Damsel (2024)

​“Damsel” stars Millie Bobby Brown, Angela Bassett, Robin Wright, Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson, Brooke Carter, and Shohreh Aghdashloo. Released on Netflix on March 8, 2024, the film has a princess surviving against a fire-breathing dragon.

The film was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who also directed “Intacto”, “28 Weeks Later”, and “Intruders”. Many fairy tales from our childhoods have depicted fearless princes rescuing damsels in distress from fearsome dragons, cruel stepmothers, or wicked witches that transform into dragons. However, there are some cases where the damsels become the heroes of their own stories, showcasing they can be more than just pretty girls playing with their hair and dreaming of their saviors. In this case, we have a heroic damsel who rescues herself instead of a prince, who actually puts her in that predicament in the first place. So much for an easy-going “happily ever after” relationship. Does this scenario make for another enticing fairy tale for Netflix subscribers? Let’s find out.

The story centers on Elodie (Brown), the princess and daughter of the unnamed kingdom's rulers, Lord Bayford (Winstone) and Lady Bayford (Bassett), Elodie’s stepmother. Elodie receives a proposal from Queen Isabelle (Wright) of Aurea to wed her son, Prince Henry (Robinson). Hoping the marriage will help her poverty-stricken kingdom, Elodie accepts the proposal. However, she soon discovers that the proposal is part of the royal family’s ritual, in which they sacrifice their victims to the merciless dragon (Aghdashloo) to repay their debts. When Elodie becomes the dragon’s next meal, she strives to escape its lair alive and expose Aurea’s horrifying secret.

After seeing a few movies like “Snow White and the Huntsman” and Hulu’s “The Princess”, it’s becoming evident that I’m into watching darker and refreshing takes on classic fairy tales. I grew up watching the ones from Disney, exposing myself to harmless and cheerful fluff and whatnot. But now I’m at a specific age where I’m ready to experience some of the more mature versions of the fairy tales. This brings me to “Damsel”, another intriguing yet grim take on the classic fairy tale lore involving the princess being her own savior. Not only did its concept catch my intrigue, but it also comes equipped with an impressive lineup, including Millie Bobby Brown, who continues to be a significant draw outside of “Stranger Things”. Considering my positive feelings toward Brown in her previous efforts, I was excited to see her battle a ferocious dragon in a dress. But what matters is whether the film’s execution is worthy of accompanying her presence. 

“Damsel” offers a tale as simplistic as a love story between a prince and a princess, with the difference being the lack of love. It’s a dark fantasy/survival thriller mixture involving Elodie’s determination to avoid being a sacrifice while discovering the royal family’s deadly truth. Regarding its concept, this would’ve been an intriguingly layered metaphor of class discrimination, in which the kingdom of Aurea (the high and mighty) takes advantage of other poor kingdoms, with one of them being Elodie’s. Sadly, that isn’t the case. If you go into “Damsel” expecting it to have these hard-hitting themes, your expectations will immediately go up in smoke. It’s more of a straightforward, bare-bones survival movie involving a princess battling a monstrous dragon. If that’s what you’re looking for, then there’s plenty to enjoy about “Damsel”, even if it doesn’t fulfill all its narrative trappings.

Regarding Dan Mazeau’s screenplay, the film delivers its concept through its medieval-themed dialogue. On the other hand, it doesn’t do much else beyond it to make it stand out from other dark fantasy outings, especially its characters. They often appear one-noted or underdeveloped regarding their personalities, which is a shame considering the decent actors involved. Millie Bobby Brown continues to expand her “happily ever after” with another convincing performance, with her embodying Elodie’s strong-willed and resourceful persona. With her role in “Damsel”, Brown further embodies herself as a promising on-screen action hero, whether in the real world or the fantasy realm. Ray Winstone and Angela Bassett also made suitable efforts as Elodie’s parents, especially the latter for her portrayal of Elodie’s kind-hearted stepmother. I also enjoyed Brooke Carter as Floria, Elodie’s younger sister, and the delightful chemistry between the two sisters. Nick Robinson also meant well regarding his performance as Prince Henry, but the writing for this character was pretty disappointing.

Despite its narrative issues, “Damsel” makes for an easy watch, thanks to Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s vision and the movie’s visual effects. With Fresnadillo behind the camera, “Damsel” occasionally pulls me in with its tension-filled sequences and atmosphere, primarily from scenes involving Elodie in the caves. His direction struggles to maintain this consistency throughout the entire runtime, especially its slow first act, but the moments afterward work pretty well. The visual effects were also suitable for displaying its environments, even if some of them weren’t as impressive as others. I would say the highlight of its CGI work has to be the design of the unnamed dragon, who’s effectively voiced by Shohreh Aghdashloo. The mixture of black and gold for the dragon’s slim yet huge body is a decent attempt at differentiating it from the regular movie dragons. 

Overall, “Damsel” doesn’t spark much of a flame despite being occasionally rescued by Millie Bobby Brown’s presence. With the right mindset, the film is a mildly enjoyable piece of straight-to-streaming content that mostly delivers what you expect from a fantasy-esque survival thriller. This is mainly due to Brown’s effortful portrayal of the dragon-fighting princess, a few tension-filled moments, and some passable effects. Unfortunately, when it comes to its average script, one-noted characters, and lack of intriguing ideas, it’s also an average fairy tale that lacks a happy ending worthy enough to escape the flames of mediocrity. If you enjoy Brown in her other works and like watching darker twists on the fairy tale lore, you might enjoy this one.

C