Directed by Ridley Scott

Starring – Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer

The Plot – Set in the midst of the Hundred Years War that explores the ubiquitous power of men, the frailty of justice and the strength and courage of one woman willing to stand alone in the service of truth. Based on actual events, the film unravels long-held assumptions about France’s last sanctioned duel between Jean de Carrouges (Damon) and Jacques Le Gris (Driver), two friends turned bitter rivals. Carrouges is a respected knight known for his bravery and skill on the battlefield. Le Gris is a Norman squire whose intelligence and eloquence make him one of the most admired nobles in court. When Carrouges’ wife, Marguerite (Comer), is viciously assaulted by Le Gris, a charge he denies, she refuses to stay silent, stepping forward to accuse her attacker, an act of bravery and defiance that puts her life in jeopardy. The ensuing trial by combat, a grueling duel to the death, places the fate of all three in God’s hands.

Rated R for strong violence including sexual assault, sexual content, some graphic nudity, and adult language

The Last Duel | Official Trailer | 20th Century Studios – YouTube

POSITIVES

– Masterful touch. “The Last Duel” serves as a formidable return to form for Scott, whose gritty, captivating direction enthralls audiences with an irreplaceable influence from beyond the lens. Because of such, Ridley very much grinds this centuries old story with a contemporary layering of production that enhances its appeal tenfold, while cementing an immersive element of transformation in the spell-binding visuals that make this at the very least his most ambitious effort in well over a decade. Working hand in hand once more with long time cinematographer collaborator Dariusz Wolski, the dual visionaries prescribe a spell-binding allure over the combination of picture perfect color grading and meaningful framing, that protrude a near three-dimensional quality to the 13th century French Architecture that more than paints a palpable interpretation to the many elements of environment for the time. Finally, Scott’s own eye for detail in suspenseful action and scintillating interaction crafts more than a few unnerving instances in the experience of the audience, and fleshes out vulnerability as a universal language for many powerful people forced to contend with their own emerging mortalities, in one way or another.

– Unique device. Pay no attention to the accommodating trailers for the film, which outlined this as an action juggernaut during medieval times. There are action sequences in the film, but they are few and far between, so the film instead focuses a majority of its energy on a three act structure that reserves each of its chapters for a perspective within this unconventional love triangle. This is highly beneficial for this particular story because so much of the ages old controversy is still wrapped in speculation, so to explore it through the eyes of three different characters not only paints interpretation in three entirely different manners, but also allows the dialogue to distort its delivery when heard and interpreted with the diversity that stems with ulterior motives. This gimmick is made all the more compelling when the shot compositions themselves change in the scenes we’ve already witnessed, capturing faithful persistence with a character we’re not only structured to grow with, but also one that conveys a vantage point that allows us the audience to see a scene played out in an entirely different manner, creating a visual rendering of the concept of the truth residing somewhere in the middle of the many sides painting its picture.

– Satisfying conflicts. When physicality does resonate in the film, it’s brought to life with a blanket of technical ingredients that stir into a dangerously articulated aspect of urgency that Scott simply relishes at. The intricate sound design here is most obvious, rattling through a clanking of swords, and versatility in speeds between humans and horses that audibly paint the many influencers of its environment, keeping us from never forgetting the magnitude of the spectacle, which is captured brilliantly by Scott none the less. On top of this, the editing is energized without distorting the depiction of what’s taking shape, stitching many angles and continuity with machine-gun versatility that continuously ramps up the tension, while illustrating an on-ground proximity so claustrophobic that you can nearly taste the mud that is constantly being flung in its blood-soaked battlefields.

– Magnetizing link. Would you expect that a film revolving in and around two 13th century French crusaders to echo clarity to many internal and external conflicts still unfortunately resonating with the female demographic of our own contemporary society? Being that this is a story revolving around rape, that tie that binds certainly more than echoes a harsh and confining reality for the current MeToo movement, especially with how the film’s production is wise enough to use outside elements to paint internal struggle within the psychology of its own female protagonist. This is where Marguerite truly earns her bravery, because not only do the townspeople view her as this betraying liar who has soiled the sanctity of her marriage to an honorable figure, but its titular conflict also has a way of painting the chauvanistic side of resolution that more than overlooks the sensitivities of those affected, in favor of a spectacle that is anything but a means of acceptably corresponding justice. The comparisons are obvious with our own society, but Scott doesn’t demean them in obviously meandering methods, instead leaving the fruit of comparison low enough for where they can reach for it, without this serving as a distraction or hinderance to the unraveling narrative surrounding it.

– Captivating presences. This experience gave me four gratifying performances for the price of one, with each conveying an entirely different personality and challenge to their respective roles. For Damon, the lack of authenticity within the accent of his character keeps him from fully disappearing into the role, but the cadence of his inflections more than paint an emotional evolution that begins with pride, sours with anger from betrayal, before concluding with confusion for the price of everything demanded. He’s anything but a flawless protagonist, which I found endearing about the confliction of his betrayal. For Driver, he’s once again able to explore the dark side of his demeanor that earned him iconic status in the latest Star Wars trilogy, but here captures a humanity to Le’ Gris that goes a long way in painting the ambiguity of his intentions. Also riveting was the emotional depth of Jodie Comer as the conflicted Marguerite, and Ben Affleck chewing as much scenery as d’Alencon, a manor lord blessed with the greatest blonde crew cut and beard that I’ve ever seen in a film.

– Valuable production. The air of detail more than paints a nourishing believability to the various imagery that decorates matters, near and far, for the experience, providing two particular aspects of the production where award recognition should be a foregone conclusion, come Oscar season. I’m of course talking about the wardrobe and overall costume designs, which not only harvested believability in the spare details they constantly flourish with fashion, but also convey a bigger picture in wealth class warfare between sides that further play into the element of the conflict itself. Beyond this, the various interiors and set designs pop with that glow of imagination that effectively influences the characters weaving in and around their imposing volumes, with the lavish style and attention-stealing color doing more than enough to paint personality and monetary worth in their beckoning.

– Stimulating dialogue. I’ve heard plenty of criticism about the dialogue of this movie, but for me I felt right at home with the exchange of words that were responsible for about 90% of keeping this story going. Because there are so few action sequences littered casually throughout, the dialogue is used to drive intrigue in the narrative, and it’s crafted so believably rich with conflict and evolution that I never found myself bored or lacking interest each time a new perspective materializes in the context of its sequencing. As a screenwriter, Nicole Holofcener, as well as Damon and Affleck themselves, are wise enough to stay away from vocabulary and terminology of the age, in favor of contemporary cadence that can keep audiences firmly invested in the element of its interaction, and because of such give us a buffet of emotional resonance that is constantly washing over the characters and us, as a result of the accessibility that we’re able to remain faithfully invested in.

NEGATIVES

– Stretched exposition. As expected with any film sifting through pivotal events through three different character perspectives, there is an air of repetition periodically with certain scenes that will do more than enough to try your patience in a two and a half hour experience. This wouldn’t be a problem if the chapters were told consecutively in their structuring, but considering we start the story completely over whenever a new perspective is introduced, it does more than enough to halt the pacing dead in its tracks during those intimate moments of downtime when the action zealots in the audience will be yearning for something more substantially gripping along the way. On top of that, the scenes repeated are occasionally frustrating to deal with twice. Such is the case with an exploitative rape sequence, that is prolonged too long to ever feel tastefully respectable. It equally conveys a bigger problem with the script, in that there’s very little to this overall story that justifies the meat of its existence, instead taking about an hour of material, and stretching it to the point that it becomes arduous with the exposition you already understand and articulate to the story.

– Underutilized heroine. As previously indicated, the performance of Comer more than instills her character with the kind of personality to fight back against the minimalization they plagued her character with. Such a lack of outline and characterization could be intentional, as this was the reality for women of that particular place in time, but for this movie, she roughly feels like a plot device of the most cheap and one-dimensional kind, making the film feel like the same kind of abuser that it is trying so vocally to preach against. Where this is realized more than ever is in the third act of the film, an act dedicated entirely to her perspective, yet one that the film continuously spends with her male suitors. These are the moments where I feel the film could’ve explored more of the story with her own digesting psychology, but it just underwrites her character in ways that completely abandon depth, and leave females in the audience with very little to chew on.

My Grade: 8/10 or B+