Damsel – Movie Review
“There are many stories of chivalry where the heroic knight saves the damsel in distress. This is not one of them.” – Elodie
Despite the ad I saw giving me a few more spoilers than I would have liked, I actually really enjoyed this movie! It was also surprisingly rewatchable. There are so many things that you don’t even notice until the second time around!
Plot
Our story begins with a group of knights and their kingly leader riding across the countryside towards a mountain in the distance on a quest to slay the dragon haunting their lands. As they descend into a dark, damp cave, the king confidently warns them to be on guard. You know he’s here for a purpose and has no intention of going home empty handed. They proceed through the cave systems in a triangle formation, their weapons pointed outwards into the dark corners of the cave. Suddenly the dragon swoops upon them, vaporizing half of the men with its fiery breath. It quickly dispatches the remaining men, and the king plunges his sword into the stone falling to his knees.
The film suddenly cuts to events that are unfolding “centuries later in a faraway land.” A woman toils cutting firewood in a cold and mostly barren landscape. Seriously, I had no idea where the firewood came from because those rolling hills were filled with nothing but frozen grasses… Then I realized the reason there were no trees was because they had all been cut down already. Given that it appears to be a bit early for toilet paper and college chemistry books (seriously, have you seen how thick those things are?) you get the feeling that the people here are poor, rural, and likely just trying to survive the winter.
As one girl drags up what appears to be the last tree branch in the whole kingdom, the other girl confirms our suspicions of poverty as she begins mentioning selling tapestries, drapes, and furs from their home to feed their starving people. Their interest piques as a golden chariot in the distance is driven towards town. In the middle of a frozen wasteland, this is definitely a strange sight.
The girls enter town and this golden chariot is offset by a chorus of hungry people trying to find their next meal. Entering what was once a small castle and is now a bare building made of stone walls, one of the girls, Elodie, calls out for her father as he speaks to a mysterious woman in head to toe red robes. Elodie’s father sighs with relief as the mysterious woman announces, “she will do” after looking at Elodie.
It turns out the reason for this woman’s visit is the Queen of Auria has made a proposal for Elodie to marry her son. This is a big deal for not only the family, but also the entire city as an alliance with this rich nation will possibly save people from the brink of starvation. It also provides Elodie with the opportunity of fulfilling her dream of traveling the world, as was her mother’s before her untimely death. Elodie is unenthusiastic about marrying this total stranger, but she cares about her family and her people so she tentatively agrees.
Elodie’s father wastes no time getting back to the queen with their acceptance because in the next scene they are on a ship to Elodie’s new home. Elodie’s stepmother chides her about being out in the cold and warns her of the importance of making a good first impression on her prince. “That’s not going to happen if you’re all snot nosed and tussle haired from being on the bow of this ship, so get below deck girlie!” was the general message.
We get some pretty heavy foreshadowing from here that there might be some large, scaly lizards on screen as their boat passes some ENORMOUS dragon statues functioning as lighthouses near Aurea’s coastline. Spooky.
Aurea is lush and green, filled with rolling hills covered in vineyards, the poverty of Elodie’s homeland far gone. You realize that this kingdom is very, very rich and you can just imagine Elodie as a princess here in sweeping finery. But something just feels a little off. A mysterious woman and lights in the far away mountain add to Elodie’s ill ease, but this is all swept away when she meets her prince and finds him to be everything she could have hoped for! He’s kind, thoughtful, and even shares her desire for travel.
The queen, however, starts giving off some pretty cold vibes in her conversation with Elodie’s stepmother (Lady Bayford). Lady Bayford believes it important to build bridges between the two families, but Queen Isabelle was quick to shoot her down, telling her they don’t need any more family. This begins to ring caution bells in Lady Bayford’s head, and she asks Elodie to dissolve her engagement and return home because something seems wrong.
“They may be royalty, but that does not make them good people.” – Lady Bayford
Given how much is on the line, though, Elodie decides to stay.
After a splendid wedding, Elodie’s family bids her an emotional adieu as she and her prince take a trip through the countryside to pay homage to the royal’s ancestors. Not sus at all. Elodie is happily and slightly nervously led up the mountain to what is undoubtably the creepiest scene of the movie. The queen is dressed in the same blood red outfit as was seen on the woman who delivered her marriage proposal and everyone else is wearing extreme finery, but with the addition of intricately carved full face golden masks. Honestly it looks like she just walked into the middle of a rich, bloodthirsty, sex cult and should probably run away screaming.
They have a small ceremony where Queen Isabelle explains the history of Aurea, and its bloody past involving a dragon. She tells of the fate of the king at the beginning of the movie, and how he was forced to sacrifice his three daughters to a savage dragon for the greater safety of their people. Queen Isabelle explains that this history is the reason for the ceremony, as the sacrifice is commemorated every generation. Taking a knife, she cuts Prince Henry and Elodie’s hands, joining them together in symbolism of Elodie becoming royal blood… and probably also giving her hepatitis. In symbolism of the generational sacrifice, Elodie tosses a golden coin into the chasm and honestly you feel almost a sigh of relief. If this coin was the sacrifice, surely Elodie will live a happy life with her Prince Charming… right?
With the completion of the ceremony, prince Henry picks Elodie up to carry her over a bridge over the chasm, as if he was carrying his new bride over the threshold. It seems like a sweet moment…. until he pauses and throws her into the chasm.
My Thoughts
I don’t want to spoil any more of the movie for you so I’m not going to go into much detail past here, but what ensues is a terrifying game of cat and mouse that will keep you on the edge of your seat for the rest of the movie. There are twists. There are turns. Much will be unveiled and things we were previously told may not be truths after all. Just keep in mind this movie was made to be rewatched and I was really kicking myself the second time I watched it wondering how I missed things!
That’s it! Reach for your remote, microwave some popcorn, and give Netflix’s Damsel a try!
