The Last Duel (2021)

Film: The Last Duel (2021)

Stars: Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck, Harriet Walter

Director: Ridley Scott

Oscar History: No nominations

Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

24 years ago (prepare to feel old), Ben Affleck & Matt Damon won their first Oscars for Good Will Hunting.  This was not the first film that the two men had made together (they'd worked together on 1992's homoerotic School Ties, or at least it was homoerotic for me when I saw it on TBS as a closeted 11-year-old), but it was the breakout role for both.  The years that followed have been, let's say "unexpected" in the direction each men has taken.  Damon was celebrated as the better actor initially, which is correct though while he had movie star success in the past couple of decades, you could make an argument that his filmography is somewhat underwhelming.  There are cult classics, popcorn hits, and he's managed a couple of Oscar nominations, but when you think Matt Damon, don't you still kind of think "Good Will Hunting?"  This isn't the case for Ben Affleck, who became a tabloid sensation due to his romances with Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez & Jennifer Garner, then took a surprising left field turn into prestige director, won his second Oscar, had an ill-regarded turn as Batman, and is now back to tabloid sensation for dating Jennifer Lopez.  All of this is to say that when it comes to The Last Duel, I don't really know what to expect from these two as a pair anymore, and under the relatively successful guiding hand of Ridley Scott, this movie attempts to navigate that ambiguity.

(Spoilers Ahead) The film is based on a true story about a longstanding rivalry between Sir Jean de Carrouges (Damon) and Jacques Le Gris (Driver) in late 14th Century France.  Carrouges in the film is a rather abrupt, callous man, depending on your viewpoint (more on that in a second) either a solemn man of honor or a dour figure getting into his own way.  Le Gris, on the other hand, is a handsome, charming sort who is also sycophantically kissing up to Count Pierre d'Alencon (Affleck), and in the process taking away much of Carrouges power & wealth for his own, including part of Carrouges' wife Marguerite's (Comer) dowry & the captaincy that Carrouges' father & grandfather had held, and which he assumed he would get.  The film reaches a turning point when Marguerite accuses Le Gris of rape, and as no one will back down, Carrouges & Le Gris wage what would become the last judicial duel, allowing God to decide who was just & who was lying to the king.

The film is notable specifically for its formatting.  We get to see the story, at least heading into the title sequence, from the (skewed) vantage points of Carrouges, Le Gris, & Marguerite, in that order.  This has an unusual effect on the film, in that we see certain scenes with all involved in better light within their own story.  One example of this happens at a party, where in the first story Carrouges offers an olive branch, in the second one Le Gris, and in Marguerite's story, the host of the party offers it with neither man willing to do so.  This has a fascinating effect on the film, as the audience becomes the judge-and-jury, trying to decipher what is truth & what isn't.  I kind of wish that Scott hadn't made an overt attempt to point out that he feels (and, to be fair, historians feel as well) that Marguerite's story was the accurate one (the word "the truth" hovers briefly after the rest of the text in "Marguerite's version of the truth" has left a title card announcing her version of the story, enough so the audience gets the picture that we're about to see what really happened); part of the complexity of the story, and the way that truth can have "versions" depending on your viewpoint (as well as a lie can also have versions)  is the best part of the film.

Well, one of the best parts-the other is Jodie Comer.  Comer, best-known to audiences for her work on the British spy drama Killing Eve (which won her an Emmy), is excellent in the lead role.  This is a tricky part to play, as she needs to play a subtler game in the other versions of the story than the men do, but she nails it.  There's a lot of great moments late-in-the-film where you don't know her motives anymore, and while you never doubt the veracity of her claims, other things about her remain a mystery (specifically her attitude toward her husband & their marriage, and what this duel will do to it).  That's a striking combination for a film to give a character, where she plays an honest, enigmatic central player, but Comer does well with the task.

So why only three stars?  Honestly, it's because The Last Duel is kind of silly.  The film doesn't feel its 140-minute runtime, and weirdly the screenplay handles the three viewpoints well without feeling repetitive.  But the accent work in the film is dreadful (forget the French accents the whole cast should have but doesn't...it feels like Affleck, Damon, & Driver stop in long sequences of the movie doing even the vague British accent they're doing in other scenes).  It's the sort of movie it's hard to take seriously because Damon & Affleck are such a bad fit for the roles.  Both are just such thoroughly American personas that them playing 14th Century French aristocrats...the audience in my theater literally started laughing at the ridiculousness of it in certain sequences.  But Scott delivers in the action, pacing, & Comer brings it well enough that I'm bummed this was a flop...even if I kind of get how that happened.