Movie Review: Damsel

“There are many stories of chivalry where the heroic knight saves the damsel in distress, this is not one of this stories.”

Since Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown has shown that there is more to her than a psychic ability. She can be a detective when she wants to be and a damsel if the need arises.

In Netflix's DAMSEL, she plays the role of Princess Elodie, an innocent lady who finds herself caught up in a diabolical family tradition and must channel all her strength to survive the ordeal.

Quick Recap

Princess Elodie and her people are facing the harshest winter they’ve ever seen. With the country low on resources, the King agrees to an arranged marriage between his first daughter Elodie and prince Henry of Auria in hopes of better fortune. But what lies within the marriage arrangement is a diabolical plot that can be traced to the very origin of the people of Aurea.

The Plot

When any action/adventure movie crosses my path, I wonder how the directors will spin the plot. The plot was firm. When the movie started, I was sure it was going to have something cool within but that arranged marriage bit took me by surprise. The most surprising however was that a father would, no matter how bad things are, allow his daughter to be sacrificed because things are difficult at home.

It was appalling to watch and even though he did return to help, it never erased the fact that he initially agreed.

Dragon

My first thought was that the dragon was the bad guy. I mean, it’s the easiest conclusion to arrive at considering, right? But movies like DragonHeart and Game of Thrones have shown that they aren’t always the bad guys.

In this case, the dragon was a mother in pain. A mother who had lost everything despite not causing any trouble for the village.

The Ploy

I have to applaud whoever thought about the trick. That person deserves to have their status erected in the middle of the village and be worshiped every single time there’s a sacrifice. Who would have thought, cutting a lowly fellow and exchanging blood would be able to trick a full blown dragon. Not me. I felt she would smell beyond the cut but anger and revenge blinded most of her senses.

The Inbetween

Watching her run, hide and survive the dragon’s attack is both terrifying and painful. The thought that she had only wanted to help her people but had been lured to death was harrowing to say the least.

The Rescue Attempt

I argued about the reasoning of this scene and many of my friends agreed. After Elodie bades her family farewell and is thrown in the dragon pit, her father comes back for her out of guilt. But in doing so he leaves his wife and other daughter by the bank of Aurea.

How did he think this would work? I would have thought he would send them entirely out of Aurea and stay back, hidden somewhere until he found a guide. By leaving them at the bank, he gave the evil queen an alternative sacrifice and let's just say, she wasn't as strong as her sister.

The Ending

At first, I wanted nothing more than for the dragon to die, but as the truth surfaced, I pitied her. What the villagers had done was unfair and she was right in her vengeance. As Elodie healed her, I found myself applauding because I knew she would go back for those villagers. Killing the dragon would have been a win for the people of Aurea. They would have had peace eternally with none to hold them accountable. The scene where she walked out of the burning kingdom with the dragon hovering over her gave me chills. It was the walk of a victor who had conquered her worst nightmare.

My Thoughts

I watched it with my family and my mum kept cheering for Elodie. She was also the first to pick up how the dragon enunciated the name— E lo (die). It was amusing to notice it. Millie was awesome in her portrayal as Elodie. She didn’t hold back and showed us there’s so much we are yet to see.

If you're yet to see it, do. You'll enjoy it. At least you'll enjoy it when the dragon goes back for them.