A brand new Netflix film, “Damsel” was released to the streaming service on March 8 and claimed its spot in the top ten. The film was anticipated worldwide and proved its success in several countries including the United States and the United Kingdom. It is an action packed fantasy movie that defies the norms of a traditional fairytale.
“Damsel” follows Elodie (Millie Bobby Brown), a young woman who is betrothed to a prince in exchange for money for her family and her people. She finds that she quite likes her husband to be, and is happy to make a sacrifice for her people. However, she doesn’t realize that other than just marrying an extremely wealthy prince, there is a sacrifice she has to participate in that turns out to be much darker. After a traditional post-wedding ceremony, she learns the history of her new husband’s people, and the ageless sacrifice to entice the dragon who originated in the land that humans claimed. There must be three young women sacrificed every generation to appease the dragon, and Elodie realizes only a moment too late that she is the sacrifice.
The audience witnesses Elodie learn how to become resourceful, resilient and use her wit to escape the dragon and fight for her life. We also see her resolve completely change as she forces herself to face her living nightmare once again with the intention of saving her younger sister.
“Damsel” was packed with a star studded cast, with actors such as Millie Bobby Brown, Angela Bassett, Robin Wright, Nick Robinson and many more. The star of the show was undoubtedly Millie Bobby Brown, as she played the protagonist. She fit the role perfectly, and was able to perform in a realistic and believable way that was not overdone. I think she really helped the film receive the success that it did, and it would have had an entirely different feeling if there was a different star.
For the most part, the set and the costumes were realistic and believable, which really helped establish the time period and setting of the film. The sets helped transport the audience to ancient times, with classic castles and stereotypical royalty. The special effects were also well done, and seemed very professional unlike lots of other fantasy action movies.
Before watching “Damsel,” I didn’t know too much about it, but I was surprised to find that it was actually pretty stressful at some parts. I knew it wasn’t going to be a traditional fairytale with a happy ending, but I didn’t realize the extent of the action and stress.
One critique I have about “Damsel” is that it didn’t really have a remarkable soundtrack or great score. I noticed there were scenes or periods of time without any background music, which felt strange to me. Having an impressive soundtrack or score could have heightened the stress even more, and could have exaggerated pieces that felt dull with no non-diegetic sounds (sound that characters can’t hear). Other than that, I thought “Damsel” was done well and it felt like there was lots of hard work going into the production of it.
Overall, “Damsel” proved to be a suspenseful, exciting, adventure fantasy film that exhibited many great actors that helped the film come to life. I had no expectations coming into watching it, but was pleasantly surprised. It’s been a while since I’ve watched any type of fantasy movie, since it’s not usually a genre I really like, but I did end up having fun watching “Damsel.” If you are looking for a movie to watch, you might as well give “Damsel” a try, and you can find it on Netflix streaming service.
“Damsel:” ★★★★☆
