Damsel

Damsel is designed to be a deliberately out-of-joint comedy about a woman forced to endure an exasperating ordeal. After two hours, I could relate.

Like everything else attractive to the eye in "Damsel," this image of happiness is a cruel illusion. It's also an unilluminating one.

The frontier as a symbol not of manifest destiny but of man's idiocy? There's an interesting movie in that. "Damsel" gets about halfway there.

Damsel is set some 150 years ago, but it's a timely social commentary about certain gender-based stereotypes that still exist in the movies. Mia Wasikowska kills it as Penelope.

Damsel is a sly feminist manifesto disguised as a shaggy, amiable hangout movie.

This warped, WTF western from the Zellner brothers gives Rob Pattinson a chance to shine. In a Hollywood of formulaic hack jobs, the Zellners know how to keep you guessing. Don't knock it. It's a gift.

The filmmakers are poking fun at the male ego without portraying its more sinister aspects. It's a new spin on an old narrative - a fresh start if you will.

The Zellners are obviously talented men, but their fondness for stillness clouds the highlights of their work.

Some may believe that the western-genre-turned-arthouse gimmick was played out long ago, but Damsel's fresh energy and pioneering spirit offers redemption on many levels, for characters and viewers alike.

Damsel is one of those nouveau westerns that looks vaguely inspired by the Coen brothers... That type of genre tinkering can be refreshing as long as the writing is sharp. Damsel's writing is not sharp.

Featuring a hilariously bonkers turn from Pattinson, "Damsel" upends the Western tropes of hero, villain and damsel-in-distress with a mid-film twist that radically alters our perspective.

It's a relief to see a movie which injects its dark subject matter with a dry sense of humor rather than reveling in the darkness and violence amidst its beautiful landscapes.