Nevertheless, while “The Last Duel” may be a partial model of mindfulness, it still obeys the requirements of the period action drama. I could say “more than a little,” given that its observations pertaining to still-current issues land with some force and are arguably fortified in the context of medieval hypocrisy and barbarity. Then of course there’s the “how feminist is it, anyway?” question. But it’s certain that connoisseurs of the “Sad Affleck” meme are gonna go to town once they can start getting screen shots from this movie. No performer commits any outright fouls-the screenplay has them all speaking an only slightly treated form of American colloquial English, so there are no Shakespearean pitfalls present. Especially with Affleck going blond here. #Corporations like feudal kingdoms film driverWhile Driver and Comer almost automatically fit into the movie’s world of lances and horses and castles (and various views of Notre Dame Cathedral while under construction), Damon and Affleck are harder period sells. There are plenty of nits one can pick about this picture. What fascinates in these different perspectives are the small details-how one character remembers a brief kiss differently than another, how a pair of shoes removed daintily at the bottom of a stair in one telling becomes shoes falling off feet as the stairs are mounted in a panicked rush.Īnd it all leads up to the title duel which, even by the high standards set by Scott’s “Gladiator,” is what you’d call a humdinger. This telling repeats the rape scene, which is arguably necessary but uncomfortable-and of course that may be the point. Jean believes he was tender to his bride Marguerite’s section tells mostly of how he bickered with Marguerite’s father over her dowry. This is a lacerating sequence in which both Jean and Jacques are shown as chest-thumping brutes and opportunists. The third chapter is billed as “The Truth According To Marguerite de Carrouges” and to drive a point home, the words “the truth” stay up longer on this title card than they do on the preceding. When the devoutly Catholic rapist confesses to a priest, he admits not to rape but to “adultery.” Advising him on his upcoming legal troubles, another cleric tells him “Rape is not a crime against a woman. This ruthless pragmatist is a man, and is thus, by his way of thinking, entitled to take her. As for Marguerite, Le Gris “sincerely” loves her. In this account, Jean is a petulant, inappropriate whiner whose butt Le Gris is always covering d’Alençon has little if any use for the squire. The next chapter tells the truth according to Le Gris. But they fall definitively out when Marguerite, Jean’s wife ( Jodie Comer), accuses Le Gris of rape.Īnd-I don’t think this actually constitutes a spoiler, but if you’re wary, maybe skip this paragraph-rape it most certainly is. All the while watching Le Gris rise higher and higher in the court and swallowing his pride when Le Gris is awarded land and titles he believed rightfully his. He marries the beautiful daughter of a one-time traitor, goes off to battle without hesitation, that sort of thing. Then he goes on to do other noble things, despite the disdain in which he is held by his liege, Pierre d’Alençon (Affleck). In this episode Jean kicks things off by saving Jacques’ life at the Battle of Limoges. The first “Truth According To Chapter” belongs to Damon’s de Carrouges. #Corporations like feudal kingdoms film movieSet in 14 th century France, it casts Damon and Affleck in central roles in a story about egocentric men playing at power and subjugating women, all the while using cardboard conceptions of concepts such as duty, loyalty, and fealty to God as the pretexts for their petty, criminal actions.Īfter a prologue presenting the beginning of the title duel-a match to the death between squires and one-time friends Sir Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris (Damon and an especially tense-necked Adam Driver, respectively)-the movie takes a “ Rashomon”-inspired structure. This medieval intrigue comes courtesy of an unusual combination of talents: its screenplay, which is indeed based on true Medieval Events, is by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (collaborating as writers, or at least as credited writers, for the first time since “ Good Will Hunting”) and by Nicole Holofcener, best known for contemporary dramatic comedies with satiric bite and female-centered perspectives. Scott’s “The Last Duel” may not be perfect but it never exhibits such inertia.
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