Damsel || A Fresh Take On Traditional Fairytales.

I just emerged from a moderately thrilling cinematic adventure and I'm just so eager to share a review. It turns out this movie has been out for about nine months and courtesy of the ceaseless short clips and many video reviews, my subconscious assumed I had seen the entire movie already.

Eventually, I created time to see the movie and I'll like to start by saying the movie “Damsel” was a scintillating watch right from the beginning.

About The Movie

Elodie, an unconventional princess, is destined for a life of royal duties and marriage. Soon enough, Elodie’s parents arrange a transactional marriage to a charming prince Henry to gain financial liberation and save their impoverished subjects. In order to assuage her parents from their imminent financial doom, she agrees to marry Prince Henry.

One minute she is being pampered like the princess she is and the next minute she's being yanked into a dungeon that houses a primitive fire breathing dragon as a form of sacrifice to repay an ancient debt. Elodie has to rely solely on her wit and will to survive.

This fantasy action fairytale film released on the 8th of March, 2024, was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and spans for an hour and fifty minutes.

My Thoughts

I saw the movies ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘Enola Holmes’ some months back and in these pieces, Millie Bobby Brown(a multidimensional character who embodies both vulnerability and strength) performed exceptionally well in the said movies. It's no doubt that I opted to see yet another movie by her when I came across it. As such, it's safe to say that Elodie was one of the major reasons I decided to see this movie and was I disappointed by her performance this time? Certainly not.

The initial eerieness, suspicion and spooky moves had me glued as none of it made any sense at the start; just like it should be. Why were the royals urgently searching for a bride? And three brides in a row for that matter. Why was the prideful Queen ready to spare a smile to the “low life’ royals all of a sudden?” Why as a blood covenant between the newly married couples made? Eventually, I got the answers to both my asked and unasked questions.

The word protagonist really came in to play in this film because ninety-five percent of the scenes had Elodie in them. This would have been a terrible thing if Elodie was a heinous character but her screenplay was just ideal. This left little to no room for the development of other characters but that didn't make the supporting characters any less impressive.

With the way this film began, I expected a more exhilarating ending but that wasn't the case. To an extent, it felt like all the magic happened at the start of the movie leaving only crumbs for the end. This led to an insipid and easily predictable end but luckily, the beginning made up for the end after all.

Meanwhile, themes like female empowerment and trauma were expertly depicted in the film, making it a relatable piece. The cinematography on the other hand was also very appealing and impressive.

Recommendation and Rating.

This movie was a delightful surprise that offered a bold twist from traditional fairytale tale tropes. The plot was an unorthodox one that's provided a fresh perspective. With this, I would give the movie a 6.5/10 rating. It is a generally good watch and I believe it would be particularly thrilling to the fans of fantasy and fairytale movie genres.

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