"There is no such thing as a bad reputation," goes the old saying, and "Miller's Girl" proves that statement to be especially wise The erotic thriller recently appeared on Netflix and has generated quite a bit of controversy, with some social media commentators getting very cranky

However, despite this backlash, the film has skyrocketed up Netflix's most-watched list and is currently in second place behind the rom-com "Anyone But You"

The speed at which it is climbing the Netflix charts is so fast that it is likely to take the top spot It is on the verge of taking over the top spot

Obviously, controversy is not keeping viewers away (it has a poor 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), but if you've been dazzled by the online debate and want to know exactly why the film has become so controversial, I'll explain everything you need to know

"Miller's Girl" is about the relationship between Cairo Sweet (Jenna Ortega of Netflix's "Wednesday Night Live" series) and Jonathan Miller (Martin Freeman) The former is an 18-year-old finishing his senior year of high school, and the latter is Cairo's creative writing professor, suffering from crippling writer's block and feeling trapped in an unhappy marriage

Cairo was similarly confronted with a lack of inspiration when he was assigned to write an essay for admission to Yale about his "greatest achievement to date" At the unscrupulous urging of a close friend, she decides to seduce her teacher into giving her the experience she deserves to write about

As Kylo and Miller grow closer, the boundaries between teacher and student blur and their relationship becomes increasingly inappropriate The two revel in the thrill of forbidden romance, but the possibility of an inappropriate relationship surfacing looms large

The controversy surrounding "Miller's Girls" is largely due not only to the age difference between the two (fictional) protagonists, Cairo and Miller, but also to the resulting large age difference between the lead actresses There is a 31-year age difference between Ortega and Freeman They were even born in different centuries

One scene in particular has been criticized I won't spoil it here, but you can imagine that it is an intimate scene Questions have also been raised about how the film deals with troubling themes such as consent and power dynamics

In a recent interview with The Times of London, however, Freeman fired back at the criticism, calling the film "mature and nuanced" and noting that the film does not necessarily condone the relationship between the two protagonists To me, this is a very fair point Just because a film depicts something inappropriate does not mean it encourages it

During filming, there was also an intimacy coordinator on the set, Kristina Arjona, who, speaking to the Daily Mail earlier this year, stressed that neither actor was put in a situation that would make them uncomfortable and that the film's lewd scenes were treated with care and the necessary sensitivity

So, if controversy is not a concern for you and you are comfortable with the film's sensitive subject matter, you might ask yourself, is "Miller's Girl" worth adding to your Netflix watch list? This is a difficult question to answer

Its popularity on the world's largest streaming service will undoubtedly convince many subscribers and give them a chance to see what all the fuss is about However, as noted above, the film has been quite poorly received since its theatrical release in January, with an audience score of 42% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is not very good

Unless you're a big fan of Jenna Ortega or have no qualms about watching such a controversial film, you might be better off streaming something else new on Netflix in May But if you really want to see "Miller's Girl," be prepared for a mostly bland thriller that probably isn't worth as much attention as it has been getting in recent weeks

If you're looking for another option, be sure to check out our list of the best new movies you can stream this week on the best streaming services And if you want something centered around an age-appropriate romance, Netflix just got a must-see rom-com