By Robert Scucci
| Published
While we all wait for Stranger Things to see its fifth and final season come out some time this decade, I decided it would be a good move to check out Millie Bobby Brown’s latest feature-length effort, Damsel.
Though I admit to not being an expert on the fantasy genre, I appreciate this Netflix Original because its self-contained worldbuilding and linear storytelling makes for an enjoyable experience that doesn’t require too much heavy lifting, thematically speaking. Boasting a simple premise, Damsel probably won’t be considered a dark fantasy masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but rather an adequate, fantasy-lite point of entry for the casual viewer to check out on a lazy Sunday.
Damsel’s plot is so simple that it feels like fantasy tourism, which I don’t consider to be an indictment because you can just hit ‘play,’ watch the thing, enjoy the pretty colors, and move on with your life without having to hop on a message board to unpack its lore.
From Damsel In Distress To Ballsy Heroine
Damsel centers on Millie Bobby Brown’s Elodie, who gets sold to Aurea family for marriage as an economic strategy. The money paid to Elodie’s father, Lord Bayford (Ray Winstone), for her willingness to marry Queen Isabelle’s (Robin Wright) son, Prince Henry (Nick Robinson), is reason enough to form this union because the Bayford kingdom is in a state of economic turmoil, and the people are hungry. At first enamored by the opulence of the Aurea family’s kingdom, Elodie has reservations about the union after her stepmother, Lady Bayford (Angela Bassett), urges her to call off the wedding because something isn’t sitting right with her.
As luck would have it, Lady Bayford was right to be concerned because shortly after the wedding ceremony, Prince Henry and Elodie perform a blood pact, and Henry throws Elodie into a dragon’s lair, which was his plan all along. Realizing that she’s just a disposable damsel to the Aurea family, Elodie learns that she was always meant to be sacrificed to placate the dragon living beneath their kingdom, and that her bloodshed will keep it at bay for an indeterminate amount of time. Given how many other princesses’ bodies Elodie finds while planning her escape, it’s reasonable to assume that the Aurea family has been performing this ritual somewhat frequently, and for centuries.
The Chase Is On
Not wanting to go quietly into the good night without an epic fight, Elodie scrapes together whatever resources she can to outsmart and escape the Dragon, who taunts her with a gravelly voice because at this point in his life-span, this is just a game to him. Healing her wounds with glowing silk worms, and consulting a map left by previously sacrificed princesses, Elodie transforms from a damsel in distress to a badass of the highest order when she realizes how badly her family had been duped into selling their daughter into marriage under false pretenses. Almost instantaneously, Elodie processes the betrayal, gets back on her feet, and has a look on her face that says “you f*cked with the wrong family.”
If you’re wondering what that face may look like, it’s very similar to Eleven’s face in Stranger Things when she realizes her friends are in danger, and she’s about to go psychic crazy on whatever force of evil awaits her.
Creatures In The Daylight?
As for the special effects and cinematography, I’ve got to say that I’m impressed with Damsel’s delivery. Not only are the establishing nature shots of both kingdoms absolutely stunning in their size and scale, the intricacy of the Aurea kingdom’s architecture is beautiful to look at before the storytelling whisks you underground and into an equally complex network of caves and tunnels. The color contrast between both realities makes for an enthralling visual experience that’s never too jarring in its juxtaposition.
Addressing the dragon in the room, what impressed me most about Damsel was its willingness to show its arsonist antagonist in the light, which is not normally the case in modern productions rife with CGI. In my experience, whenever an otherworldly creature is computer-generated, they’re often left in the shadows because it’s easier to lean into a viewer’s imagination than to show the monster outright. That being said, it’s obvious that the dragon in Damsel is computer-generated, but I can’t say that it took me out of the movie at all.
Streaming Damsel On Netflix
If you’re a diehard fantasy fan, Damsel may not impress you because there’s honestly not too much meat to its storytelling. But if you’re a casual viewer like myself, you’ll enjoy this film for what it is: a big-budget dark fantasy film with some serious star power behind it that you can throw on the TV and enjoy with your family. Millie Bobby Brown is a certified badass, and I can’t wait until Stranger Things wraps because I know she’ll continue to grow as an actress who’s not afraid to try new things.
Damsel is a Netflix Original that can be streamed with an active subscription.
