Damsel is the latest fantasy action film released on Netflix on March 8, 2024. The film is directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and the screenplay is written by Dan Mazeau. Produced Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum, it has a runtime of about 1 hour and 50 minutes.
The film follows Elodie who agrees to marry a charming prince to save her kingdom, only to discover that the royal family has chosen her as a sacrifice to repay a long-standing debt. She is thrown into a cave with a dragon that breathes fire and must rely on her intelligence and determination to make it out alive.
The cast of the film includes Millie Bobby Brown as Elodie, Ray Winstone as Lord Bayford, Angela Bassett as Lady Bayford, Brooke Carter as Floria, Nick Robinson as Prince Henry, Robin Wright as Queen Isabelle, Shohreh Aghdashloo as the voice of the dragon and others.
Damsel Review
Imagine being a dutiful young woman who agrees to marry a handsome prince for sake of saving your kingdom, only to find out that the royal family has chosen you as a sacrificial offering to pay off an ancient debt. You are thrown into a dark cave with a ferocious dragon that breathes fire. Your survival depends solely on your intellect and resourcefulness. Will you rise to the occasion and emerge victorious, or will you succumb to the fate that has been thrust upon you? These are the only choices with Elordie and she chooses the first.
Despite being young, Princess Elordie is a living example of ‘beauty with brains and tactical skills’. Her kingdom in the North is suffering under a long winter with scarce resources. Then comes a messenger clad in red attire, bearing a proposal that could bring such wealth that the Kingdom could become bountiful. What they want in exchange is the Princess’s hand in marriage with Prince Henry of the Kingdom of Aurelia.
Although reluctant at first, Elordie gets ready to take the leap after meeting up with the Prince and seeing what they could do for her homeland. A Royal wedding should be a happy affair yet there’s a whiff of coldness in the air, as the Royal family doesn’t seem keen on making relations with the guests or future in-laws. Without any delay, Elordie and Henry are wedded off in the palace with limited guests and instantly taken to the rocky mountains for an ancestral ritual.
Partaking as told in the royal ancestral ritual, Elordie embraces everything as a rite of passage to become a part of the family, in this foreign kingdom. What she didn’t expect is that her Prince charming would throw her off into a dragon’s lair, as a sacrifice. She soon realises that it wasn’t her ‘happy ever after’ but a nightmare that she had been lured into. And she isn’t the only one to be thrusted with the same fate but another one added onto the list of endless sacrificial brides, over centuries.
It all started when the King tried to kill the dragon but was forced to make a deal, to save his life. He had to sacrifice three of his daughters, in exchange for the dragon to not harm the kingdom. But the Royals found a loophole by turning new brides into royals with a blood pact, and shoving them off as their own. Unlike many others, tenacious Elordie is not the one to sit back and accept her ill-fate. She does her best to outwit the dragon and find a way out of the lair.
One could call Damsel a spin on the traditional fairytale, where the princess doesn’t need a brave, lovesick prince to come to her rescue. But sometimes the knight in the shining armour might be an executioner in disguise, and the princess has to fend for herself. In terms of the plot, it’s a mix-match of stories that we have previously seen – from a dying kingdom in the north to vicious and scheming Royals of some big kingdom with some dark secrets. What one wouldn’t have expected was the talking dragon, not the deep heavy low tone type but rather a snarky, playful female voice.
If it were a typical fairytale, then the dragon would have turned into some cursed king who opens his hardened heart to the warm Elordie. But it’s just a dragon, an animal that can talk. The storyline of Damsel is great up until Elordie is devising plans to escape but in the third act, it falls flat. It feels quite silly to watch that one can save their live by just talking rasonably with the dragon and can essentially become ‘the mother of the dragon’, if they want.
If you were expecting it to be an action packed film then one could feel disappointed with the lack of it. There’s no such ‘fight’ with the beast but just a girl hiding and running for the most part. Despite its typical and amateurish elements the film is a good watch, one of the biggest reason being the flawless acting by Millie Bobby Brown. Even if the story feels ridiculous, Millie’s performance will bring you back to the mood. Overall, Damsel is a quick enjoyable watch with a few err elements which can be neglected.
Rating: 3/5
Damsel is available to watch on Netflix.
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