Ridley Scott, director of Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven and Last Hawk Down has released a 2 1/2 hour medieval drama about the last duel fought in France. Ben Affleck and Jodie Comer support Matt Damon and Adam Driver. If ever a film was made to appeal to a male audience it was this.
But it didn't. The film was widely panned and quickly vanished from cinemas across the world.
The Last Duel suffered from poor marketing, and bad press about Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, trying to fit their accents into a European period piece. It was badly marketed, because it isn't a boys film, there is action, drama and a brutal, violent, final climactic encounter between the two male leads, Damon and Driver. But there really aren't any heroes in this film, just villains and victims. It's also a complex film, aimed at 40 somethings, cinema shy during an ever ongoing global pandemic.
This is Jodie Comer's film, and she gives a brilliant, nuanced performance as Marguerite de Carrouges, who accuses Jacques de Gris, the sometimes friend and rival of her husband, Jean de Carrouges of raping her. The event led to the final trial by combat in medieval France.
The film is in three parts, the first told from the perspective of Jean de Carrouges (Damon), covering his hardships and then fight to protect his wife's honour.
The second part is from Jacques de Gris' (Driver) perspective. We see a different side of the story, Carrouges isn't a victim, but rather a buffoon who brings a lot of the misfortune he faces on himself.
The third part is Marguerite's chance to fill in the blanks and draw the story together. We see two men vying for power and wealth, where Marguerite is simply property in their struggle. We see that neither are heroic or justified, we see that neither care about anything other than themselves.
Ultimately this is a complex film, based on a true story, about the politics of sex and violence, about privilege and power, about rape, silence, men and women. The posters for the film hint that this is more than it seems, the duel element is predominant, but in both posters, it's Comer who is centre, dividing and also skewered by the blades of both men. It's a marvellous accomplishment that Scott delivers 100% on the premise. The performances are stunning across the cast, from Comer, Damon and Driver, through to Affleck and the rest of the cast. It's a shame it wasn't marketed better but this film is now streaming on Disney +, and will hopefully get a second life as word of mouth spreads.
But it didn't. The film was widely panned and quickly vanished from cinemas across the world.
The Last Duel suffered from poor marketing, and bad press about Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, trying to fit their accents into a European period piece. It was badly marketed, because it isn't a boys film, there is action, drama and a brutal, violent, final climactic encounter between the two male leads, Damon and Driver. But there really aren't any heroes in this film, just villains and victims. It's also a complex film, aimed at 40 somethings, cinema shy during an ever ongoing global pandemic.
This is Jodie Comer's film, and she gives a brilliant, nuanced performance as Marguerite de Carrouges, who accuses Jacques de Gris, the sometimes friend and rival of her husband, Jean de Carrouges of raping her. The event led to the final trial by combat in medieval France.
The film is in three parts, the first told from the perspective of Jean de Carrouges (Damon), covering his hardships and then fight to protect his wife's honour.
The second part is from Jacques de Gris' (Driver) perspective. We see a different side of the story, Carrouges isn't a victim, but rather a buffoon who brings a lot of the misfortune he faces on himself.
The third part is Marguerite's chance to fill in the blanks and draw the story together. We see two men vying for power and wealth, where Marguerite is simply property in their struggle. We see that neither are heroic or justified, we see that neither care about anything other than themselves.
Ultimately this is a complex film, based on a true story, about the politics of sex and violence, about privilege and power, about rape, silence, men and women. The posters for the film hint that this is more than it seems, the duel element is predominant, but in both posters, it's Comer who is centre, dividing and also skewered by the blades of both men. It's a marvellous accomplishment that Scott delivers 100% on the premise. The performances are stunning across the cast, from Comer, Damon and Driver, through to Affleck and the rest of the cast. It's a shame it wasn't marketed better but this film is now streaming on Disney +, and will hopefully get a second life as word of mouth spreads.