not been edited from the cut that was originally shown in theaters, so it retains its R rating. While smoking and drinking are pervasive throughout the movie, the most prominent element that earned this rating is its sexual content. While much of said content is implied and features minimal nudity, the story has strong sexual themes and features several sex scenes as well as frequent conversations about sex.

Miller's Girl Controversy Explained

The Age-Gap Drama Has Been A Lightning Rod

Close

One of the major controversies around the movie comes from the Miller's Girl age gap, as it focuses on the relationship between a duo who were born more than 30 years apart. This controversial subject matter is prominent in addition to the inappropriate nature of the sexual relationship between a teacher and student. While the movie remains ambiguous about whether the characters actually have sex, one particular encounter between them is shown via a fantasy sequence bringing the character's short story to life, which has driven this general controversy as well as the movie's MPA rating.

Click here to watch Miller's Girl on Netflix