‘The Last Duel’ Review: A Muddled Mess of Narratives

Where a great film evokes excitement and contemplation, a lesser one stumbles and is forgotten. As Ridley Scott’s latest addition to a stagnating filmography, “The Last Duel” lands in this latter rung, struggling to maintain narrative consistency. The movie follows the final severing of a dying friendship between knight Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and squire Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) when De Carrouges accuses Le Gris of raping his wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer). Riddled with jarring contrasts in tone, dialogue, and character development between its first and second halves, the film clumsily clashes with itself.

In principle, “The Last Duel” is a noble effort, heralding a unique perspective on the #MeToo of antiquity. At the core of the film, the rape trial becomes a debate of his word versus hers. With their pride on the line and no witnesses to attest to the truth, they leave the verdict in the hands of God. Based on a true story, the film cleverly twists historical accounts to send a message, paralleling contemporary cases of sexual assault. The film first omnisciently portrays all three perspectives (one being the husband’s) to imbue the audience with the power of divine judgment and subtly, but succinctly, guide it toward the truth. This method of storytelling is extremely powerful; the striking contrast between male and female perspectives is deeply unsettling, calling upon male viewers to examine their own biases and assumptions more closely.

“The Last Duel,” in its jarring structure, alienates a core part of its audience: women who are already aware of the horrors of sexual violence. The film glorifies toxic masculinity and overtly diminishes the importance of justice for survivors. With the humorous but dissolute Count Pierre d'Alençon (Ben Affleck) absorbing the attention of the audience, “The Last Duel” revels in loose and scandalous behavior rather than cautioning against it.

That being said, Scott and his crew squeezed the most out of a burdened plot. The performances from the four big names were inspiring and spectacular. Where Affleck breathes life into the Count, Comer’s wretched soul-piercing stare is deeply moving. Likewise, Driver and Damon add nuance to their characters’ tropes with subtlety and humanity. The costume and set design is as intricate as it is immersive, anchoring an otherwise sporadically-cut free-flowing film.

The strong, cohesive execution hides the weak screenplay and conflicting theme. The first half of the film plays very naturally, and the range of emotions felt by De Carrouges and Le Gris resonates with audiences. Independently, too, the last half wrestles between lies, honor, and delusion, strongly conveying a familiar dissonance that challenges the viewer’s beliefs without estranging them. To top it off, the titular last duel lives up to its reputation in gut-clenching, climactic form. It alone provides a sufficient excuse to appreciate the whole, wild experience of the film.

Ultimately, the film fails to tie its many threads together. At random points in the movie, characters flip on their heads. The level-headed charisma of Jacques is suddenly replaced with a rabid, lustful, and single-minded fiend. The logical but harsh conviction of Jean crumbles into a more irrational but caring husband. The firm independence of Marguerite loses its strength because of motherhood. Accordingly, the “The Last Duel” sends mixed messages — an inconsistency perhaps best highlighted in its dialogue. For the most part, the characters stay true to the lexicon of Middle English; but occasionally an odd phrase, distinct to contemporary vernacular, slips into conversation between characters, like Damon’s phrase “I am broke. I need money.” These moments, though sporadic, shatter the carefully constructed illusion of realism.

It is no surprise, then, to know that the screenplay’s three writers, Affleck, Damon, and Nicole Holofcener, each created one character’s narrative before synthesizing the three. Worst of all, however, the film is overly reliant on these incongruous arcs to achieve a compelling narrative. If “The Last Duel” comprised only the expository stories of Jean and Jacques, the movie would be a brainless medieval action flick without a message to drive home. Yet if the film only portrayed the rape trial, it would leave audiences without an emotional connection to the characteres, and any moralistic instruction would be trivialized. Unfortunately, the film’s ultimate message lies buried beneath its tangled storylines.

— Staff writer Lance He can be reached at lance.he@thecrimson.com.