Robert Pattinson and Zellner Bros World Premiere of Damsel at Sundance Film Festival, 23 January 2018
 
I believe this is the first film of Rob’s to premiere at a film festival where we’ve seen no footage other than a few stills. Well played Zellner Bros … well played. So here are the first reactions to the film and more importantly Rob’s performance straight out of the premiere today. When you see “beyond brilliant” and “comedic timing” we know we’re in for a fab ride. Will update as more reactions/reviews come to hand. (Thanks to ScreenZealots for the pic above)
DAMSEL: Robert Pattinson in Damsel is beyond brilliant, beyond analysis. This is jaw-dropping work, what we go to the movies hoping to see, and we do. Every few years. #Sundance
— James Healey (@SwedishLincoln) January 24, 2018
Damsel is a hilarious, eccentric feminist anti-western. Mia Wasikowska rules and Robert Pattinson’s character could be an ancestor of Good Time’s Connie. #Sundance
— Jordan Raup (@jpraup) January 24, 2018
DAMSEL: the Kumiko team’s absurdist western starring Rob Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, and a miniature horse named Butterscotch somehow *exceeded* my expectations. An epic of emasculation. #TeamButterscotch #Sundance pic.twitter.com/VL7uUnftWG
— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) January 24, 2018
Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska and Robert Forster are endlessly endearing in the Zellner brothers’ deliciously different Damsel. A hilarious Western treat. #sundance
— Joe Utichi (@joeutichi) January 24, 2018
The great thing about Zellner brothers movies is that they lead you to believe you’re smarter than them and they outsmart the shit out of you. DAMSEL! #sundance
— erickohn (@erickohn) January 24, 2018
DAMSEL rules #SundanceFilmFestival
— Spence @ Sundance (@__spence__) January 24, 2018
Immensely enjoyed the Zellners’ absurd, feminist and very funny Western Damsel, in which a bunch of incompetent men continually assume a very competent woman needs saving. Good stuff. And OOOHHH THAT MINIATURE HORSE! I need one of those. 😍 #Sundance
— Tomris Laffly (@TomiLaffly) January 24, 2018
Robert Pattinson proves he can play MULTIPLE kinds of psychopaths with a wonderfully comedic turn in DAMSEL: his straight-backed physicality is perfect for this overly earnest try hard. #sundance
— Alex Heeney (@bwestcineaste) January 24, 2018
Robert Pattinson is so good in DAMSEL. #Sundance18
— Paul Ridd (@PaulRidd) January 24, 2018
The triumph of @ #Sundance – Daisy the miniature horse who plays Butterscotch the miniature horse in the Zellner Brothers very silly western – Damsel!
(Oh and those cool actors Robert Pattinson & Mia Wasikowska are in the pic along with the Zellner Bros too) pic.twitter.com/tQZbJdvlXw
— Jeff Goldsmith (@yogoldsmith) January 24, 2018
#14 – Love love love DAMSEL. Such a dryly comic gem about a woman who needs saving in everyone’s eyes but her own. Fans of the underappreciated SLOW WEST are going to love it. #Sundance2018
— Rob Hunter (@FakeRobHunter) January 24, 2018
The Zellner brothers’ take on the western has their usual dark humor, slow pace, and cockeyed poetry. Plus a little horse. #Sundance2018 https://t.co/1vGYtrdtA6
— Noel Murray (@NoelMu) January 24, 2018
The @zellnerbros have done it again. “Damsel” is a feminist Western that exposes silly white men with ridiculously fragile egos. Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska are great, but look at the adorable miniature horse that plays Butterscotch! #Sundance pic.twitter.com/7rsN1H3eoZ
— Carlos Aguilar (@Carlos_Film) January 24, 2018
Damsel drags here or there, but the Zellner’s trademark sense of humor is on full display. Robert Pattinson is pretty much playing an absurdist Coen Bros character. Everybody in this movie is a doofus except for Mia Wasikowska.
— Eric Vespe (@EricVespe) January 24, 2018
The best part of DAMSEL is its first five minutes, with Robert Forster as a dyspeptic preacher exhausted by Western life. The rest strands a totally game Robert Pattinson & Mia Wasikowska in an endless parade of self-indulgent, glacially paced whimsy. Oy. #Sundance2018
— Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) January 24, 2018
There’s no way not to love #Damsel: we heard from #RobertPattinson #MiaWasikowska and the irritable miniature horse named Butterscotch. The #ZellnerBrothers are deeply troubled. #Sundance2018 pic.twitter.com/rpH11hoCUY
— Erin Collard (@ToddandErin) January 24, 2018
Some early thoughts on #Damsel at #Sundance2018… a well-intentioned western, but even the performers (and an adorable miniature pony) can’t quite rescue it from laggy, stagnate editing and some weak humor. Stay tuned to #GGANews
— Kimberly Pierce @ Sundance (@kpierce624) January 24, 2018
More #Damsel thoughts, another fun and enjoyable performance from Robert Pattinson, definitely the high point of the film for me. #Sundance2018 Stop by #GGANews soon for a full review.
— Kimberly Pierce @ Sundance (@kpierce624) January 24, 2018
DAMSEL: absurd & amusing Western comedy by the Zellner brothers. Liked the feminist tone and the cute mini horse. Robert Pattinson has great comedic timing. Didn’t laugh consistently but when I did it was hard! #Sundance pic.twitter.com/nruTZDTWp7
— Alicia Malone (@aliciamalone) January 24, 2018
DAMSEL: There’s no code to the Old West or to Zellner Bros. movies, which is exactly how I like it. Mia Wasikowska rocks. One of my faves of #Sundance2018
— Peter Howell (@peterhowellfilm) January 24, 2018
DAMSEL is a batty thinkpiece of a film about Old West fuckbois and the woman exasperated by their toxic masculinity. Fun when it’s at its most bonkers. A bit of a drawl in between. Also, a miniature horse.
— Kevin Fallon (@kpfallon) January 24, 2018
Damsel-Offbeat and very funny, delightful western. Wasikowska and Pattinson are great. Reminded me of a better Slow West. There’s even a gag that reminded me of the salt gag there.
— Eric R. (@grey603) January 24, 2018
DAMSEL defies every genre convention of the western to give us a female empowered, screwball comedy with a strong performance from Mia Wasikowska & a comedic one from Robert Pattinson. Respected more than loved due to its glacier-like pacing. #Sundance #Sundance2018 #NBPSundance
— Matt Neglia (@NextBestPicture) January 24, 2018
Damsel is the feminist western screwball comedy we didn’t know we needed, with another brilliant Robert Pattinson performance. What a god damn delight that was. #Sundance2018
— Loquaciousmuse (@loquaciousmuse) January 24, 2018
Damsel – A creative play on westerns, making fun of all the usual tropes, starring Robert Pattinson & Mia Wasikowska, plus Butterscotch the miniature horse. Amusing, dry humor from the mind of the Zellner Bros, good times. #Sundance2018
— Alex Billington (@firstshowing) January 24, 2018
******PRINT REVIEWS FROM SUNDANCE*****
THE SWEET
VARIETYÂ (SPOILER WARNING)
The movie that surrounds them unfolds with an invisible wink, yet the pace is so stately and deliberate that at moments one is tempted to call it glacial. The rhythm is no accident; the Zellners know just what they’re doing. (They must be fans of Jim Jarmusch’s “Dead Man.â€) Yet “Damsel,†if I’m going to be honest about it, is droll and touching and amusing and a little boring, all at the same time. …
Yet they know how to use a star cast. Robert Pattinson, with a gold tooth where his right incisor should be, hits the perfect drawling note of flaked-out cheer as Samuel Alabaster … Pattinson’s performance is clever enough that we have no problem accepting him as the shambling-dude version of a classic good guy, and then, when the film’s plot turns around on him, that same friendly cracker-barrel face suddenly looks like the image of a man who may have a screw loose.
#Sundance18 review: “Damsel†(Premieres) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ – The Zellner brothers’ offbeat Western starts in one direction, with Robert Pattinson’s city slicker trying to save his love (Mia Wasikowska), but jumps into something far crazier. The tone shifts are jarring, but rewarding.
His performance in Damsel isn’t as striking as the ones he delivered in Good Time or Cosmopolis, but he clearly enjoys himself playing a gallant pioneer who may not have the mettle required to thrive in the Old West. Pattinson is very smart playing a not-very-bright guy, never letting the portrayal become one-note.
Dominating the movie’s aimless first act, Pattinson excels at projecting the confidence of a man unable to comprehend his own stupidity. (He makes the actor’s clumsy bank robber in “Good Time†look like an evil genius.) If the movie solely relied on his antics, it would eventually become insufferable, but he’s just a starting point for a whole different arc.
Robert Pattinson, quickly blasting through the ranks and rising to the top as one of the industry’s most talented actors, shows just how versatile he can be. His character Samuel is comedic gold, a man uncomfortable in his own skin.
… The two best things about the whole project are the twangy, banjo-heavy original score by The Octopus Project and Pattinson’s performance.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTERÂ (SPOILER WARNING)
David and Nathan — is lovely to look, playfully goofs around with genre tropes and shows Robert Pattinson in a favorable new light.
Pattinson has labored to shed his dreamboat image in favor of cretins and hustlers, and here he gives himself a gray metal front tooth and pitches his voice into the high twerpy zone. He’s most amusing.
Last year, former “Twilight†vamp Robert Pattinson proved he was no lightweight with a gritty turn in the indie heist “Good Time.†He’s now pulled a 180 with a hilariously oddball performance in the western comedy “Damsel,†… It takes a bit to get accustomed to the Zellners’ style — but once you do, boy, does “Damsel†really blossom.
From Pattinson’s broad take as Samuel Alabaster to Wasikowska’s uncompromising take-no-shit fiery role as Penelope you’ve got a fine combination that’s feels simultaneously surreal and welcoming. … Damsel is a delight, a strange mix of revenge, retribution and unrequited romance, all packaged in a way that feels both honorific of other iconoclastic artists and very much its own thing. As both Pattinson and Wasikowska continue to tackle roles a far cry from their more mainstream choices we get to revel in the fun that they bring to their roles in this strange land that the Zellner’s bring to welcoming viewers.
Pattinson is definitely in on the gag; it’s safe to say we’ve never seen him quite like this, playing a man whose stubborness and male ego shroud how dumb he really is.
Robert Pattinson returns to Sundance with Damsel which had a great first half, but it goes slightly off the rails in the second … The Zellner brothers have delivered another gem filled with their unique voice and off-kilter humor. … Robert Pattinson, a clever comic turn as Samuel Alabaster …
THE SOUR
THE PLAYLISTÂ (Gregory Ellwood)Â (SPOILER WARNING)
The film’s inherent problems, however, are two fold. First, the third of the picture is an absolute slog. The Zellner’s may have though this was a creative choice to make the comedic scenes funnier when they finally hit, but it simply doesn’t work. Second, the funny bits simply aren’t as funny as they should be. If this is a question of acquired taste, it’s one for a very small audience. And there’s little to be said about the filmmakers efforts beyond that. C+
25 January 2018: This post is no longer updated. For full Damsel print | media reviews click HERE
You have no idea how much I’ve been holding my breath lately, awaiting reviews on Damsel. I think I was a little nervous, given the fantastic reception Good Time has received. This is so bloody exciting – Do we have to BEG for a trailer????? I’M HAPPY TO BEG …… just give us MORE!!! Congrats to everyone involved, looks like Butterscotch & the gang have done themselves proud! WOOHOO!!!
Wow those are great first reactions and now even more curious and excited to see it.
I hear ya re the trailer Sue!
You weren’t alone @Sue!