Sartaj Singh
Under writer-director Jade Halley Bartlett, ‘Miller’s Girl’ takes us to a remote town in the wilderness of Tennesee, following the increasingly intriguing dynamic between a talented high school student and her teacher. Cairo Sweet is a wealthy 18-year-old who feels uninspired to write an essay for her admission into Yale University. She joins the class of a creative writing teacher, Jonathan Miller. Miller is a published author but has abandoned his ambition to write something new in favor of teaching, while his wife went on to become a celebrated author.
Impressed by Cairo’s immense grasp over literature, Miller begins to tutor her while she intends to seduce him to stimulate inspiration. The character-driven erotic thriller features enigmatic backdrops of lush forest paths, a stately mansion, and grand antiquated classrooms. The setting becomes a character in its own right, galvanizing Cairo and Miller’s tantalizing games and likely generating questions regarding where it was filmed.
Miller’s Girl Filming Locations
The settings for ‘Miller’s Girl’ were largely created using sites around the Georgian city of Cartersville. Principal photography was carried out in September of 2022. When asked about any issues she faced in production, director Bartlett responded, “There are challenges to making a movie but this whole thing was an anomaly of near perfection. It was very smooth. We shot for 19 days, it felt like summer camp.” Adding, “Everybody understood the assignment, so when we got in here, we got to play.” Allow us to take you through the specific locations seen in the movie.
Cartersville, Georgia
With its verdant expanse and historical sites, Cartersville stood in for the remote Tennessee town seen in the movie. Situated on the northwestern edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area, Cartersville’s cinematic allure lies in its scenic beauty, characterized by rolling hills, verdant forests, and tranquil waterways. From the mystifying aura of Bartow County Courthouse to the lush expanses of Dellinger Park, the town provided a myriad of breathtaking vistas that made their way into ‘Miller’s Girl.’
The film sees Cairo living in a mansion by herself while her parents are out of town. She also roams the wilderness around her home, treating us to stunning natural environments. Her home is represented by the real-life Valley View estate, and shots of Cairo’s hikes were lensed in the surrounding backwoods of Valley View farms on 100 Valley View Farm Road, Southwest. The estate is characterized by its high-style antebellum architecture and well-preserved historic boxwood gardens.
The site falls within the Etowah River Valley region of northwest Georgia. It was first developed in the 1840s by settlers expanding into the Cherokee-dominated valley and remains under the ownership of their direct descendants. The site can be leased for purposes of filming, as was done by the film crew of ‘Miller’s Girl,’ with its surrounding wooded expanse serving as a perfect backdrop for many of the movie’s cinematic shots.
Cairo’s high school features a grand building with a sign that reads- Opal County Board of Education. This structure is actually the Bartow County Courthouse at 135 West Cherokee Avenue. It was built in 1902, and its revival-style architecture graces a few sequences revolving around the revelation of Cario and Miller’s relationship to the school.
Some of the most pivotal scenes of the movie take place in Miller’s picturesque home, where the sexual tension of the taboo romance reaches a crescendo. These scenes were shot in and around the Rose Lawn Museum at 224 West Cherokee Avenue. The restored Victorian Mansion is owned by Bartow County and is open to the public, as well as for filming rentals. Since the museum is dedicated to the writings and memorabilia of Sam Jones and Rebecca Latimer Felton, it is fitting that the film chose it to house their writer couple, Jonathan and Beatrice. Further filming took place at Dellinger Park, with the film crew lensing scenes of its enchanting expanse over three days.
Read More: Miller’s Girl: Is the Movie Inspired By Real Life?
