Strong female character in distress Damsel

CINEMA SCOPE

Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Angela Bassett, and Robin Wright

Directed by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Tagline: This is not a fairytale.

Subverting fairytale cliches and turning the princess from a damsel in distress to the hero of the story is such an intriguing, empowering idea. But it’s an idea that no longer seems novel. There is no shortage of strong female characters in everything from ‘80s sci-fi to the latest Disney adventures. Which is why just this idea alone cannot sustain an entire movie, especially in the absence of an interesting, intricate plot and a strong script. This is the predicament that befalls Damsel, the new Netflix fantasy that clearly means well but doesn’t seem to have much to offer beyond this narrow premise.

The titular damsel here is Elodie (portrayed by an enthusiastic but one-note Millie Bobby Brown), the princess of a struggling kingdom that is in dire straits. When a proposal arrives for Elodie to marry the prince (Nick Robinson) of a prosperous realm, she reluctantly accepts, hoping the union will help the impoverished people of her land. Little does she know that her fairytale wedding is about to turn into a nightmare.

Turns out that Elodie is nothing more than a sacrifice, the latest in a series of offerings to a dragon (voiced by Shohreh Aghdashloo) meant to repay a centuries-old debt. But our protagonist has no intention of being devoured by a fire-breathing giant lizard. Instead she must MacGyver her way out of her predicament and get revenge on the people who put her there.

Damsel’s heart is in the right place and its premise does have potential, but its half-baked plot and dull script keep the adventure from giving us anything exciting or inventive. A whole chunk of the movie is just Millie Bobby Brown making her way through a cave survival movie with a conveniently useful dress and perfect makeup, and while there is no shortage of acting talent in the film’s cast – the terrific Angela Bassett plays Elodie’s stepmother and Robin Wright appears as the evil queen responsible for condemning Elodie to a dire fate – most of the actors aren’t given much to do here.

All in all, Damsel is too corny to really connect with viewers who have seen other movies explore similar ideas but with more nuance or at least woven into more exciting tales.

Rating: 2 out of 5