Written, produced, and directed by brothers David and Nathan Zellner, Damsel is a 2018 Indie Western worthy of a second glance thanks to its unusual humor and subversions of the genre’s traditional gender expectations. Starring Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska — two of our time’s most captivating young actors — the duo creates an improbable and ill-fated pairing that cleverly tosses customs of romantic tropes in Westerns out the window to serve up something totally unexpected. Using surprising narrative turns and a major shift in perspective halfway through, Damsel offers a fresh and thoughtful twist on the Western genre’s conventional treatment of both men and women, solidified by the distinctive talents of Pattinson and Wasikowska’s performances.
