Millie Bobby Brown and a Dragon Pull Off Fantasy Two-Hander Damsel
Shohreh Aghdashloo voicing a dragon? Where has this casting brilliance been all my life? Granted, the opportunity doesn’t come around that often except for the ultra-narrow subgenre of live-action dragon cinema (think Dragonslayer, Reign of Fire, etc.), but Netflix’s Damsel lands in that niche and earns all the huzzahs for gifting us with a rare female dragon characterization that possesses the actress’ smoky tones. Supporting her on the human side is the always great Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) who brings equal passion in portraying characters who are meant to reframe their traditional storybook roles. Together, they plant their flag in this genre with an eye towards making an exciting action-adventure tale that rewards justice and compassion instead of vengeance. And they mostly hit their mark in this clever revisionist fairy tale.
Written by Dan Mazeau (Fast X) and directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later), Damsel may feature a mostly male creative team, but it’s female-forward with its point of view, intent on subverting the “damsel in distress” cliché. In order to eventually deconstruct the familiar, the first act leans hard on recognizable storybook structure: Elodie (Brown) is of marrying age, yet that’s furthest from her mind as she toils to help her older father, Lord Bayford (Ray Winstone), and new step-mother, Lady Bayford (Angela Bassett), help their people through drought. So, when a proposal from the distant kingdom of Aurea arrives seeking to wed one of their daughters to Prince Henry (Nick Robinson), the Lord pounces on it. He’s more than happy to comply with the overriding fiscal benefits of such a union.
A dutiful daughter, but no pushover, Elodie initially balks. But it’s made clear that the marriage would not only help their people, it would secure the safety of her beloved younger sister Floria (Brooke Carter). So, the core four pack up for Aurea, which proves to be flush with wealth and fertile fields. The family is equally bewitched by all the good fortune. Too bad they don’t get the less-than-subtle hint of something darker lurking in the menacing, life-sized dragon sculptures at their border.
In one of the script’s many trope inversions, it’s the step-mom who first catches on that the overly effusive yet emotionally distant Queen Isabelle (Robin Wright) may not be as altruistic as she seems. It’s not enough to sway her husband, or to deter a resolved Elodie to make the best of it and marry Henry. Much regret ensues when, post-ceremony, the new princess is taken to the forbidding mountain in the distance for a generational ceremony to “celebrate” the union. Translation: She’s thrown into a crevasse to keep the centuries-long peace with the dragon inside.
And so Elodie’s misery begins. Bloodied, bruised and utterly livid at the betrayal, she uses her smarts and ingenuity to survive the massive dragon intent on making her Elodie flambé. Akin to Die Hard’s John McClane, Elodie gets absolutely pummeled trying to elude her pursuer through the dark tunnels of the mountain. While John was chatty between beatings, Elodie instead pursues silence, which uniquely amplifies the cat-and-mouse tension. Long stretches with minimal dialogue means Brown gets to do what she does best, expressing so much with just face and body as she moves Elodie through a visceral gauntlet of emotions.
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