Damsel (2024): Good try, but should have been produced earlier (not now)

 

 Damsel (2024): Good try, but should have been produced earlier (not now)

Hii! In today's post, I will review the movie <Damsel> (2024) - the first movie I watched this summer break. I guess there are a lot of you who actually enjoyed this movie, but as you can guess from the title, I didn't enjoy the movie. (but TBH, it was a great movie to kill time) I will explain you why, hope you enjoy :)

Title: Damsel

Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Cast: Milly Bobby Brown, Nick Robinson, Angela Bassett

Genre: Action/Adventure

Running time: 110 minutes

Language: English

My Rating: 4/10

Millie Bobby Brown

    Millie Bobby Brown, famously known as Eleven from Netflix's <Stranger Things>, is back on screen with her latest movie, Damsel. This film tells the story of a princess who, after dreaming of marrying a charming prince, finds herself betrayed and trapped in a cave. Using only her wisdom and willpower, she battles her way out of the dire situation. The word "damsel" refers to a young woman which sets the stage for what we might expect from the movie.

Since I've enjoyed everything Millie Bobby Brown has been in, I didn't even hesitate to watch <Damsel> (2024) without knowing much about the plot. Plus, it was trending as Netflix's number-one film, so I didn't doubt it to be such a bad movie. Unfortunately, those expectations might have been set a bit too high.

Use of colors

    One of the first things I noticed was the use of three main colors throughout the movie: yellow, red, and blue. Yellow represented the royal world, a world Princess Elodie is destined to break free from. Red signified danger, while blue symbolized a safe haven. This simple color scheme effectively highlights the movie’s themes, like when the safe blue hues are dramatically replaced by the red of a dragon's fire. However, this felt more like heavy-handed symbolism rather than subtle storytelling, making the film's direction seem a bit too straightforward and, dare I say, simplistic.

Portrayal of women

    The movie tries to portray the heroine as active and independent. For instance, she tears up her uncomfortable dress to better navigate her challenges. She even uses her crown as a makeshift climbing ring to escape a crystal wall in the cave—a clever twist that felt fresh and innovative. But many of these moments, like removing the corset or cutting her hair, have been done so often in other films that they felt a bit outdated here.

    <Damsel> (2024) was released on Netflix on March 8 which is International Women's Day. The portrayal of the princess as bold and brave at the start of the film was promising. Yet, the movie couldn't quite remove the "ideal princess" image by the end, which was a bit disappointing. The concept of 'a princess not waiting for a prince to rescue her has been around for a while now. Modern audiences expect more; they want to see characters who break the mold entirely, not just tweak the traditional storyline slightly.

Let's think about <Enola Holmes> (2020) as an example. In that film, Enola doesn't ask her famous brother Sherlock to find her mother; she embarks on her own adventure and even rescues a male character in a moment of quick thinking. Her actions drive the story forward in unpredictable ways. On the other hand, <Damsel> (2024) sticks too closely to the traditional plot line. Despite 'the princess not waiting for a prince' and even bonding with the dragon, these twists aren't enough to keep the film from feeling outdated.

There's an old saying, "A woman's worst enemy is another woman." While Damsel doesn't delve into jealousy or rivalry, it does feature a female protagonist, a female dragon perceived as the villain, and a queen who turns out to be the final antagonist. This all-female dynamic seemed to aim for something meaningful but instead felt like just another fight scene.

What really let me down was that, despite all the effort to create a strong female lead, the rescue team that comes to save the princess in the end is all men. This undermines the film’s message and the protagonist's hard-fought journey. And then there’s her younger sister, who gets captured again, playing the stereotypical role of someone needing constant protection. The princess's bravery in saving her might be meant to highlight her strength and independence, but her sister's passivity makes it seem like these qualities are unique to her, rather than something everyone has.

Lastly..... even after enduring all kinds of hardships, the princess’s lips remained glossy and perfectly made up, while her face was smudged with dirt and ash. This broke the immersion for me; it seemed the film prioritized maintaining the actress’s looks over realism.

    Despite Millie Bobby Brown’s star power and a compelling premise, <Damsel> (2024) feels like a generic fantasy movie that lags behind the times. It had the potential to be much more impactful, especially given the current shifts in how we portray women in media. I personally think that it’s a missed opportunity in an era where films need to stay sharp and responsive to the rapidly evolving audience's expectations. But if you’re just looking to kill some time, it’s worth a watch!