Synopsis
Oregon, a small town near the sea, around 1870. Henry, a grieving man who aspires to preach as a way to overcome his unfortunate past, reunites with eccentric pioneer Samuel Alabaster, who has hired him to officiate at his marriage to the precious Penelope. What Henry ignores is that both must embark on a dangerous journey through the inhospitable wilderness to meet her.
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Cast
- Robert PattinsonSamuel Alabaster
- Mia WasikowskaPenelope
- David ZellnerParson Henry
- Nathan ZellnerRufus Cornell
- Joseph BillingiereZachariah Running Bear
- Robert ForsterOld Preacher
- Morgan LundBar Creep
- David WingoBarrel of Laughs
- Russell MaelPrairie Crooner
- Gabriel CasdorphAnton Cornell
Recommendations
- 83
The Film Stage
There are few films that make one rethink the entire genre that came before it, but with their continually surprising, feminist bent approach, the Zellners have succeeded in doing so. - 83
IndieWire
The downside to the Zellners’ uncompromising approach is that they sometimes hold an inspired moment for too long. Certain scenes drag, and some banter has an airless quality that causes a few gags to fall flat. But it’s often rescued by nuggets of hilarious dialogue...and the steady realization that the movie always has been one step ahead of audience assumptions. - 80
New York Magazine (Vulture)
I was alternately delighted and irritated, though mostly a very happy camper. - 80
Screen Daily
Throwing darts at genre conventions while honouring what is eternally mythic about the milieu, this comedy-drama draws off-kilter performances from Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska that subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) reframe archetypes and consistently set us back on our heels. - 67
The A.V. Club
With Damsel, the Zellners have made a kind of artisanal thrift-shop approximation of a Western. - 60
Variety
Damsel is a comedy of attitude made with the indulgent touch of an art Western. That’s a refreshingly original thing, though it’s not as blow-you-away cool as the filmmakers seem to think it is. - 58
The Playlist
The film’s inherent problems, however, are two fold. First, the third of the picture is an absolute slog. The Zellner’s may have though this was a creative choice to make the comedic scenes funnier when they finally hit, but it simply doesn’t work. Second, the funny bits simply aren’t as funny as they should be. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
The writer-directors are so intent on upending expectations and startling the audience that the effort shows far too much and, in the weak second half, ends up being terribly self-conscious.
