Nota Damsel in distress
Actress Millie Bobby Brown channels ‘inner dragon’ for new movie, Damsel.
MILLIE Bobby Brown is used to sharing screen time with monsters, be it a giant sea creature in action blockbuster Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (2019) and its sequel Godzilla Vs Kong (2021) or a parade of entities from another dimension in science-fiction horror series Stranger Things (2016 to present).
And in her new movie Damsel, the 20-year-old English actress must confront the fire-breathing dragon her family has sacrificed her to as part of a dark ancient tradition.
Brown plays Elodie, a young noblewoman who dutifully marries a dashing prince, only to learn that her new husband and mother-in-law have decided to cast her into a cave with the dragon.
But, unlike the other innocent brides before her – whose skeletons she finds in the cave – Elodie decides to try to escape and save herself.
Speaking at the film’s recent New York premiere, Brown – who became famous playing Eleven, a girl with superpowers on Stranger Things –says she hopes this fantastical tale will inspire.
Introducing the movie on stage, the former child star urges members of the audience to “try and channel your inner dragon”.
This is what Brown tried to do herself while making Damsel, which co-stars American actresses Robin Wright and Angela Bassett as the queen and Elodie’s stepmother, respectively.
In contrast to previous projects, where she shared the majority of scenes with other actors, this was the first time most of the action rested solely on Brown’s shoulders.
“Most of the film is just me alone in a cave,” says the actress, who played the title role in the Enola Holmes movie franchise (2020 and 2022), a Sherlock Holmes spin-off series about the fictional detective’s younger sister.
“With Stranger Things, I have cast mates I’m able to depend on. I’d never done anything where I haven’t been able to share the load.”
But, on the Damsel set, she took a deep breath and learnt to stand on her own two feet – which also happens to be one of the messages of the story.
It is about “being courageous, brave, resilient and self-reliant”, Brown says.
And as she heads into her 20s, she intends to practise this philosophy in her own life.
“I don’t want to ever be afraid to be myself and take a risk with projects. I’m always thinking: ‘What haven’t I done? What can I do next?’
“That gear is always turning,” says Brown, who will next headline The Electric State, a dystopian sci-fi film co-starring Chris Pratt and Ke Huy Quan, and premiering on Netflix later in 2024.
She wants each project to leave the audience thinking.
“Everything I do, I do with intention,” Brown says.
“Stranger Things, Enola Holmes – everything has meaning behind it.
“I hope you walk away thinking about who you are and who you want to be. That’s the beautiful thing about film-making.”
The actress attended Damsel’s premiere with her family and her fiance, 21-year-old American actor-model Jake Bongiovi, as well as his famous father, American rocker Jon Bon Jovi, 62.
“I’m so lucky that they’re here tonight. Family is everything, and to have my second family here means everything,” she adds.
Asked how she juggles a packed filming schedule, wedding planning and other projects, she points to the quiet life she leads away from Hollywood with her menagerie of animals, which includes nine dogs, four cats, three goats and a donkey.
“I live on a farm in Georgia, so I just go back to my farm and start feeding my donkey and go, ‘This is real life’,” says Brown, who divides her time between this home in the United States and another one in London.
“It grounds me. I love my life in Georgia and when I go back home, I know what truly loves me.” – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
Damsel is available on Netflix.