If you’re suffering from Eleven withdrawal, fear not: In Oscar-nominated filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s Damsel, Millie Bobby Brown is entering a different kind of Upside Down. As the determined and courageous Elodie, Brown flips the script on the traditional fairy tale as a princess whose happily ever after is brutally interrupted when her Prince Charming sacrifices her to a dragon. Forget what you’ve heard about tales that begin with “Once upon a time…” — this damsel has only herself to rely on.
“She’s a damsel who doesn’t need to be saved,” Brown told Netflix. “She saves herself in many ways. It subverts what you expect: You’re expecting the prince to turn around and save her, and… no. Don’t wait for the prince.”
“What I really loved in the script from Dan Mazeau was embracing the idea of a fantasy adventure and a princess and dragon story, but taking it into a place [where] it’s completely upside down,” Fresnadillo tells Tudum. “It was a very intense journey that I was so excited to design and to develop. At the core, this is such a beautiful story about a young woman becoming a strong, independent, and empowered adult. Elodie doesn’t have any kind of support. It’s a real survival experience.”
You can catch a glimpse of the obstacles Elodie faces in the trailer for the film above: It features glowing rocks, giant swords, the aforementioned very big dragon, as well as Angela Bassett, Robin Wright, and Nick Robinson. What more could you ask for?
What is Damsel about?
Damsel sees Brown as a dutiful, well, damsel, who agrees to marry a handsome prince — only to discover it was all a trap: The royal family recruits her as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt. She’s then thrown into a cave with a fire-breathing dragon, where she has to rely solely on her wits and will to survive.
As Elodie fights alone in the bowels of the monster’s lair, she is the audience’s eyes and ears. “You feel that you are experiencing the journey of surviving and facing this creature with Elodie,” Fresnadillo says. “The emotional arc is so intense.”
The on-set cave system helped Brown herself feel like she was experiencing that journey. “It was hard running through [the caves],” Brown said. “It was hard falling in them. It was hard to scream, because nobody could hear you. You couldn’t see anything. Everything felt so real. So I loved the caves as an actor, but hated them as Elodie.”
Set to the strains of “Run from Me” by Timber Timbre, the film’s teaser trailer showcases Elodie’s fairy-tale seduction by the royal family — and the ensuing reality of her situation, as she fights for her life in the depths of a cave. “For generations, it has been our task to protect our people,” Wright narrates. “So tonight, you join a long line of women who have helped to build this kingdom.” The sentiment’s true meaning is made clear by the accompanying image: Brown brushing her hand across the steep wall of the cave, where previous captives’ names have been carved into the surface.
Elodie is walking in the bleak footsteps of her predecessors, but Brown could only look forward. “I couldn’t draw from anything because I’ve personally never read a story like Damsel,” she said. “With Eleven, I’m able to draw from Mad Max. Or, with Enola Holmes, I’m able to draw a little bit from Hermione in Harry Potter. I couldn’t find anyone for Elodie and so I knew I was going to have to create her, find her along the way, find what her weaknesses and strengths are, and really create a life and a journey for her so that everybody would care about her, believe in her, and root for her.”
And Elodie will need all the support she can get to make it through Damsel alive. “It’s a thrilling adventure with a really dark twist to put you on the edge of your seat,” Fresnadillo says. “As a filmmaker, one of the things I always want to do is surprise the audience with a new take on a story. Especially this kind of [traditional story] — we have to modernize those tales with new takes, more modern and real ways, to connect with the audience.”
In other words, even if you don’t casually come across dragons in your day-to-day life, you’ll still recognize many of the hurdles Elodie faces throughout the story. “We tried to make this as real as we can,” he adds. “It’s a fantasy, but grounded in reality.”
Trailer video:
