The Last Duel famously didn't make much money at the box office. Curiously, Ridley Scott blamed that on cellphone addiction, but it's more likely that a two-and-a-half-hour medieval epic focusing on rape and violence probably didn't appeal to audiences who were getting over a global pandemic.
The Last Duel is a very dark film, but it's also very good. It tells the story of two feuding Knights in medieval France and the events leading to their bloody public showdown. It does so from the perspective of three different characters, Rashomon-style, and is a long, engrossing tale. Of the two Knights, Matt Damon's battle-scarred Jean De Carrouges initially seems the nobler, but once the film switches to his wife's version of events, it becomes clear that neither of these haughty old men is particularly likable. In fact, you may find yourself hoping they end up decapitating one another.
Fans of Scott's earlier sword-waving epics might be annoyed to find there's very little in the way of onscreen carnage. There are fleeting glimpses of pitched battles, but the focus is mainly on an intimate and grounded story. And it's grim too; Medieval France seems to be in the grip of perpetual winter and despite spanning several years, it looks cold, wet and miserable all the time.
This does have the unfortunate effect of making The Last Duel feel like a very serious film taking place on the set of Monty Python And The Holy Grail. There are medieval stereotypes aplenty - toothless peasants, loads of mud, chickens fluttering through markets - but the compelling story carries it through. And it must be said, Jodie Comer steals the movie. She manages to outact both the heavyweight thespians she shares the screen with and makes Marguerrite De Carrouges into a sympathetic, emotionally layered heroine. The movie takes pains to highlight that her version of events is the most accurate.
The lengthy runtime and dark subject matter do make this a tough sell and it's not surprising that post-Covid audiences didn't flock to it. However, it's on Disney Plus now and hopefully, more people will take the time to invest in it.
Also credit to Ben Affleck for playing against type as a debauched aristocrat, philandering his way through Normany and coming within a whisker of being a Blackadder character. He's having a whale of a time even if no-one else is.
The Last Duel is a very dark film, but it's also very good. It tells the story of two feuding Knights in medieval France and the events leading to their bloody public showdown. It does so from the perspective of three different characters, Rashomon-style, and is a long, engrossing tale. Of the two Knights, Matt Damon's battle-scarred Jean De Carrouges initially seems the nobler, but once the film switches to his wife's version of events, it becomes clear that neither of these haughty old men is particularly likable. In fact, you may find yourself hoping they end up decapitating one another.
Fans of Scott's earlier sword-waving epics might be annoyed to find there's very little in the way of onscreen carnage. There are fleeting glimpses of pitched battles, but the focus is mainly on an intimate and grounded story. And it's grim too; Medieval France seems to be in the grip of perpetual winter and despite spanning several years, it looks cold, wet and miserable all the time.
This does have the unfortunate effect of making The Last Duel feel like a very serious film taking place on the set of Monty Python And The Holy Grail. There are medieval stereotypes aplenty - toothless peasants, loads of mud, chickens fluttering through markets - but the compelling story carries it through. And it must be said, Jodie Comer steals the movie. She manages to outact both the heavyweight thespians she shares the screen with and makes Marguerrite De Carrouges into a sympathetic, emotionally layered heroine. The movie takes pains to highlight that her version of events is the most accurate.
The lengthy runtime and dark subject matter do make this a tough sell and it's not surprising that post-Covid audiences didn't flock to it. However, it's on Disney Plus now and hopefully, more people will take the time to invest in it.
Also credit to Ben Affleck for playing against type as a debauched aristocrat, philandering his way through Normany and coming within a whisker of being a Blackadder character. He's having a whale of a time even if no-one else is.