How Do You Solve a Problem Like Ezra Miller?
The first time I really noticed Ezra Miller, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, was when they unforgettably played the title role in Lynne Ramsay’s 2011 adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s 2003 novel We Need to Talk About Kevin.
The film presents every parent’s worst nightmare: that their child will be distant and unknowable, cold and cruel and ultimately impossible to reach.
Kevin is always a problem his overwhelmed mother cannot solve or understand even before his adolescent rage takes on a homicidal dimension and he goes on a killing spree with a bow and arrow.
It was a star-making performance in a role that was difficult to the point of being impossible. Miller brilliantly played someone who was at once achingly human and utterly monstrous, someone who had myriad advantages but could not begin to control the rampaging, destructive darkness at the core of their being.
Miller were scarily good in the role. They were gorgeous in a gender-bending, androgynous way as well as charismatic and more than a little sinister and ominous.
In hindsight, Kevin was an appropriate breakout role for Miller. For the past few years, we have not been able to stop talking about Miller. Unfortunately that heated conversation has little do with Miller’s professional triumphs and everything to do with their out of control and deeply alarming personal life.
They went on to appear in cursed productions like Fantastic Beasts: The Scrumbledum of Bittlesmore, Fantastic Beasts: Dumblesnore Fizzlepot, Fantastic Beasts; Scribblescrum’s Ultimatum and Justice League before getting their own two hundred million dollar vehicle in The Flash.
Then came the crime wave. They were accused of strangling a woman and throwing her to the ground in Iceland in 2020. There have been multiple arrests in Hawaii. As if that was not bad enough, Miller was accused of grooming their now partner Tokata Iron Eyes when Tokata (who also identifies as non-binary) were underage. They were accused of storing a sizable assortment of guns and drugs in a farm where small children lived.
Miller’s transgressions transcend mere bad or problematic behavior. They seem intent on starting a cult, and not one of those innocent ones either.
This posed a MASSIVE problem for Warner Brothers. They have sunk two hundred million dollars in a movie that pretty much has to be a billion dollar blockbuster in order to not be perceived as a crushing failure, particularly once publicity and distribution costs are factored in.
Miller’s substance abuse problems and mental illness are affecting the fortunes of a major studio in a very real way. Warner Brothers is in crisis mode big time, desperately looking for a way to save a potentially massive tentpole from the flagrant misbehavior of their star.
To that end, Miller’s representatives have apologized for their misbehavior and have begun treatment for their mental health issues.
Will it be enough? Will audiences be able to look at the controversy and scandal magnet and see a speedy superhero instead of a real-life supervillain?
I try to be empathetic towards those wrestling with substance abuse and mental health issues, in part because I myself have fought a lifelong, not entirely successful battle with depression and enjoy substances.
The more you know about Miller’s very bad year, the more apparent it becomes that they have hurt a lot of people in their sickness, many of them children, and their fortune and fame have empowered them to be as destructive as possible. Giving Miller more power, more money and more fame by making them the star of a billion dollar hit might not be the greatest idea in the world, to be honest.
If nothing else, this unsolvable problem underlines how important it is for studios to vet their stars and conduct due diligence unless they also want to find themselves in the unfortunate position of making a 200 million dollar blockbuster that might just go down as the biggest tax write-off in studio history.
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