The Last Duel (2021).
Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Nicole Holofcener
Starring Jodie Comer, Matt Damon, Adam Driver, and Ben Affleck
“The truth does not matter.”
The Stage.
This Rashomon style story explores the relationships between Jean de Carrouges, Jacques Le Gris, and Marguerite de Carrouges in medieval France from different points of view.
The Truth According to Jason Kleeberg.
The Last Duel is based on a 2004 book of the same name, and I feel obligated to start this review by saying that I have not read the book nor did I go into this film knowing anything about the documented history of the parties involved.
The film starts as the titular last duel gets underway, but quickly cuts from it to give us two hours of context around it. We end up seeing three sides to the story with subtle differences between each narrator. Although the differences aren’t immense, they are effective - one instance, for example, shows de Carrouges and Le Gris reuniting after quite some time, and in each story, the same words are said by a different person based on whose point of view we’re seeing.
Jean de Carrouges’s story is that of a man who feels he’s been continuously wronged by Count Pierre and his main squire, Jacques Le Gris. Played by Matt Damon, he’s got a ridiculous haircut and a brave ferocity to him, one that continuously leads him into battle for the French. When he marries Marguerite, things go from bad to worse for him, leading him towards his battle against Le Gris.
Le Gris’s story is that of a Lothario who finds himself grounded by a knight’s beautiful, intelligent wife. Played by Adam Driver, he’s got a long flowing mane and a reputation for getting around. He’s Count Pierre’s numbers guy, and it’s a position that’s served him well. When he falls in love with Marguerite, things go from good to bad for him, leading him towards his battle against de Carrouge.
And then of course, there’s Marguerite…an intelligent but naive woman who finds herself in the middle of the battle between de Carrouge and Le Gris. She’s played by Jodie Comer who is absolutely magnificent in the role. Side characters include Ben Affleck’s, delightfully bitchy drunk with another bad hairdo, interested in fun personalities and taking care of those around him. Another standout side character is that of King Charles VI, played by Alex Lawther. He does an absolutely tremendous job of portraying this young, excited dummy, who by all real life accounts, was a terrible king.
The film is extremely well made, and I’m pretty surprised it didn’t gain any Academy Award nominations for either costume or production design. Every detail looks fantastic, from the castles and settings to the dresses and armor. And while this isn’t necessarily a film about battles on the field as much as it is emotional battles, it all leads to a climactic last duel, illustrating both the final showdown between the two men and one of the last judicial duels to the death, as by 1386, these were not illegal but highly uncommon. The success of the film really hinges on the strength of the last battle after so much build up and the opening shot tease, and I’m happy to say that it does not disappoint. Ridley Scott knows how to shoot action. The fight is brutal, tense, and due to the way the film plays out, there’s an extra layer added to spice things up that is very effective.
The End.
I thought The Last Duel was a very good film. It’s a well told medieval soap opera cut with short, brutal battle scenes until it explodes in one final, extremely satisfying face off. I’ve heard people complain in reviews that the three stories just aren’t different enough to warrant three different points of view…but I actually disagree. They’re wildly different, just in extremely light ways. A smile in one person’s truth is a stoic look in another’s. A playful laugh in one person’s truth is a dreadful cry for help in another’s. It’s an extremely effective way to tell the story that will most likely reward subsequent viewings.
By all accounts, this film was considered a box-office bomb making back just 30m on a 100m budget. Ridley Scott blamed modern audiences' lack of interest in intellectual films over comic-book movies and millennials for being addicted to their cellphones. To that end, I’m not sure I agree with him. This is a 2 1/2 hour medieval film about an extremely gritty topic, released in theaters during a pandemic.
