“There are many tales of chivalry where the gallant knight rescues a lady in distress. This is not one of those tales,” this is how the sumptuous new fantasy movie featuring Millie bobby brown begins. So we understand from the beginning that there will be a damsel, there will be distress, and she will have to get herself out of it.
We then jump a couple of centuries in the future and see Elodie played by Brown, now older and living in a barren icy place with her younger sister Flora. The castle they lived gets stripped of its curtains for food because times are so rough. However, hope arrives in the form of a queen, who wants to marry off her son, the prince, and seeks Elodie’s hand. This would enthrall the struggling community as well. Elodie is quite hesitant but agrees to do whatever the people want. “Haven’t you always wanted to see other places,” her father trying to push the unnatural offer, says.
Elodie and Flora then remember the pomp and show surrounding the Queen and how kindly they were treated. It all sounded too good to be true.
Nick Robinson played Prince Henry, a character who can be described as eloquent, passionate and as charming as prince charming when he is of age. However, his mother (Robin Wright as Isabelle), seems to have a strong and cold character, which even prevents Elodie’s stepmother, Lady Bayford (an underused Angela Bassett) from becoming friends with her.
People initially thought the lady was worrying too much and that nothing serious was about to happen, but, unfortunately for Lady Bayford, her suspicions were correct and the grand wedding went ahead as previously planned. Patrick Tato Poulos’s production designs and Amanda Monk’s costume designs were visually stunning, in which the entire wedding scene was breathtaking as well. Be aware of what happens when Elodie begins to dress up for the wedding, because it involves a very unique mix of emotion and anxiety that will take a long time for the normal people to process.
Following the wedding, there was a weird and unusual celebration held inside a cave near its entrance. In a creepy fashion, the courtiers wore hoods that concealed their identities. Blood oaths were once again taken, as Isabelle cut the palms of the newlywed couple and combined their blood together. Les Bosse is raised in many cultures and societies in order to sustain the kingdom and it is said that Elodie is one of these offerings that remain in the deep dark abyss of the cave.
The plot twists once again and within a split second, Elodie transforms from Cinderella into Lucy McClane, while in the abyss she tries to escape from the evil dragon who burnt the entire kingdom. And when the dragon appears onscreen, I was left startled by her powerful voice that reverberated throughout the cave in such haunting tones, completely capturing her character.
Do you recall that gown? Given how Elodie MacGyver’s turns it into a survival kit, one would think it should have been made by the Q of James Bond, who is also her mother. While my daughter, the Hollywood costume designer, shows me the purpose of a corset busk (it’s the stiffness board, which is stuck down the bodice); she is now using it as a knife to sharpen while the busk is shoved against the wall of the cavern. She also dresses in some of the cloth to shield herself and removes most of it allowing her greater ease of actions that invariably leads to very charming rags. Elodie did not only shred her clothes; she also discovered some items in that cave including the corpses of other princesses. There is a whole wall covered with their desires to escape, written in their own blood as they gave up hope. She also finds these awful looking bio-luminescent worms for which she is thankful, as they provide light in the dark caves.
This segment of the film worked like a computer game, with Elodie trying to get away from one hurdle after another, slowly but surely making some headway. Earning the trust of people who like monotony was entertaining for Brown after a significant interval and she managed to break through a mix of fear and a sense of being focused. Also, some scary moments straight ad us; especially when another set of characters joins the party and we make our way into the cavern.
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