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Damsel (2024 film)

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Damsel
Film poster
Directed byJuan Carlos Fresnadillo
Written byDan Mazeau
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLarry Fong
Edited byJohn Gilbert
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • March 8, 2024 (2024-03-08)
Running time
110 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Damsel is a 2024 American dark fantasy film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and written by Dan Mazeau. Millie Bobby Brown stars as Princess Elodie, who accepts a marriage proposal only to realize that she's being used to repay a royal family's debts, and must now escape while surviving attacks from the dragon lurking in the chasm. The film also stars Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Angela Bassett, and Robin Wright.

Damsel began streaming on Netflix on March 8, 2024. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

The first king of Aurea leads an attack on the dragon, the attack is a failure and the king is left at the dragon's mercy.

Centuries later, Elodie, daughter of Lord Bayford, receives a proposal from Queen Isabelle of Aurea to marry Prince Henry. On Bayford's advice, Elodie accepts to help their impoverished people and she and her family sail to Aurea. Elodie and Henry walk in the gardens to “get to know each other”. He remarks she is nothing like her letter, which she informs him that her stepmother dictated but he marvels at the heart which is actually a maze that she drew as part of it. The two escape his guards on horseback and, although initially both seeming disinterested in each other, they begin to bond as they both share a desire to travel. Elodie’s stepmother, Lady Bayford, seeks out the queen hoping to chat and strengthen their familial bond, but Isabelle rebuffs attempts to become acquainted, leading Lady Bayford to implore Elodie to end the engagement to no avail.

After the wedding, Elodie and Henry take part in an ancient ritual in the mountains supposedly to celebrate their union. The queen, dressed as a priestess, describes the pact between the first king and the dragon in which he had to sacrifice his three daughters for peace. Elodie is given a gold coin to throw into the chasm, making her believe that it is the payment to the dragon. Henry insists on carrying Elodie across the narrow path over the chasm, during which Elodie comments “Floria would love this part,” before resting her head on Henry’s shoulder. Henry apologizes then throws her down into the dragon's lair.

After her initial shock subsides, Elodie finds other items discarded by princesses and realizes she is the sacrifice. She enters a cave and finds a bird set on fire and rushes to put it out before an entire flock of flaming birds descends upon the cavern. The dragon enters, asks her name and taunts her before chasing Elodie and burning her leg as she flees. Elodie bandages her leg and states that her mother would want her to fight before she begins to explore the surrounding area and finds an illuminated cave, where there are glowing worms. Resourceful as her kingdom is poor, she collects glowing worms as a light source. Elodie finds water and tries to drink it and finds it filthy but notices melting icicles overhead and tilts her head back to drink. The dragon bursts through the ice and upon fleeing the dragon Elodie finds a chamber with the note Safe Here She Cannot Reach. This chamber also has a wall with the names of past victims and a map carved into the wall. While Elodie sleeps, the glowing worms heal the burn on her leg. While she is initially disgusted, once she notices their abilities she apologizes for doubting them.

Elodie follows the map, but it leads to a high vertical drop on the side of the mountain. She discovers the remains of the dead hatchlings and therefore the reason for the royal sacrifices. A rescue party led by Lord Bayford arrives. The dragon kills Lord Bayford and the party, but the distraction allows Elodie to climb a rope to escape the mountain. She then rides one of the horses left by her father's men and hides in a small rock while the dragon burns the area surrounding the mountain in an unsuccessful pursuit.

The conflagration alerts Isabelle that Elodie's sacrifice has failed, causing her to have Elodie's sister Floria kidnapped as a replacement. Elodie returns to the mountain to rescue her after learning of the kidnapping from her stepmother. The dragon leaves Floria alive as bait for Elodie.

Elodie creates a diversion to distract the dragon so she can reach Floria. Telling her sister to hide, she confronts the dragon and tries to convince her that they've both been deceived by the Aureans. At first, the dragon refuses to believe Elodie, stating that the first king's attack was unprovoked. The dragon then attacks her, but Elodie tricks her into burning herself. After her defeat, she then heals the dragon with some glowing worms.

Elodie and the dragon then interrupt another wedding at the palace. Elodie advises the new bride and her family to flee and the dragon burns the palace with the Aurean royals and nobles there. Elodie, Floria, and Lady Bayford sail home with supplies and accompanied by the dragon.

Cast

  • Millie Bobby Brown as Elodie, a princess
  • Ray Winstone as Lord Bayford, the lord of an unnamed land and Elodie's father
  • Angela Bassett as Lady Bayford, the wife of Lord Bayford and Elodie's stepmother
  • Brooke Carter as Floria, a princess and Elodie's younger sister
  • Nick Robinson as Prince Henry, the prince of Aurea
  • Robin Wright as Queen Isabelle, the queen regnant of Aurea and Prince Henry's mother
  • Milo Twomey as King Roderick, the king consort of Aurea and Prince Henry's father
  • Nicole Joseph as Princess Victoria
  • Patrice Naiambana as the Chamberlain
  • Ezra Faroque Khan as a local guide
  • Tasha Lim as Prince Henry's bride
  • Matt Slack as the First King of Aurea that previously led the attack on the dragon
  • Manon Stieglitz as the Red Priestess
  • António Caveiro as the Bishop
  • Shohreh Aghdashloo as the voice of the Dragon, an unnamed dragon that demands sacrifices from Aurea for what happened to her hatchlings and who Elodie works to avoid

Production

Damsel was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo from a script by Dan Mazeau, and produced by Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum through their production company for Netflix.[2] Emily Ballou and Mark Bomback were credited for "additional literary material" off-screen.[3]

In November 2020, Millie Bobby Brown was cast as Princess Elodie; she was also named as the film's executive producer.[2] In April 2022, it was reported that Angela Bassett, Nick Robinson, Robin Wright, Ray Winstone, Brooke Carter, and Shohreh Aghdashloo were part of the cast.[4][5]

Principal photography took place in early 2022.[6] Cave scenes were shot at Troubadour Meridian Water Studios in London. Filming also took place in Portugal at Tomar, Sortelha, Serra da Estrela, and at the Batalha Monastery.[7]

Release

Damsel was scheduled to stream by Netflix on October 13, 2023.[8] However, due to the impact of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike in the United States on the film's promotion, original release date was postponed and the film began streaming on March 8, 2024.[9][10]

Novel

Author Evelyn Skye released a novelization of the film in advance. She stated: "The easiest way to think about it is this: Dan Mazeau wrote the original screenplay. I was able to read an early draft and was given free rein to write my own version of the story, which ultimately became the novel. Both the novel and the movie may stem from the same origin, but they are also each their own unique works of art".[11]

The novel was published by Penguin Random House on April 18, 2023.[12]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 59% of 78 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Damsel has an appealing action hero in Millie Bobby Brown, whose gutsy performance is often enough to balance the scales against the film's underpowered story and occasionally unconvincing effects."[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 46 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[14]

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle criticized Brown's character, but praised her commitment to the role, writing "The movie could have used a little less of Brown cowering behind boulders as the flames get closer and a little more of her getting even with the people who put her in this predicament".[15] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote, "Deliciously improper at times, Damsel adheres to codes that can feel a bit calculated, less organic than crafted in response to a newly progressive corporate agenda (the signs are there at all levels, from inclusive casting to occasionally self-righteous dialogue)".[16] Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave it a grade of "C+".[10]

References

  1. ^ "Damsel (12)". BBFC. March 7, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 11, 2020). "Millie Bobby Brown To Star In & Executive Produce Netflix Fantasy Movie 'Damsel'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "Damsel". Writer's Guild of America West. December 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  4. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 7, 2022). "Angela Bassett Joins Netflix's Millie Bobby Brown Fantasy Feature 'Damsel'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  5. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 12, 2022). "'Damsel': Robin Wright, Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson, Brooke Carter & Shohreh Aghdashloo Join Netflix Millie Bobby Brown Fantasy Pic". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  6. ^ Daniels, Nia (December 2, 2021). "Exclusive: Netflix to film fantasy feature Damsel at new London studio". The Knowledge Online. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  7. ^ Shaw, Angel (March 7, 2024). "Where Was Netflix's Damsel Filmed?". ScreenRant. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  8. ^ Pulliam-Moore, Charles (January 18, 2023). "Netflix's 2023 movie lineup is looking kind of lean". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  9. ^ Marshall, Carrie (August 1, 2023). "Netflix delays the release of six movies amid the writers' and actors' strike". TechRadar. Archived from the original on December 9, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Erbland, Kate (March 8, 2024). "Damsel Review: Millie Bobby Brown, Feminist Dragonslayer, Needs Better Weaponry". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  11. ^ Perez, Lexy (October 18, 2022). "Netflix Teams With Author Evelyn Skye for Novelization of Millie Bobby Brown's Damsel (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  12. ^ "Damsel by Evelyn Skye:". Penguin Random House. ISBN 9780593599426. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  13. ^ "Damsel". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 9, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  14. ^ "Damsel". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  15. ^ LaSalle, Mick (March 6, 2024). "Review: Millie Bobby Brown commits to weak yet appealing Damse". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  16. ^ Debruge, Peter (March 8, 2024). "Damsel Review: Millie Bobby Brown Makes Rambo Look Soft, Dragon Slaying in High Heels and a Dress". Variety. Archived from the original on March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
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