OnScreen Review: "The Last Duel"
Ken Jones, Chief Film Critic
The Last Duel has a lot of prestige attached to it. Ridley Scott is the director. The film stars Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, and Ben Affleck. It marks the first time that Affleck and Damon have worked on a script together since Good Will Hunting. Oscar nominee Nicole Holofcener also co-wrote the screenplay. If it has not kicked off yet, this Rashomon-style film can certainly serve as the unofficial launch of Oscar season.
Set in France in 14th century, the film opens in 1386 with two men, Jean de Carrouges (Damon) and Jacques Le Gris (Driver) set to square off in trial by combat. Le Gris has been accused of raping de Carrouges’ wife, Marguerite (Comer). With Marguerite looking on with her life in the balance, the two men charge each other on horseback; as they jointly land their first blows, the film flashes back several years to tell the tale of these two men who used to be friends, the slow dissolution of their friendship, and the moment at the heart of their trial by combat. The story is broken into three recountings, told from the perspectives first of de Carrouges, then Le Gris, and finally Marguerite.
This film is essentially a character drama. De Carrouges, Le Gris, and Marguerite all get the chance to tell their version of events. We catch glimpses of what makes each of these three tick and the way they perceive their interactions with others.
Early on, de Carrouges saves Le Gris life in a battle, though it is apparently missed by him that Le Gris had saved his life moments before. Jealously and pride over perceived slights slip in over the years that create bitterness between the two. Land and titles help to drive a wedge between them. Additionally, the favor of Count Pierre d'Alençon (Affleck) that Le Gris has curried over the passing years combined with the disdain that de Carrouges has built up from him further divide the two. Damon, largely eschewing an accent of any kind, does a fine job modulating between essentially three performances of the same character.
Le Gris is a smart man, learned in Latin and several languages and indulges in his position of favor with d'Alençon enough to earn a reputation as a womanizer. Despite the growing enmity between them, he shows more patience and extends more benefit of the doubt toward de Carrouges than practically everyone else. Which makes the personal attacks from de Carrouges sting all the more. Driver also delivers a great performance as Le Gris, shading the character slightly differently in each telling.
For Marguerite, her story is discovering for herself what she is capable of. Held tightly by her father and then by de Carrouges when they marry, she wants more than anything to bear a child, which proves fruitless for several years. During that time, though, she learns how to manage her husband’s property while he is away fighting wars in Scotland for the King of France. She develops relationships with the people tending the horses and sowing the fields. She cleans up the financial books. And after her rape, when her resolve is tested, she discovers that she has an iron will and steely resolve to not stay silent, even when decisions are still being made for her or she is making decisions without having the full knowledge of consequences because details have been kept from her. Comer, while more of a bystander for much of the movie compared to Damon and Driver, is nevertheless a standout performance in a very challenging role that could garner an Oscar nomination.
The Rashomon approach to this film, which is based on actual events, is certainly a strength of the film. The film is laid out in chapters and it is telling that their chapters are given as versions of the story from their perspective. Each colors themselves in a flattering light. De Carrouges deliberately leaves out the details of a moment at a feast when he confronts Le Gris and d'Alençon, with that later being filled in during Le Gris’ chapter. Another scene where there is a mending of fences includes a line of dialogue that is, tellingly, attributed to a different character each time. When the film gets to Marguerite’s perspective turn, the chapter is essentially what actually happened, and flattery goes out the window.
Each telling of the events has moments that are not included in either of their other retellings as there are details and moments that the other characters are not privy to. Some moments, the words or actions remain the same, but the tone is altered by the perception of the character. Each chapter fills in a few more details for the viewer.
Two other subtle but important details stand out. First, the reactions by the King of France and Queen of France when Marguerite testifies before the court about her rape are striking in their contrast. To my recollection, the Queen does not utter a single line, but her reactions stand in stark contrast to the delight that the King takes in the prospect of having a trial by combat, which has mostly been done away with under the law. Second, in the Le Gris chapter, is how the rape scene, which in his eyes is not rape and completely consensual, mirrors an earlier scene where he and d'Alençon have their way with a group of women late after a night of drinking and partying. That we know that his perception of his assault of Marguerite is fatally flawed, it calls into question the consensual nature of that previous encounter as well.
The Last Duel uses a well-worn narrative device to tell a compelling and thought-provoking story that resonates especially well in light of the #MeToo movement and heightened social reckoning we have been having with equality over the last several years. The talent behind the camera and the talent in front of the camera are all pulling together in the same direction to make a film based on real events that happened 600 years in the past and make them relevant today. All of that, plus Matt Damon’s glorious mullet to boot!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars