Fans can't understand why Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman signed up to new erotic thriller
Millions of people love the work of Hollywood heavyweights Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman.
But their latest work has left people a little divided.
Known for roles such as The Office, Fargo and Sherlock, Freeman is a modern British great of film and television with Emmys, and a BAFTA to his name.
And like Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus before her, Ortega came from the lineup of Disney Channel stars.
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Since starring in Stuck in the Middle, she's gone on to have mainstream success in adult roles such as Scream, X, and Wednesday.
She'll also star in the highly anticipated Beetlejuice sequel.
The pair are now starring opposite each other new erotic thriller Miller's Girl.
Released to theatres in the US in late January, it puts 21-year-old Ortega and 52-year-old Freeman at the centre of the story.
It's a film about teacher Jonathan Miller (Freeman) and his student Cairo Sweet (Ortega).
The two of them become inappropriately close after Miller tasks Sweet with a creative writing task that yields unexpected results, complicating their relationship that goes beyond professional.
Check out the trailer below:
Fans have reacted with a mixed bag of emotions, however, which can in part be put down to the different roles that the flick shows Ortega and Freeman cast in.
At least that's what fans think - with some asking why they've changed tact in two career paths that are not in need of shaking things up.
While some also questioned the plot line, calling it 'tired and overdone'.
Over on Reddit, one person wrote: "My God I rolled my eyes so hard at this. Can we just not anymore with this s**t?"
A second said: "Seriously. This storyline is more overdone than a superhero movie. I rolled my eyes just at a photo of it."
A third sarcastically added: "I was just saying I can't wait to see another dreary navel gazing film about a mediocre middle aged man and the beautiful and brilliant younger woman who finds him irresistibly attractive.
"Fantastic stuff."
On the changing of roles that we usually see the pair in, one user posted: "I love both of them as actors so I’m a little confused why they’re doing this. Maybe it will subvert expectations?"
Trying to explain the casting, someone wrote in response: "I feel like it's gotta be critical of the dynamic for Jenna Ortega to sign on, but I'm still suspicious that it will pull it off.
"It's very hard to do movies which criticise an action where it doesn't sympathise a little too hard.
"Like even the phrasing of 'complex connections' between the pair is already so iffy.
"It truly is not hard to not f**k young people, especially ones where you've held direct positions of authority."
And one scene in particular has got people a little freaked out.
In a clip that's gone viral, Freeman slowly bends Ortega over a bed as she holds a book, stroking her silk dress and hair before leaning over to grab her hand.
The scene is narrated by the Wednesday star who writes a story that the teacher tells her not to submit.
Many were pretty creeped out by the scene as they say they’ve ‘seen enough’ and some ‘still can’t watch’.
While others called it ‘gross’ and ask: “Am I the only one that thinks this is weird?”
Some replied saying that the age difference and abuse of power is 'exactly the point the film is trying to make'.
Miller's Girl has yet to be given a UK release date.
Over on Rotten Tomatoes, it scores 32 percent with critics and 45 percent with audiences.
One critic said the movie 'brings back all of the ickiness of the 1960s to 1980s, when movies and TV commercials portrayed tween and teen girls as sexually provocative and available to men'.
Topics: Jenna Ortega, TV and Film, UK News, US News, Martin Freeman
Tom Earnshaw