Written and directed by newcomer Jade Harry Bartlett, “Mirror's Girl” stars Martin Freeman as Jonathan Albert, the teacher who leads the creative writing class of 18-year-old Cairo Sweet, played by Jenna Ortega. Play mirror. Impressed by Sweet's literary knowledge, Miller develops a complicated and clearly inappropriate relationship with his student, and during its brief theatrical run, there is a lot of pearl-clutching excitement among those who actually saw the film. It never stopped.
A particularly intimate scene between the two gained notoriety on social media, fueling further criticism of the film's depiction of a teacher-student relationship. Some people were less than impressed with the age difference between Ortega and Freeman's characters, and many people involved in the film came to their defense. As reported by USA Today, Freeman himself defended “Mirror's Girl'' following the backlash, saying, “I'm not saying, “Isn't this great?'''' Are you going to criticize Liam Neeson for starring in a movie about the Holocaust?'' Meanwhile, Christina Arjona, the film's intimacy coordinator, spoke to the Daily Mail and addressed concerns about the film's sex scenes, saying: “There were so many people involved throughout this process.” [Ortega] It was to make sure it was in line with what she felt comfortable with, and she was very determined and sure of what she wanted to do. ”
None of this controversy resulted in a box office success for Mirror's Girl, but it may have helped propel the film to Netflix's most-watched chart. As of this writing, the film sits at No. 4 on the streamer's US charts after debuting on the platform on April 26, 2024.