On March 8, actress Millie Bobby Brown starred in a fantasy film, “Damsel.” Though it was not in theaters, fans of Brown were excited to see her new movie streaming on Netflix. Brown plays Elodie, a young girl who agrees to an arranged marriage in hopes of saving her people from poverty. Elodie and Prince Henry (Nick Robinson) meet and get married, leading Elodie to become a part of a strange annual ritual where she is tricked by the royal family and thrown into a pit to a fire-breathing dragon. She is determined to come out alive and show everyone who the royals really are.
When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I thought it was going to be one of those stereotypical feminist movies where all men are shamed and the movie ignores an actual plot with fitting characters. The movie was gladly much more than that. Elodie is a strong, smart female character who endured sudden, repetitive pain in the pit. The way she handled those fire burns along with her emotions was impressive.
Brown’s acting was phenomenal. You could really see the pain and emotion she put into this character throughout the film. Sadly though, Brown was the one who carried the film. If an actress that played Elodie wasn’t as popular or talented as Brown, the film would do poorly. Not to mention, Rotten Tomatoes rated the film a 57%.
The plot of the movie was creative and had a great plot twist on the character archetype of “the damsel in distress.” Instead of being saved by the prince, Elodie needs to save herself. I liked how the feminism in the movie didn’t take over the entire story, but it contributed to Elodie and acted as a strength in her. I feel as though the story itself could have gone a little deeper, considering the duration was an hour and 47 minutes long. Little facts were overlooked and unmentioned, such as where Elodie lived, how the town became poor, and the rest of the world. Though those facts weren’t too important to the story, they could have added more depth to the story, rather than a shallow background.
Personally, I hate exaggerated gore in movies, and can only live with it if it balances out with the story. “Damsel” was close to losing that balance, since a lot of Elodie’s scenes in the pit revolved around her burnt skin, bloody cuts and scratches on her legs. Along with Elodie’s screaming and grunting and the dragon killing about 20 men, I believe the filmmakers could have cut out some of the extra “horror” scenes. I know it is supposed to be a horror fantasy movie, but hearing a repetitive “AUGHHHHH!” for 30 minutes isn’t enjoyable but is simply annoying. Instead of becoming interested in the scene, our interest was ruined, which led us to think, “Okay, you’re bleeding again. We get it.”
There was no problem with the CGI in the movie. The dragon had a lot of detail and had great quality. Though critics argue that the CGI was horrible, I didn’t see anything wrong with it. The CGI was barely an issue, which was a surprise compared to other recent movies.
The ending was a favorable resolution that the audience wanted to see. It left the audience content with the end of the movie, to watch Elodie endure so much, then triumph over the royal family, and the conflict resolving in the end.
Millie Bobby Brown delivered a talent filled performance of Elodie. Her performance was honestly the best part of the movie, which was why I wanted to watch it. I see “Damsel” more as a short story, as the ending created no valid reason for a sequel. Regardless of the movie’s minor flaws and imperfections, it was a good action film with a genre mix of fantasy, horror and survival that’s worth a watch.
