Jenna Ortega responds to backlash to her controversial age-gap movie with Martin Freeman: ‘It’s supposed to be awful at times’

“Miller’s Girl” was poorly received, landing a 29% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics called the movie shallow and “vapid,” while audiences criticized the 31-year age gap between Ortega and Freeman.

Freeman defended the film in April, calling it “grown-up and nuanced” in an interview with The Times of London.

“It’s not saying, ‘Isn’t this great,'” the actor said, adding that stories about tough matter can become “tainted by association.”

“And that’s a shame. Are we gonna have a go at Liam Neeson for being in a film about the Holocaust?” Freeman said, referring to Neeson’s role in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 movie “Schindler’s List.”