Jenna Ortega, 21, and Martin Freeman, 52, sex scene is called 'gross'

An X-rated sex scene between Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman in new movie Miller's Girl has been branded 'gross' by viewers left horrified by their 31-year age gap. 

Wednesday star Jenna, 21, plays 18-year-old student Cairo Sweet in the black comedy drama, while Martin, 52, takes on the role of her teacher Jonathan Miller. 

The film sees the two getting tangled in a very complex and inappropriate relationship, with Cairo choosing to pen a sex story after being given a creative writing assignment by Jonathan. 

Raunchy scenes from this story are then played out on screen by Jenna and Martin - leaving viewers in uproar over the 'uncomfortable' age gap. 

Taking to X, which was formerly known as Twitter, viewers wrote: 'I think I am finally done watching these age gap movies. They are all gross, and I am tired of it. No amount of Jenna Ortega or Martin Freeman could save this one for me.'

'MARTIN FREEMAN WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO JENNA ORTEGA,' while one simply said: 'I'm uncomfortable'. 

'That Jenna Ortega Martin Freeman clip might be the worst thing I’ve ever seen' and ''I think I am finally done watching these age gap movies. They are all gross and I am timred of it. No amount of Jenna Ortegan or Martin Freeman could save this one for me'.

'When Martin Freeman was in his 40’s Jenna Ortega was 10 years old,' another commented.

However, there were some who leapt to the defense of the film - which was directed and written by Hollywood newcomer Jade Halley Bartlett.   

'Apparently people are freaking out because Jenna Ortega kisses a girl in once scene, and assumes the doggy style position with Martin Freeman in another. Like guys, it's a movie, she's acting. Chill,' one person wrote.

'An erotic thriller starring Martin Freeman and Jenna Ortega lol like what were people expecting,' another said. 

In the movie, Martin plays the part of a failed writer who turned to teaching after his attempts to find success as a published author fell short. 

In Jenna's character Cairo, he sees a huge amount of untapped talent, and, despite her increasingly inappropriate pursuits of him, chooses to risk his career and his marriage in order to try and help her succeed where he failed. 

On its website, Lionsgate says of the movie: 'A talented young writer (Ortega) embarks on a creative odyssey when her teacher (Freeman) assigns a project that entangles them both in an increasingly complex web. 

'As lines blur and their lives intertwine, professor and protégé must confront their darkest selves while straining to preserve their individual sense of purpose and the things they hold most dear.' 

Bartlett has spent years trying to bring the movie to life - having earned a 2016 spot on the Black List, a platform that highlight unproduced screenplays and helps writers and producers get them onto the big screen. 

The film, which was written initially as a play by Bartlett in 2011, was released by Lionsgate in theaters on Friday, January 26 in the US, having premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival earlier this year. 

It marks Bartlett's first endeavor as a writer and director. 

Jenna admitted she was 'scared' to take such a risk with the film. 

She said during a Q and A: 'I remember receiving the script being on set in Montreal and it was just this side email and then I open up to find this horrific and beautiful, this romantic horror. This horrific story romanticized.

'I remember being so taken aback by Cairo because what I have experienced in my career and I think a lot of young girls can say the same. 

'I feel like teenage girls are often written in the same bratty, no nonsense manner but Cairo is so intelligent and wise beyond her years that I was excited to be able to explore.

'The topic of the film is a little bit riskier. It is a scary thing to approach but obviously as an artist you want to take risks and explore what it could be.'

Martin's role as a desirable teacher is a far cry from his previous acting credits where he is known to take on hapless characters such as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit and Sherlock's side-kick Dr John Watson. 

The actor bulked out for the film and had noticeably bigger biceps to play Jonathan. 

Jenna, meanwhile, received nominations at the Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards as Wednesday Addams in Netflix hit Wednesday. 

After two weeks at the box office, Rotten Tomatoes gave Miller's Girl a 32% score on the Tomatometer with many critics slamming the storyline, while the audience score is at 45%. 

Katie Walsh wrote for the Los Angeles Times: 'Some might see Miller’s Girl as a #MeToo story about relationships with uneven power dynamics, but it plays more like a throwback ’80s or ’90s erotic thriller such as Poison Ivy or Wild Things with a literary bent. 

'The movie strikes that wild, so-bad-it’s-entertaining chord vigorously. I can’t recommend Miller’s Girl but I also can’t recommend it enough.' 

Variety wrote in their review: 'So much potential lingers from the fallout of an imploded student-teacher affair - however consummated - converging with her naive romantic notions and the absence of guidance from parents or authority figures, especially in a conservative Southern town that may not place blame on him to protect a minor from exploitation as readily as it should. 

'Instead, Miller’s Girl delivers a tale whose transgressions are stylish but disappointingly predictable, one written with skillful knowledge of form but not the maturity to implement it with originality.' 

The Seattle Times said: '"If it’s not controversial, it’s not interesting." This infantile line, delivered by Jenna Ortega’s aspiring young writer Cairo Sweet, proves to be as good a summary as any for the general ethos of the tepid thriller Miller’s Girl.

'For all the ways the film flirts with its thorny topic, proving to be controversial in only a superficial sense, the story is one not even the most inexperienced writer would praise.'

A release date for the UK has yet to be confirmed.