Elodie (Bobby Brown), the princess of a struggling realm, agrees to marry Prince Henry (Nick Robinson) of the far-off kingdom of Aurea, in order to save her people. Here she is dazzled by the family’s wealth and marries her prince charming. Making plans for their happily ever after Elodie is alerted to one teeny tiny thing: she must first take part in a ceremony. Taken to the top of the mountain that looms over the kingdom she is surrounded by the masked figures of her in-laws (not suspicious at all) and in a shocking turn of events, is tossed into the chasm below. Plunged into darkness she must fight for survival all alone, haunted by the ghosts of princess’ past. Elodie must navigate the caves with a dragon on her tail and find the means to escape before it catches up with her…
The plot was interesting and easy to follow, but could be monotonous at times
The film is reminiscent of Game of Thrones in style and setting, with rich colours, exotic palaces and ornate costumes filling the screen for the first part of the story. Similarly, the film takes a darker turn than I was expecting. Although the trailer suggests that this may not be your usual fairytale, it is still rated only a 12. Therefore, I was not expecting the plot to revolve around the sacrifice of innocent women over the course of centuries, nor did I sign up for nearly 2 hours of Milly Bobby Brown screaming and writhing in pain as a result of a myriad of terrible injuries. Of course Elodie’s escape was never going to be plain sailing, but the darkest elements (so much death?!) would certainly be more at home in King’s Landing, rather than a family fantasy film.
The plot was interesting and easy to follow, but could be monotonous at times, making the film feel a lot longer than it actually was. I couldn’t help but feel that the solution to Elodie’s escape could have been enacted far sooner in the story than it was, as it seemed to be on the tip of her tongue from the first moments she set foot in the caves. I was shouting at Elodie through the screen to tell the dragon the information that eventually saves her life for much of the film, and I’m sure you will be too.
The film is a good watch so long as you weren’t expecting it to be a cosy fantasy, but there’s definitely better films of the same genre out there. Though I did enjoy it in part, I doubt I’ll be rewatching any time soon.
Damsel is now streaming on Netflix.