Jenna Ortega Made the Most of Her Small Role

The Big Picture

• Jenna Ortega's performance in X contributes to the film's themes of progression and self-acceptance, showcasing her talent as a subtle performer.
• Throughout the film, Ortega's character, Lorraine, undergoes a journey of self-ownership and understanding of gender dynamics, pushing her boundaries and pursuing her own desires.
• While Ortega's role in X may not be large, she leaves a memorable impact as Lorraine, solidifying her position as this generation's scream queen and showcasing her potential as a breakout star in the horror genre.

2022 was a historical year in the horror genre, and it had Jenna Ortega as the year's most defining final girl. While Ortega’s familiarity with the genre seemed limited to a smaller role in Insidious: Chapter 2 and the disastrously-received Netflix sequel The Babysitter Killer Queen, she proved 2022 to be the next icon of the genre. Ortega reinvented the iconic Addams family daughter in the record-breakingly successful Wednesday, and she gave the Scream franchise a final girl worthy of Neve Campbell with her performance as Tara Carpenter in the fifth and sixth installments. Amidst her string of successes, Ortega contributed to another landmark achievement in the genre through her supporting turn in X.

X is the first installment in writer/director Ti West’s inventive new franchise centered on the dynamic screen personas of Mia Goth. In the first film, an amateur group of young filmmakers travel out to an isolated Texas ranch to shoot the pornographic film "The Farmer’s Daughter" in 1979. While the film’s stars Maxine Minx (Goth) and Bobby-Lynne Parker (Brittany Snow) are both experienced and enthusiastic about the vision that their producer Wayne Gilroy (Martin Henderson) has for the film, Lorraine Day (Ortega) is more doubtful about the artistic merits of pornography. Many of her reservations stem from the prejudice that she’s picked up on from her boyfriend, director R.J. Nichols (Owen Campbell), but over the course of the shoot, she begins to open up.

While X is a dynamically fun throwback to classic 1970s horror — The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, in particular — it’s also a clever examination of sexuality, body image, and female autonomy. In X, both Maxine and Bobby-Lynne are comfortable and open to celebrating their beauty on screen, sparking the jealousy of their host, Pearl (Goth). Lorraine’s character arc personifies the themes of the film, as she is taught the merits of self-love and begins to understand why women shouldn't be ashamed of their sexuality. Despite not being at the center of the story, Ortega contributes a valuable storyline to X that makes its message even more impactful.

X (2022)

In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives.

Jenna Ortega's Lorraine Highlights 'X's Themes of Progression and Self-Acceptance

X is a film that celebrates finding a community of compassion, so it’s interesting that Lorraine is initially an outsider within this amateur group of young filmmakers. She’s a part of the production of The Farmer’s Daughter due to R.J.’s involvement, and she’s more or less obliged to take the road trip with everyone in order to gain a little bit of experience in the world of filmmaking. We’re not given very many details about her life prior to the film, but judging from a few subtle hints, it’s indicated that Lorraine has some interest in the artistic nature of film. She’s quick to note inventive ways to stylize R.J.'s shots, despite being relatively unimpressed with the pornographic content that they’re filming.

It’s during these brief interactions that Ortega’s talent as a subtle performer really shines. As she also showed in the vastly underrated drama The Fallout, Ortega can imply a greater history to her characters, even if it’s never spelled out directly for the audience. Lorraine’s disinterest in sexually explicit films isn’t out of hatred or prejudice, as she genuinely remains in awe of the confidence that Maxine and Bobby-Lynne show off. It’s through her own passing interest that Lorraine begins to see the contradictions in her boyfriend’s claims about the genre.

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R.J. wants to use pornography to create “art,” and thus he thinks that Maxine and Bobby-Lynne should be enthusiastic about filming intimate scenes. However, when he notices that Lorraine is willing to participate in the film, he’s immediately infuriated. This reveals the misogyny behind his thinking; R.J. thinks that Lorraine belongs to him, and wants her to “protect” her reputation. It’s through the joyous friendship that Lorraine has with Maxine and Bobby-Lynne that she understands that at the end of the day, "The Farmer’s Daughter" is still something R.J. is filming through the male gaze.

Jenna Ortega Shows Lorraine's Journey to Self-Ownership in 'X'

The scenes that Ortega shares with Goth and Snow are quite delightful; the other girls don’t push Lorraine to do anything she’s uncomfortable with, but they gently chide her and offer encouragement as she tests her boundaries. She also shows genuine enthusiasm and self-ownership when she gets to shoot an intimate scene with one of the film’s stars, Jackson Hole (Kid Cudi). It’s a mini-act of defiance on her part; R.J. has been attempting to make something that would appeal to the male gaze, yet Lorraine found a way to use it to pursue her own desires.

Ortega shows a real progression in Lorraine’s understanding of gender dynamics, but she also makes it clear that she is still young, timid, and inexperienced. Lorraine’s fears about the content of the production may have been calmed, but they’re still in the middle of nowhere with little autonomy or connection to the outside world. X is a film in which the characters (for the most part) avoid making the type of “dumb mistakes” that the slasher genre is so well known for, and Lorraine’s trip to the basement to retrieve something for Howard (Stephen Ure) makes somewhat sense. Perhaps if she does one favor for her enigmatic host, he might realize that she didn’t sign up to take over his farm without permission.

Jenna Ortega Is This Generation’s Scream Queen

Like any great scream queen, Ortega at least manages to leave the film on a memorable note. X has plenty of grizzly, inventive death scenes, but Lorraine’s escape from Howard’s bunker suggests she might end up making it out alive. Sadly, a last-second panic causes Lorraine to hastily make a break for the exit, only to be brutally gunned down by Howard. It’s slightly melancholic; if Lorraine had placed her faith in Maxine one last time, they may have made it out together. It’s never entirely clear in horror films which breakout stars will emerge. Not everyone who watched Friday the 13th would have expected Kevin Bacon to become the icon that he did. Ortega may not have had a huge role in X, but it’s one that she made the most of.

While X was certainly Ortega’s breakthrough, it is hardly an outlier within her filmography. In recent years, Ortega has graduated from being a “scene-stealer” in horror films to becoming the definitive scream queen of her generation. While she obviously wasn’t able to return for the X prequel Pearl, she was able to take over the Scream franchise with her lead performance in the 2022 reboot. Scream VI was even more reliant on Ortega and the new generation of stars introduced in the fifth installment within the series; with Neve Campbell and David Arquette not returning, Ortega was left as one of the saga’s two default protagonists. Then, Tim Burton himself cast Ortega in Wednesday, which has become one the biggest programs in the history of the streaming service. The show wouldn’t have become nearly as popular if it wasn’t for Ortega’s demented yet charismatic take on the titular character. Ortega and Burton are reuniting once more for the long-awaited sequel to Beetlejuice, which will bring back returning cast members Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder.

X is currently available to stream on Showtime in the U.S.

WATCH ON SHOWTIME

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