Right at the top of Netflix’s fantasy/action flick Damsel, Millie Bobby Brown’s Elodie exclaims that this is very much not a simple damsel in distress story. No princes will be swooping in to save the day, nor will first love’s kiss set her free. Elodie will be a different brand of princess, relying solely on herself to make it out alive. Taking a page from HBO’s Game of Thrones, Damsel nicely sets up the world of a “faraway land,” teeming with battles and dragons. Despite a few minor missteps, Damsel is a female-led blast that cements Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown as a storybook movie star.
With their kingdom approaching “the thaw,” the only hope for Elodie’s people may be a surprising proposal from Queen Isabelle of Aurea (Robin Wright, Forrest Gump, The Princess Bride). Princess Elodie does not seem to have much of a choice—either she accepts the hand of a Prince she does not know, or her people may succumb to freezing, starving conditions. Upon meeting adorable Prince Henry (Nick Robinson, Love, Simon, Jurassic World), Elodie becomes instantly smitten by his adventurous personality and warm nature. Too bad everything Elodie and her family sees before the union is nothing more than a farce.
Just after Elodie and Henry have wed, he whisks her away to a mountain rendezvous for a ceremony that will “pay homage to the ancestors.” The two cut their hands and bond their blood together. Before Elodie can register anything, Henry tosses her down into a massive chasm. Here, she will meet a bloodthirsty female dragon who appears to communicate telepathically. Elodie refuses to be murdered in a dark cave by a giant dragon whilst those truly responsible get away Scott free. CGI effects for the dragon are rather good, though notably never rise to Thrones-level. Few films or television series do, honestly.
At first, Damsel lacks a cohesive visual style. Just because a dimly-lit cave features as the main setting does not mean the actual visuals should be dark or frequently difficult to make out. The middle portion also sags quite a bit, wherein Elodie tatters her clothes in a struggle for survival. However, at a certain point, a turn taken for the better offers intriguing possibilities. Elodie’s determination to survive paints her as a badass female with nothing to lose. Is it wrong to be rooting for the dragon for the majority of the film? She seems to have some great points.
The final act of Damsel is entirely worth the wait. Leaving viewers with a satisfied feeling of completion, the film from Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) more than lives up to its premise. A new-wave fairy tale with a surprising quantity of thrills and fun, Damsel works as a showcase for another notch on the belt of one of the best up-and-coming actresses of our generation.
Damsel triumphantly strays from genre norms when it debuts globally exclusively to Netflix on Friday, March 8th.
