Review of Damsel (2018) by Dufreshest — 05 Jul 2018

Damsel: Who's Really In Distress?

Cinematography: 8.811/10 Fine. There are a lot of good angles though the film progresses extremely slow. In many instances, I feel as though I’m watching a screen saver slideshow that has all of these pleasant images and movements until dialogue begins.

Costume Design: 8.521/10 Not too shabby and accurate for each scene. The details of dress work well with the film. No matter how dirty and poor or clean and rich–people may be full of morals or moral-less.

Film Editing: 8.821/10 A job well done. When the film has a photographer in the ending scenes, I think of the importance of having the elements of photography in accordance with the elements of videography. There’s a really good balance.

Make-up and Hair-styling: 8.5/10 Very suitable to each area of the film and contributes to the photographic-videographic-thematic elements in Damsel.

Sound Editing: 7.658/10 Listening to the film, I think of Hero and Moonrise Kingdom. There are too many elements missing to make Damsel anything resembling either of these films though the sounds are lulling especially the chiming rhythms overflowing at times. I low-key want to hear the soundtrack.

Visual Effects: 8.219/10 Thumbs up to the imagery (not the metaphorical in this instance) throughout the film.

Story: 2.121/10 Now, the metaphoric imagery throughout the story is very dragging and draws towards and from many different directions. I do find myself laughing less and less throughout the film. There’s a huge theme around male and female genitals and relations throughout the film. I feel as though a lot of the comedy turns into mockery. I find myself having to embrace the film as a viewer that wants to analyze the film. Yet, the story seems to really fall apart after Sam meets Penelope and might be playing with ideas of a journey post-divorce, death, and true love.

Acting: 4.319/10 There’s definitely a different flow of humor progressing with heavy-serious undertones. Is it weird to say a lot of the dialogue doesn’t seem necessary after a point? Damsel would have done a lot better going full on Charlie Chaplin with color.

Personal: Damsel reminds me of a very very very tempered version of The Ridiculous Six. There seems to be a strong play on the slowness of the West as well as a strong emphasis on the importance of not dwelling. On another note, the film depicts the choice and control a woman has and how long she carries her vows with her. The idea of ’til-death-do-us-part is ever so present. The horny-rich man finds a love of his life out of his control. He sabotages her chances of living a happy life with another man. She refuses every part of the rich man though accepts the benefits of a prenuptial agreement from a man taking on the role of a preacher. There are so many angles to poke at in Damsel and a lot of them have phallic and religious relations. I find myself laughing at times then pondering then closing my eyes and listening. It takes me effort to get through the film awake. The most appealing aspect of the film to me is the imagery. I wonder: is the film low-key crediting Eadweard Muybridge?

Overall: 7.121/10.

-K.D.

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