Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- deadpan
- absurdist
- bleak
- offbeat movie night
- dark comedy evening
What critics said
Critics generally found the film beautifully photographed and refreshingly humorous in its revisionist western approach, while noting that its stately pacing and uneven twists can frustrate.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Samuel's apparent heroism and Penelope's supposed damsel status are repeatedly destabilized.
The film combines a comic clown-show sensibility with carnage and bleak wilderness conditions.
The desert rocks, lakeshores, forests, and Oregon shoreline are photographed with sweeping 19th-century landscape-painting grandeur.
Parson Henry's presence is described as a ruse, while the characters' roles and motives shift through unexpected revelations.
Films like Damsel, and why
The Sisters Brothers
revisionist western form, deadpan black humor, and eccentric frontier characters
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
offbeat western comedy, absurdist character behavior, and stylized frontier violence
Slow West
darkly comic western revisionism, moral instability, and harsh wilderness atmosphere
Movie Details
- Directors
- David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
- Release Date
- 2018-06-22
- Runtime
- 113 min
- Rating
- 5.3 / 10 (167)
Cast
- Robert Pattinson
- Mia Wasikowska
- David Zellner
- Nathan Zellner
- Joseph Billingiere
- Robert Forster
- Morgan Lund
- David Wingo
- Russell Mael
- Gabriel Casdorph
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, Starz Amazon Channel, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Damsel about?
- A deadpan, visually expansive western comedy in which a marriage journey exposes the absurdity and danger beneath frontier romance.
- What is Damsel like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Damsel as slow, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Damsel violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Damsel as brutal.
- What did critics think of Damsel?
- Critics generally found the film beautifully photographed and refreshingly humorous in its revisionist western approach, while noting that its stately pacing and uneven twists can frustrate.
- Which films are like Damsel?
- Films with a similar feel include The Sisters Brothers, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and Slow West.
- How long is Damsel?
- Damsel runs 113 minutes.
- Where can I watch Damsel?
- In United States, Damsel streams on Philo, Starz Amazon Channel, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel.
