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The fairy tales that most of us grew up watching are tales of princes and princesses, of beautiful castles in faraway lands, and of finding true love and living happily ever after. But Netflix’s fairy tale adventure, Damsel, is definitely not that kind of fairy tale.
Damsel travels to a distant land, where harsh conditions and hardships have made it increasingly difficult for the people to survive. In order to provide for them, Lord Bayford (Ray Winstone) agrees to a union between his daughter, Elodie (Millie Bobby Brown), and the prince of a prosperous kingdom. But while she’s taken in by the kingdom’s beauty, Elodie soon discovers that hers isn’t meant to be a happily-ever-after kind of story. After the wedding, she’s thrown into a pit as a sacrifice to a vicious beast—and she’ll have to fight to survive.
While the typical fairy tale tells the story of a troubled young woman who finds true love—and often also rescue from a family curse or some other kind of terrible situation, too—in the form of a handsome prince, Elodie’s fairy tale is more of the traditional Grimms’ variety. It isn’t sweet or romantic or uplifting. Instead, it’s dark and violent and deadly. Elodie is far from the first young woman that this cruel and calculating royal family has tricked into being sacrificed to the beast, but as soon as she’s dropped into the chasm in her elegant bridal wear, she decides that she’ll do whatever it takes to run and fight and claw her way back out.
Elodie’s fight for survival is an entertaining one. Through her years on Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown has learned a thing or two about battling evil—and she definitely holds her own here. She may scream like the typical movie damsel in distress, but she doesn’t sit back and wait to be rescued.
Still, this ferocious fairy tale isn’t without its flaws. Parts of the story just don’t make sense—so it’s best not to think too much about the details. But if you’re just looking for some brainless entertainment with a heavy dose of girl power, it’s an action-packed twist on the same old story.
Fractured fairy tales have been quite popular in recent years. And if you enjoy princess stories that end up taking a darker, less frothy path to their happily-ever-after, Damsel is worth a look. It may have a distinctly straight-to-streaming feel, but its slight pulpiness might just be a part of its appeal.
Follow Elodie on her fight for survival when Damsel comes to Netflix on March 8, 2024.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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