Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Steineded How sad is this?

Pluskylang Great Film overall

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

jdesando "The Old West is not a certain place in a certain time; it's a state of mind. It's whatever you want it to be. -" Tom MixI should have liked the Zellner brothers' Western comedy, Damsel, much better than I did. It has elements of Mel Brooks and the Coen brothers when they mine the satire of a genre very long in the tooth. The difference: writing. Brooks with his inspired goofiness (Blazing Saddles) and the Coens with their light-hearted larceny (Raising Arizona), have characters using language much smarter than they are, whereas The Zellners' lines are deadpan but dull even though they use elevated diction as the Coens so often do. Using contemporary lingo like "win win" and "real deal" doesn't titillate as it should. In addition, Zellners' language lacks strong affinity with bigger issues.Samuel (Robert Pattinson), a rich pioneer, engages a sham preacher, Henry (David Zellner), to officiate at Samuel's wedding to Penelope (Mia Wasikowska). In their journey with a miniature horse, gift to Penelope (not the waiting Penelope of the Odyssey), the two must deal with their naiveté and the vagaries of raw Western staples like rot-gut whiskey, duplicitous Indians, and bad campfire ballads (Samuel's ballad to Penelope, called My Honeybun, is a weak companion to Brooks' notorious campfire scene) While this set-up is rich fodder for satire, most of the jokes fall as flat as Penelope's affect and as dry as the joke about a fool in a barrel being strung up for no obvious reasons. Westerns are ripe for satire, but the flat line here comes not from the fine performances but the tepid minimalist script and uninspired cinematography. Wasikowska is marvelous as the independent and bitter love interest, Pattinson showing once again that he is much more than a teen heart-throb. The Zellners have the right motif about loneliness; they just need to beef up the languid language and droll action.

rockman182 Praise be for independent films. This probably isn't something that will be on many people's radars because its not exactly popular. I saw this a few weeks back and actually forgot to write a review so here goes. I haven't seen anything from David Zellner although I have wanted to watch Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter since forever. After watching Damsel I've got to say this is actually a really sharply funny and interesting take on a western.The film starts off being about a man who brings a present (a miniature horse) for his lover. He also hires a drunk pastor to officiate their wedding. When he does travel the land to visit her he realizes that things may not be so straight forward. Now we get a film that covers death, love, and random occurrences that happen on the characters' journey in the West. The film stars Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, and David Zellner (the director of the film).Went in not really knowing what to expect, which is actually a great thing because you don't have any expectations. I found points of this film to be extremely entertaining. Its a funny western. The characters, their actions, and consequences are humorous. The film also pulls no punches as there are plenty of surprises in plot along the way. You can't really judge Pattinson on Twilight fame because he was fantastic in Good Time and shows that he has a knack to be a funny dope in Damsel. Mia Wasikowska is one of my favorite actresses today and I think she's absolutely excellent in everything and she is quality here as a foul mouthed, independent, gun wielding damsel in this film.I do like most western's but its not often I can see a uniquely entertaining and funny one. That is the case here and I love how the film wasn't afraid to take risks with its characters and the events in the film. Its fresh and pretty fantastic. I'm close to giving this film an 8/10, but I think I need to give it a re-watch before giving it that seal of approval. I really need to get on watching Kumiko now.7.5/10

blynetter This is the only film we walked out on at SXSW. There is nothing funny in this film. Someone told me it was supposed be a feminist version of a western. If true, all women should be insulted by it.

Alexander_Blanchett It was all right but nothing to write home about. Surprisingly funny at times tho. Robert Pattinson gives a solid enough performance, I did not expect that he can do comedy but in that film he did it better than the dramatic scenes that he dramatically overacted. The concept itself was good on paper but the Zellner bros failed with the execution at times. David Zellner gives a very solid performance in the film, possibly the best of the film. Mia Wasikowska was also fine but there were scenes she overacted as well. The soundtrack was pretty good and I liked the general look of the film, not only the cinematography but also the production design was good, although the film apparently had a limited budget. Its still nothing I would desire to watch again any time soon as it did not do anything inspiring (except maybe the narrative, which was at times a bit unexpected) . It had also some cute moments.