Continuing in her partnership with Netflix, Millie Bobby Brown returns to play the titular character trope in an actioner that’s fun, but also disappointing. damsel
Damsel (2024) Netflix Film Review
Keeping their people fed, warm and well is something Elodie (Brown), the daughter of Lord Bayford (Ray Winstone), is concerned with. She goes out each day to find what she can, along with her young sister (Brooke Carter), to assist them. When her father receives a proposal for Elodie’s hand in marriage to a royal family, the family accepts and Elodie puts her dreams and happiness on hold in order to ensure her people are taken care of.
Meeting the royal family from a kingdom she doesn’t know turns out to be less scary than she would imagine, and Elodie begins to hope that perhaps she and Prince Henry (Nick Robinson) share some common interests. What she doesn’t know is this arrangement is part of a centuries old ritual that requires Elodie as a sacrifice…
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Making a story like this always promises a good time waits inside that “play” button. For the most part, Damsel does accomplish this by being a film that is entertaining, and I like the concept, but it also disappoints me with its nonsense. The script, penned by Dan Mazeau, who most recently wrote Fast X, falls into the usual cultural traps. One being that only the women in Elodie’s life truly care about her. This is true not only of established relationships but of one that establishes in the end. Saying more would reveal a spoiler, but suffice to say, this script could have still been effective, and fun had the man in her life been her champion too. Though girl power is all that prevails, the script is disingenuous because it does this.
What I don’t take issue with is Elodie being strong and using that strength not only to rescue herself, but the person she loves most in the world. The script stumbles in its assumption that giving Elodie strength requires sacrificing guys. Regardless of this all, Millie Bobby Brown is, as usual, good in this role. She plays the character quite well and while I admire her determination, I do find the film isolating because we stay with Elodie, who is left to her own devices. The effects are stunning even when it should terrify, and I like the play of darkness with light. Elodie’s and our introduction to the kingdom is well done.
There are lingering themes of taking revenge on descendants long after an initial wrong is done. It “works” for this because it’s a fairytale-esque story, and a genre that often thrives on these themes. But at the same time, I’m not a fan of the holding onto anger trope. I also think the theme of second chances and forgiveness are terribly dishonest. If you like actioners with fantasy elements, you may enjoy Damsel. It’s mostly fun and has a solid cast bringing to life these characters we meet.
You can stream Damsel exclusively on Netflix
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Content: there isn’t much to note in this TV-14 film. Most of the content is of the fantasy violence variety. Burn injuries pain a woman, and we see and hear her pain as she tries to make it to safety. We see other bodies lying about in various states of decay. When put down a dark hole, women’s fate is death. Murder is the fate of multiple women and men by a creature through various forms, including burns and puncture wounds; we see one victim lying in a pool of blood.
Photos: Netflix
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