Maiden, Millie Bobby Brown’s new film on Netflix, is a reverse fairy tale in which the princess must save herself if she wants to survive
Girlfilm starring Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger things), arrived this Friday (8) in the catalog of Netflix, is a dark medieval fantasy like we haven’t seen in a long time. Well constructed and, at times, truly terrifying, the film is a fairy tale in reverse in which, despite all the classic elements of stories like this, there is no damsel in distress waiting for a savior prince.
In the new feature film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Extermination 2), the princess, in fact, is a young warrior who, after being deceived, burned and terrified, decides to save herself, demonstrating that, under no circumstances, should the power of a woman be underestimated.
It wasn’t love, it was a trap
With a screenplay written by Dan Mazeau (Clash of the Titans 2), Girl tells the story of Elodie, princess of a kingdom in decline, whose population is dying of hunger.
Shocked by the situation, although neither she nor the rest of the family wastes money, Elodie has the chance to help her people when she receives a precious marriage proposal. An invitation that, although she comes from a prince of a distant kingdom that she has never heard of, can solve the problem of all those who live in her lands.
Determined to accept the union for the greater good, the girl then marries the boy, soon discovering that she has been deceived and, in reality, is there as a sacrifice for an old debt. The prince’s real goal is for her to be offered to a fire-breathing dragon, who has been maintaining this “deal” with the royal family for years to maintain peace in the kingdom.
Thrown into the depths of a cave, Elodie is then chased by the creature, who, in its own way, is also injured and does everything to make the princess’s journey as painful as possible.
On this journey, despite initially being afraid of facing the dragon, little by little the young girl begins to believe in her own strength, especially when she realizes that she is not the first to find herself in that situation and that she can count on the help of other girls .
A gorgeous dark fantasy
Quite exciting, Girl It therefore follows the entire path followed by the protagonist in this dark world, where despite the closed places and constant fear, there is still room for small beauties and fantasies.
As she sneaks through rock crevices, leaps over chasms, and climbs rocks, she encounters glowing animals that heal her wounds and light her path. Not to mention the melted stalactites in which she can quench her thirst or even the “singing” crystals that appear during her journey.
Nothing, however, is more powerful than the clues left by other girls that will serve as a guide on your journey. Through inscriptions on the walls, drawn maps and even forgotten objects, Elodie manages to reconstruct the steps of the other girls who were there and who “paved the way” so that, one day, one of them would have a different destiny.
Supported by these stories, the girl moves forward, seeing the strength and sacrifice of all these women as the driving force to find a way out. After all, even though they were cornered and scared, they helped each other, a kind of complicity that only women can have.
Cinema stays away from clichés
With grandiose and exciting scenes – which deliberately create a contrast between the color of the castle and the shadows of the cave -, Girl It’s a delightful underwater adventure. Many of the sequences in which the dragon appears are particularly harrowing and it is not uncommon for the audience to be as scared as the protagonist herself during these chases.
Millie Bobby Brown’s performance is one of the highlights of the film, both in the scenes in which the actress still gives life to the “innocent princess” and in the moments of tension, in which it is possible to see the desperation of Appearance reflected in her.
Sometimes scary, sometimes delicate, Girl It has everything to be a Netflix hit. Fascinating, the film manages to avoid the clichés of the genre, not only for the different roles assigned to already known character types, but also for the ending of its story, which shows where a woman’s true strength lies.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
