Damsel

"This is not a fairytale."

2024 1h 47m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 2,950

FantasyActionAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young woman's marriage to a charming prince turns into a fierce fight for survival when she's offered up as a sacrifice to a fire-breathing dragon.

“This is not a fairytale.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Millie Bobby Brown
Elodie
Brooke Carter
Floria
Nick Robinson
Prince Henry
Robin Wright
Queen Isabelle
Milo Twomey
King Roderick
Ray Winstone
Lord Bayford
Angela Bassett
Lady Bayford
Nicole Joseph
Princess Victoria

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Writers: Dan Mazeau
Languages: English
Countries: Spain, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 0% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Spain, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, shot by Larry Fong. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by David Fleming. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Gilbert shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Millie Bobby Brown and Brooke Carter and Nick Robinson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo directs. Larry Fong behind the camera. David Fleming scores. John Gilbert cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Spain, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Earned back only 0% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 2 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: Spain, United States of America.
5Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, shot by Larry Fong. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by David Fleming. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor John Gilbert shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Millie Bobby Brown and Brooke Carter and Nick Robinson carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "This is not a fairytale.".
10IMDB entry: tt13452446 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 16 themes, including "princess", "fire", "escape", "chase".

The technical file

Cinematography: Larry Fong
Original score: David Fleming
Editing: John Gilbert
Production design: Patrick Tatopoulos
Makeup / hair: Lynda Armstrong
VFX supervisor: Ara Khanikian
Sound: Andrew Caller
Stunt coordinator: Franklin Mark Henson
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,000,000
Box office: $5,000
Return: 0% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Damsel (2024)

Also by

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

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Community reviews

What people are saying

thorian932024-03-09
★ 6.5/10
Today I enjoyed: Damsel. Damsel is a Netflix Original, that was released just a few days ago. Starring a strong cast with Millie Bobby Brown, Robin Wright, Angela Bassett and the voice of Shohreh Aghdashloo it follows the odyssey of Elodie. I am not going to spoil the plot for you, but I bet you can foresee most developments, dear reader. Overall I have mixed feelings. The story is nothing new, most elements are well known for this kind of movie. Some decisions of characters (including the dragon) feel dumb, and sometimes our main character gets very lucky, so the rest of the plot can happen. The CGI ranges from poor to pretty good, poor more in the begging, with huge landscapes and castles, but later, when the dragon makes an appearance, it looks pretty decent. But I was watching on a rather small screen and Netflix is punishing me with mediocre quality for some time now. So take my visual rating with a grain of salt. Now one thing I will say about the dragon: It has an interesting spin to it. For one thing, half of the time, we do not really see it and only hear Shohreh Aghdashloo's deep, rasping voice, bringing it to life. And when we actually see the dragon, it has a slight horror touch if you will. It looks like a hybrid between your average majestic and broadly loved dragon and something more dark and slimy. A muskrat comes to mind. I liked that (sort of). One remark towards the title: While it is obviously a play the well known 'Damsel in distress' and obviously Elodie fights instead of needing to be rescued, she screams a lot and actually seems in distress half of the film. Until she suddenly becomes the hero and single-handedly fights the dragon. It is a bit much and hard to believe. This is in all honesty an average movie. It is neither terrible nor great. If you are in the mood for some imagery, gold and jewels, dragons, princesses, and a few swords, then go for it. There are worse ways to spend roughly 109 minutes. But there are also better ways. Originally posted on my blog: https://robingierse.de/blog/tie-damsel.
Sejian2024-03-10
★ 6/10
Damsel suffers from the same issues that plague movies of this kind, and no, I'm not talking about the "woke agenda" or "muh diversity". I'm talking about bad writing. Too much reverse "show, don't tell" and too many contrived scenes and one-liners. The CGI is good, the costumes and set designs are good, the overall plot is good, but the writing falters often. I get that this is a PG-13 movie but teenage viewers aren't this dumb. Give them better writing. Maybe if we treat the younger generation like they have some intelligence, they'll start acting like it. The end result is a movie that wastes its star power and the effort of all involved. VAGUE SPOILERS AHEAD: 1. I get they were trying to do foreshadowing with the opening scene, but it ruined the "reveal". The birds were a nice thrilling scene that fell flat by us already being shown the antagonist. 2. The "V" hallucination was just too silly. Elodie should have found the evidance and had her own organic "Tis a lie!" reaction. 3. It would have been nice to see Elodie wield a sword at some point before they left their kingdom, even if it was just her toting one in her introduction scene "for wolves" or some excuse. Take some hints from Brave (2012)'s Merida in the future for crying out loud. 4. Sister's reaction to stepmother's concern felt forced. 5. Stepmother's cut should have been a stab and she should have been in worse shape when she found Elodie. That scene also needed some work to make it less unbelievable. Like perhaps have Elodie make it back to the ship and find stepmother badly injured. Time skips are a thing that happens, y'know? 6. Father's reasons could have been better written. Easily they could've had palace guards shadow him to imply he'd been threatened and then redone his rescue attempt. Why? Because he is never shown to be callous to the needs or feelings of his daughters. Their family being threatened would've made more sense than "well I thought the sacrifice was worth it for the good of 'OUR' people". Why they had him say "my" is anyone's guess. 7. Less stoic one-liners and less stoic "No! <thrusts sword into ground>" moments. We've seen it numerous times and it's just utterly boring and contrived at this point.
Manuel São Bento2024-03-12
★ 6/10
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://talkingfilms.net/damsel-review-a-generic-yet-immersive-fantasy-flick/ "Damsel attempts to deliver a tale of empowerment and adventure within the rich fantasy genre but finds itself entangled in the ropes of predictability and missed opportunities for deeper narrative innovation. Despite its shortcomings, the film shines through its technical prowess, from visually stunning effects to immersive world-building, and is anchored by Millie Bobby Brown’s compelling lead performance. While it may not redefine its genre or leave an indelible mark on the history of cinema, it’s a pleasant home viewing with moments of genuine charm and resilience." Rating: B-