Millie Bobbie Brown is a Netflix heroine again
NETFLIX’S “Damsel” is among the more recent crop of fairy tales and fantasy stories that do away with a ‘handsome prince’ rescuing a princess from a curse or some alarming, distressing and stressful fate.
We’ve seen so many of these stories now where the princess saves herself and figures out her own issues and perils with the help of her wits, available resources and allies. Off the top of my head, “Frozen,” “Moana” and “Princess” have gone down this road.
We’re all for it, it just needs to be done well. “Damsel” could be better.
Netflix’s go-to for young heroines, Millie Bobbie Brown, aka Eleven from the hit “Stranger Things,” aka Enola Holmes, is Princess Elodie who literally gets dumped on her wedding day.
Her father, Lord Bayford (Ray Winstone), is marrying her off to royalty in the Kingdom of Aurea, led by Queen Isabelle (Robin Wright). The trailer right away shows Elodie actually getting tossed down a cave as a sacrifice to a dragon (Shohreh Aghdashloo). Her groom, the Prince (Nick Robinson), does not take any wicked relish in the deed he’s been put up to by his mom. He just lacks any spine to do what is honorable and right.
Lord Bayford’s wife and Elodie’s stepmom, Lady Bayford (Angela Bassett) has a bad feeling about the whole enterprise but there is little she does. Just trying to recall the roles Angela plays — Ramonda in “Black Panther,” Athena Grant in “911,” Mace in ‘Strange Days” (where I first saw her) — it’s hard for me to accept her playing a subdued character. It was not adding up at all. Angela Bassett playing someone who was low-key and not at all pro-active? Someone not on fire in some way? That’s something hard to buy.
I was waiting for her to give Robin Wright a dressing down. I was also waiting for Robin Wright to say something extra vicious or have more lines. I felt these two powerhouse women were so underused.
Too much of the movie was also spent in that dark cave. As a fantasy, fairy tale film, it would have also been great to see other fantastical vistas.
“Damsel” is acceptable viewing if you don’t want to think too much, and your mind just needs a little break. The story is really simple and runs an hour and 50 minutes.
As for fairytales going in this direction, it’s but a reflection of real, daily life. Most of the time, there is no handsome, honorable prince who pops up right when you need him. And in the past week, I was the one who saved other people’s asses — in as much as mine was saved as well by everyday people.
We all should have it within ourselves to crawl out of our caves and not underestimate unlikely allies on our journey. Much in the same way Elodie relied on these bioluminescent slugs in the cave.
Apart from yourself, you never know who or what can save you.