Ridley Scott’s (Aliens, All the Money in the World) The Last Duel has been my most anticipated theater-going experience since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last 19 months, I’ve been to the movie theater 20-25 times, far more than anyone I know. Theater attendance is down, as would be expected. I purchased a ticket 15 minutes after the previews started (customary for me when I see movies alone). My showing was at 11:00 a.m., but it was also the day after it was released. There were 15 moviegoers in a theater that held 250. It’s been a struggle to get back to the theater, especially with many movies having a same-day Video on Demand release or a release to popular streaming services much sooner than pre-pandemic days.
Despite what its promotional trailer might have you anticipating, The Last Duel is not Gladiator or Kingdom of Heaven. It doesn’t have the same magnetic appeal as either movie or battle sequences that you might associate with The Last Duel, simply by comparing its trailer to the trailers of the films mentioned above. I knew two things about The Last Duel before my showing. The first was that it was based on a true story and that its story was based around a vehemently denied accusation of rape by Sir Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver – Marriage Story, BlacKkKlansman) of Marguerite de Carrouges (Jodie Comer – Free Guy, television’s Killing Eve). The second was that the judgment of guilt (either the rape itself or false accusation) was to be settled by a death match between Le Gris and Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon – Elysium, Stillwater), Marguerite’s husband. Once good friends, Le Gris and de Carrouges have become bitter enemies, with the brash and defiant de Carrouges falling out of favor with the powerful Count Pierre d’Alencon (Ben Affleck – Gone Girl, The Way Back), the affluent and overindulgent cousin of King Charles the IV. The Count prefers Le Gris, the personable and reliable Le Gris, who works his way into favor and, in the process, enables opportunity and land for himself. de Carrouges, an admittingly jealous man, sees what he deems his rightful riches going to a man with no claim. There are problems between our two leads far before Marguerite’s dangerous accusations.
In Our opening sequence, we find the tense Le Gris and stoic de Carrouges, each preparing for their final battle, as they are assisted in encasing themselves in bulky and seemingly impenetrable armor. They each mount their horses, receive their lances, lower their face shields, and charge one another before we flash away to our story that led each combatant to this point.
The Last Duel is told in three chapters, each leading us up to our final act. The story from late 1300s France of the acquisition of rape is told through the points of view of each of our three leads, starting with de Carrouges. The squire, knighted throughout the film, presents himself as a courageous man known for making decisions he isn’t permitted to make, claiming his allegiance to King Charles VI as his reason to defy the Count. Though struggling to conceive, he and his loyal wife are in a deeply committed relationship. de Carrouges, in debt like many of the characters in this film, was promised land that The Count gives to Le Gris instead. Marguerite’s claims ignite an already fractured. de Carrouges is willing to put his life on the line to have the chance to end Le Gris’s. Through his own eyes, de Carrouges is our hero.
Chapter Two replays much of what we’ve seen now from Le Gris’ perspective. The audience knows where the story is going. In his chapter, Le Gris is presented as a good guy, while de Carrouges describes him as a jealous, complaining failure. Le Gris continually defends de Carrouges, claiming the two are good friends and he cannot damage someone he cares for. Through his eyes, Le Gris is our hero.
Chapter Three replays much of the first two chapters, this time from Marguerite’s point of view. Scott does a trick at the start of this version that infers that we are about to hear the truth, whereas the previous two chapters were filtered versions of the story. At a time when most victims of sexual assault would remain quiet, Marguerite tells her husband of what was committed to her at the hands of Le Gris. As was the norm of the time, it was to the accuser to prove that an assault took place. Very infrequently was an assailant found guilty. Knowing that the power of proof is laid in the hands of Marguerite, rather than a traditional trial, de Carrouges requests a duel to the death, with the idea being that God will decide who is guilty and who is not. If de Carrouges wins the duel, she will be vindicated, and the pair can live well-off for the remainder of their lives. However, If he loses, it will be deemed that she had lied about her accusation. She will be tortured and executed as a result of the fake claim.
Four Oscar-worthy performances, an engaging script, exhilarating cinematography, adroitly choreographed hand-to-hand combat, and a score that carries its audience from its opening sequences to its gritty conclusion, The Last Duel has everything you’d want out of a big-budget, pseudohistorical epic:
- It’s a rich tale of a medieval class system, where some are afforded certain privileges, whereas others are not.
- Some considered noble occasionally abuse their power for political, strategic, or personal gain.
- The interpersonal story between Carrouges and Marguerite is forged from circumstance more than it is out of love.
Still, we have a husband willing to fight to the death to avenge the atrocity said to him by his wife.
I enjoyed this movie because of our four leads’ faults, particularly Damon’s portrayal of de Carrouges. While we know that his character is flawed, primarily through the chapters of Le Gris and Marguerite, we aren’t accustomed to seeing a character played by Matt Damon with as many character flaws as de Carrouges seems to have. He’s gotten away from the Jason Bourn-Esque persona recently, most recently in this year’s Stillwater. More than not, however, we know things will be okay by the end of the movie he stars. de Carrouges was by far from a perfect man. Damon feasted with the material, creating a complex character we root for from the start, but with enough ambiguity that he needs to fill the mold of a traditional hero. Likewise, Driver has played a decent human being in almost all of his previous roles. Unfortunately, such is not the case with Le Gris. Regardless of his innocence or guilt associated with the crimes of which he’s accused, Le Gris isn’t the type of person we’d want to invite over to our house for dinner, let alone allow him to spend time alone with our significant other. He feels he has the sense of entitlement that Affleck’s Count Pierre d’Alencon has but abuses it distastefully. Similar to Damon, Driver excelled with the material.
I shouldn’t note that for those easily triggered by the imagery of sexual assault, I should caution that this is unabashedly honest with its depictions of the act. We witness what engages between Le Gris and Marguerite from each perspective. As a result, this aspect of the movie may not be easy for all filmgoers.
While falling short of its lofty expectations, The Last Duel is one of the year’s best films. Suppose you enter your experience with the understanding that it will not be like Gladiator or Kingdom of Heaven. In that case, Scott will reward you with one of the finest movies in his illustrious career. Outside of Gladiator or Thelma and Louise, these characters have more depth in any of his previous films. Watching the talents of Damon, Driver, Comer, and Affleck work with one of the greatest directors of this generation was rewarding. Couple this with a tightly wound script written by Damon and Affleck (their first since breaking onto the scene in 1997 with their Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting), and it all makes for a breathtaking moviegoing experience.
Plot 9/10
Character Development 9.5/10
Character Chemistry 9.5/10
Acting 10/10
Screenplay 9.5/10
Directing 9/10
Cinematography 10/10
Sound 10/10
Hook and Reel 8.5/10
Universal Relevance 7.5/10
92.5%
Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie
- Gladiator
- Kingdom of Heaven
- Robin Hood
- A Knight’s Tale
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King