Damsel: (David Fleming) Women often have nightmares
about the various maladies that could plague their forthcoming nuptials,
but few wedding disaster stories can compete with the plotline of 2024's
Damsel. The medieval Netflix survival story offers more than
enough clues in its first minutes that the wedding seen in this film is
destined for problems, but that's not initially a concern for the
damsel, Elodie. Her father's own lands have become a frozen wasteland,
so they accept a marriage proposal from a neighboring kingdom of riches,
Aurea, with Elodie to wed that realm's prince. All seems typical for an
arranged marriage of this type, the two youngers and their parents
initially navigating the situation as best they can. That is, until the
prince throws the bride into a dragon's pit as part of a ritual that
Aurea uses to appease its angry resident. For generations, supposed
princesses of Aurea have enjoyed this fate, but in reality, the wicked
leaders of the land (led by Robin Wright here in a hilarious touch of
humor, no less) have been fooling the dragon into thinking that these
girls were actually of Aurean blood. After an unlikely but necessary
survival of her own fall into the lair, Elodie pieces all of this story
together and becomes the warrior necessary to bring about the demise of
Aurea. Needless to say, that kingdom is
fucked. Despite some poor
special effects, silly ending, and middling reviews,
Damsel
enjoyed significant success for Netflix, and it is supported by a
frequently overachieving orchestral and choral score by regular Hans
Zimmer collaborator David Fleming. The producers of the movie had a
working relationship Zimmer for decades, and they had collaborated on
the similarly themed
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil five years
earlier. It's not surprising that they turned to Zimmer again for the
music for
Damsel, and although the assignment was passed on to
Fleming, Zimmer himself receives front-line score production recognition
in the opening credits of the movie. To the effect that Zimmer's
involvement impacts the end result, one can safely say that the veteran
composer's full apparatus was available to this score, including all his
studio's resources. Even if he didn't end up writing any material for
Damsel, it is therefore a purely Remote Control Productions
work.
Over the previous ten seven years, Fleming had been
earning additional recognition for his contributions to
Zimmer-associated productions, with some movie credits but mostly
television series scores resulting for the American composer. This
situation isn't too different from Geoff Zanelli's equation for
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Fleming, with the help of two
relatively novice ghostwriters in the same Zimmer orbit, makes more out
of the opportunity than expected. (Five significant action cues are
attributed to Jake Boring while only one is credited in part to David
Naroth, making the mass majority of
Damsel a Fleming product.)
The scope of the score is enormous, with the sizeable orchestra and
choirs joined by soloists amongst both ensembles and a host of Celtic or
medieval-oriented instruments like a carnyx, whistle, ocarina, viola da
gamba, and zither. Hearing a carnyx in film music is a distinct treat,
and it punctuates a few cues with phenomenal character. Fleming also
uses both electric and acoustic guitars, but the former is never
invasive due to its tasteful restriction as a supporting element. The
dynamic spread of the recording's tone does quite well balancing the
bass-heavy string and brass tones of the usual Remote Control sound with
the loftier treble elements, especially the woodwinds and medieval
elements in a resoundingly pretty cue like "Horizon." Most importantly,
the female voices represent the various sacrifices of female characters
in the story, from the open elegance of Elodie's theme to their chanted
warnings in the ritual motif and layers of outright resurrected torment
in "Phantom Princesses." After the score turns dark, Fleming does rely
too heavily on applying rising-pitch, choir-shrieking conclusions to
crescendos; it's a tired technique long past its prime usefulness. That
second half of the score does dwell in a significant dose of misery, the
groaning atmospherics and other mundane suspense techniques losing the
smart glean that had brought such intriguing foreboding to the
pre-ritual portions. Still, even in the less appealing horror and action
portions, the score never loses its tight narrative integrity. The lack
of satisfying action material to highlight the narrative's climax is
owed completely to the rather skimpy running time of that portion of the
story on screen, the entire retribution phase of the movie and score
finished in just a few, head-melting minutes.
Casual listeners may come away from
Damsel with
only two themes in mind, but Fleming's work is far more complicated than
that. Depending on how you consider the Aurea material, this score has
either five or six themes that are very regularly developed and match
the narrative with ample intelligence. Two of the ideas represent Elodie
and her Bayford family while the Aurea setting is afforded an illusory
idea for its kingdom while also supporting a deceptive offshoot as a
love theme for Elodie and the prince. For the points of conflict, the
rituals related to Aurea's hidden agenda and the dragon itself are vital
presences that both evolve as the story requires. Elodie's main theme is
the most frequently developed motif in the score, and it also represents
the Lord Bayford family by association. It's an elegant tune that is
sometimes only referenced in its second phrase, extensively explored in
the end credits cue, "Elodie's Maze," that opens the album. The theme is
heard immediately on solo female voice at the outset of that cue, its
first two notes becoming a rambling, cyclical celeste motif underneath.
At 0:50 into "Elodie's Maze," low strings start the theme with the rest
of the phrasing answered by violins. The medieval instruments carry the
tune at 1:12 before returning it to the alternating strings, an
undulating interlude sequence at 1:57 building full ensemble suspense. A
separate hero mode is born from this theme on brass at 2:19 and alters
the identity to add more complexity over the same chords. The regular
melody returns at 2:41 into "Elodie's Maze" with muscular ensemble
force, the carnyx carrying the idea compellingly at 3:03 with a more
natural resolution. The choir joins for continued brass exploration at
3:25 over the cyclical, rambling motif while the hero mode joins at 3:48
over the primary phrasing in the background for a massive climax. That
choir closes the cue with the hero variant in quiet resolve. In the
on-screen narrative, Elodie's main theme is introduced at 1:02 into "A
Proposal" with the low strings on the first two notes and violins
answering, the cyclical phrasing on celeste returning later in the cue
under the hero version of theme and the primary melody regaining
determined, focused form at 3:36 with a light fantasy accompaniment.
From there, this main theme takes significant time to gain its footing
due to Elodie's powerless circumstances in the story, disappearing until
it generates some resolve at 1:06 into "Glowworm Cave."
The main theme for
Damsel starts its journey to
power by tentatively offering its first two notes repeatedly to
"Pointing the Way" and capping the buildup to conflict in the middle of
"Hunting Party," but it is barely coherent in defeat early in "Flight
and Fire" as Bayford is unsuccessful in his rescue of his daughter. The
idea struggles against dissonant lines in high volume at the climax of
"No Shelter" but foreshadows the solo vocal opening from "Elodie's Maze"
in "Accept Your Fate" and guides the resolute drama later in the cue.
The main theme then informs the rather reserved action at 1:44 into "End
of Your Story" against the hero version of the theme, the carnyx
triumphantly paired with chimes for the theme's valiant rendition at
2:18. That hero variant of the theme uses the same secondary phrasing as
Elodie's main theme but features an elongated opening sequence of
greater confidence. Aside from the "Elodie's Maze" references mentioned
above, this hero theme opens "A Proposal" alluringly, with some optimism
and reminders peppered later. Its hints tickle the middle of "Horizon,"
and it meanders carefully on choir at the start of "The Dress." After
shifting to solo voice as a premonition at 0:16 into "Roses and Ritual,"
Elodie's hero theme is barely evident early in "Run!," emerges from a
charged crescendo with the choir at the end of "Pointing the Way,"
becomes fragmented in chords during much of "Flower Cave," and elegantly
guides "Dead End" on soothing choir before a rude dragon stinger at
1:10. Its opening notes are twisted into a call of battle with the
carnyx at the start of "War Paint," the theme achieving more form over
groaning layers of defiance without its full victory formation. That
more powerful stance emerges on top of the main theme over the course of
"Accept Your Fate" and keenly starts to mingle with the dragon theme in
the latter half of that cue. The hero theme again overlaps with the main
theme at the height of "End of Your Story," especially on choir, and
takes the dramatic place of the former love theme during "Homeward" for
a noble ending that includes the aspirational elements the love theme
had once suggested. That love theme is obviously a massive red herring
in the score, and Fleming chooses to play it relatively straight. An
argument could be made that it should have been darker in tone from the
start, but by affording it a pleasantly traditional, romantic demeanor,
the audience is set up for a shock, assuming it doesn't know the basic
plotline from the start.
The combined material for Aurea includes themes for the
kingdom and the doomed love affair. The music for Aurea proper is not
too lush, but it serves the purpose. It opens "Kingdom of Aurea" with a
mixture of hope, mystery, and beauty, and it continues with more hints
of trepidation thereafter, giving it a strong creep factor as the
Baylord contingency sees dragon statues and literal storm clouds in the
horizon. The theme is conveyed by acoustic guitar at 2:43 into "A
Proposal" with a foreshadowing of romantic renditions on top, shifting
its progressions in "Horizon" to convey the more traditional love theme
purpose; a lovely transition for the theme for the full ensemble is
immense in the second half of the cue. This music returns to longing
Aurea duties on choir in "See the World" before reexploring the straight
love theme version thereafter for some deceptive warmth. The Aurea
version of the theme at 0:31 into "The Dress" uses bass strings and
choral suggestions of danger, but that anxiety is restrained as the love
theme offers beauty throughout "Ever After" with choirs and solo
woodwinds and horns. There is a certain amount of temp-track bleed from
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil's "What is Going On Here?" in this
cue, even some lingering James Newton Howard sensitivity joining the
Zanelli reference. The Aurea version of the theme nervously accompanies
the ritual motif in "Roses and Ritual," the love theme itself
appropriately dying out before the stinger at the end of the cue. Chords
of Aurea the haunt "Glowworm Cave" as sad references to the past while
slight connections also mark the moment of discovery at the end of
"Flower Cave." It informs the realization in the second half of "Royal
Blood," too. The ritual theme represents the worst inclinations of any
mother-in-law, and it's a simple rhythm repeated on pairs of notes,
often for choir, but is adapted for battle when needed. With the
whispers of past princess in tow, it debuts at 1:01 into "Kingdom of
Aurea" on light choir as a background rhythm. In the flashback sequence,
the theme becomes a chugging battle rhythm for strings and forceful
voices the outset of "Once Upon a Time." It is very subtle in its
entrance at 1:48 into "A Proposal," quietly opens "See the World" as a
clue that something is clearly wrong, warns fleetingly in the latter
half of "The Dress," and gains expected power at 0:42 into "Roses and
Ritual." In its one reprise thereafter, it returns with organ and more
choral nastiness in "No Shelter." While a very basic identity, the
ritual motif serves its purpose frightfully well.
The final theme in
Damsel is a critical part of
the narrative, as it represents the dragon that shifts allegiances over
the course of the story, requiring Fleming to adapt its tone to match. A
simple four-note motif sometimes truncated to its first three without
its resolving note, the dragon theme is conveyed deliberately on brass
at 0:11 into "Once Upon a Time" and with menacing victory at 2:29 in
that cue. Perhaps a smart foreshadowing of the dragon's first three
notes occurs at 0:58 in "Ever After," but it becomes all business by the
obnoxiously pulsating rendition during the panic at 1:39 into "Run!" It
explodes on brass with only three notes at 2:56 into "Glowworm Cave,"
interrupts with a nasty, loud stinger at 1:10 into "Dead End," and stews
in appropriately melodramatic fashion in "Three Eggs," a cue that leads
to a more elongated version of agony at 1:52 but returns to its stomping
original form at the end of the cue as the villain's (understandable)
motivations are revealed. The dragon's theme continues its posturing in
the middle of "Duty and Deceit" with clearer brass statements but
becomes extremely melodramatic on choir and pounding ensemble at the end
of "Flight and Fire." As the character realizes the truth, its theme is
pensive on choir and atonal layers early in "Facing the Dragon," the
melodramatic, longer version returning nicely on choir at 1:25 and the
base motif adopting a more majestic original form with different (but
still scary) harmonics at 1:56. The theme takes a contemplative turn on
choir at 3:04 into "Accept Your Fate," becoming massively irritated but
twisted upwards in its final note at 4:16. It softly meanders on choir
in "Royal Blood" but shifts to its own heroic mode with impressive
carnyx groans and percussion late in "End of Your Story" as the dragon
executes its revenge against Aurea. There is no outward quote of the
idea in "Homeward," but a similar (maybe pre-planned) three-note phrase
in the hero theme suffices as a connection. The resolution cues only
amount to about five minutes of major thematic expression, leaving most
of the attractive music in
Damsel to the first third to half of
the album. Lykke Li's cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" for this
soundtrack is lethargic, and that song's original tone was not
appropriate for adaptation into this setting anyway. Some listeners may
give up on
Damsel midway through, but Fleming's highlights are
outstanding and the narrative is airtight even in the less palatable
portions. A fantastic 30-minute suite can be assembled from the long
album, with the main theme representing the best kind of Remote Control
power on the market.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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