Review: Damsel

She may be a damsel, but she's certainly in no distress, at least not in the expected way. When we first meet Penelope (Mia Wasikowska), she's in the middle of a barn dance with the man who loves her, a gold-toothed figure of good cheer by the name of Samuel Alabaster (Robert Pattinson). Next we see Samuel, he's arriving on the shore of a new town, a miniature horse by the name of Butterscotch in tow, and searching for his missing beloved who has been kidnapped and in need of his rescue. Or so he thinks.

Engaging the services of Parson Henry (David Zellner), Samuel sets off to find Penelope, whom he intends to marry upon their blissful reunion. Along the way, they encounter all manner of weird and oddball characters, resulting in several scenes that serve as warped homages to other Westerns such as Samuel Fuller's Forty Guns. Indeed, the entirety of Damsel would seem a pastiche of The Searchers and Blazing Saddles by way of Dead Man, though the groove is very much that of writers-directors Nathan and David Zellner, so much so that one's enjoyment and patience for the film very much rests upon being wholly in sync with their rhythm.

Setting that aside, there's much to admire about the Zellners' effort, in particular its outstanding opening sequence, which feels plucked out of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. "I've done my time here, I've had it," Robert Forster's disillusioned preacher says as he waits for a stagecoach that may never arrive. The young man waiting beside him shares that he's come out West to put his troubles behind him. The old man responds that it's no better out here, it's just crappy in new and fascinating ways. Then he strips down to his long johns and wanders off. It's almost a dare of scene, one that sets up the strangeness about to unfold and yet very much a moment that nearly has nothing to do with the rest of the film.

Elsewhere, there are Pattinson and Wasikowska, who are both embodying spins on the usual archetypes of good guy and damsel in distress but also very much going against their usual personas. The former is wryly amusing as the shambling hero who turns out to have more than one screw loose. Wasikowska is spunky as the young woman who wishes all these ridiculous men would stop trying to save her when she's doing just fine on her own, thank you very much. Despite their valiant efforts, the film does have pacing problems with certain scenes dragging on for far too long. Nevertheless, it's worth a watch for the Zellner's intriguing take on loneliness and obsession.

Damsel

Directed by: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner

Written by: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, David Zellner, Nathan Zeller, Robert Forster, Joseph Billingiere