The Last Duel

One is uncomfortable in matters of court, estate management, and affairs of the heart, but he is at ease among men on war campaigns. She is his way to the land and the continuation of the family line, certainly not his beloved better half. The other is a "man of the future", charismatic, skilled in court intrigue, educated in reading, writing, arithmetic and languages. And he is ambitious. He is also used to getting away with everything, without any consequences. She is a muse for him, who flows with him affectionately whenever they bump into each other. And then there's her, caught between (not only) those two and their decades-long rivalry for power, position, favour and property (which includes her). Rashomon's approach is used with sensitivity, it's not an overdone "three times the same situations diametrically opposed". On the contrary, when the situations are reenacted, they differ in nuance and staging, basically in the details where the devil is hidden. It all adds up to a thrilling final duel that, in terms of adrenaline, stakes and emotion, is among the best chivalric action ever to grace the screen – the best, not the most faithful, because it denies all the laws of historical fencing. But to hell with that. Perhaps the only thing missing is the view of someone impartial not caught up in the whirlwind of the trio's events. If there's anything to single out by name, apart from the aforementioned duel, it's the multi-layered performance of Jodie Comer, who must be completely different three times and yet still the same character, and – I can't believe I'm writing this – the performance of Ben Affleck, who relishes the role of the debauched, string-pulling lord to the fullest. (24.10.2021)

I would give I don't know what to be a part of a Ridley Scott shoot and get a glimpse of his art, his films look so real. One long camera shot captures the mood of the entire Middle Ages – a cathedral under construction, a stone bridge with a dirt road, huts by the river with boats floating on it, a peasant with an ox team, and behind him a cohort of soldiers on horseback, cattle behind a fence, dirty pigs wallowing in the mud, mangy dogs running around, and all that brown-tinted medieval gloom; beautiful. And then there's the story, which could be cheaply flushed down the drain as a politically correct me-too tale, but it's not. It is a powerful story about the strength of a woman who fights for her honour despite the threat of cruel death by burning. And at the end, it cuts to what is probably the best jousting I've seen in the cinema, even considering they so rarely appear in films. Jodie Comer is superb, and the guys are overshadowed by Adam Driver, he's a stud. And Ridley, once it's over, it's gonna hurt. (23.10.2021)

It was good, but beware, the trailers are deceptive. The Last Duel isn't nearly as epic as Kingdom of Heaven or Robin Hood. In fact, except two short and fairly small battles and a final clash, it is a fairly intimate affair that usually gets by with a few people talking to each other. But that doesn't matter at all. The Last Duel tells the story from three different points of view, and logically the one who is currently telling the story is considered the biggest hero and the purest character – after all, a douchebag will rarely consider themselves a douchebag – and it's up to the viewer to figure out who's the real hero, who's the victim, and who's the opportunist. That's the only major complaint I have with The Last Duel. It's all a bit too easy to read, and there's unfortunately not enough room for any hesitation or ambiguity in the end for the film to provoke the discussions the makers obviously wanted. Or rather, it did, but it's probably very easy to agree. In any case, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer are great, Matt Damon is very good, and Ben Affleck clearly enjoyed being able to play a character that suits him while being distinctive enough not to get lost next to the central trio. Additionally, Ridley Scott manages to pull off the visuals and sell the dialogue in the intimate scenes, but then when he gets the chance to really step it up, he doesn't hold back. Plus, thanks to the form, and indeed the triple retelling of the events leading up to the fight, it moves forward very quickly, making the two hours go by unexpectedly briskly. Go for it. And preferably to a hall with the best sound possible, the duel is a blast visually and especially in terms of sound. (20.10.2021)

If you leave aside the fact that Affleck’s image is rather more reminiscent of a contemporary Miami Beach teenage exhibitionist than of a historical figure, and if you’re not bothered that the main female character, alongside all of those close-minded dimwits, has higher emotional intelligence than most contemporary spiritual college girls, what you will get out of The Last Duel is an engrossing reflection on the issues of contemporary society, bizarrely set in a historical chamber drama that will make your heart pound in its climax. Because it involves far more than just pride and the settling of scores between two knights. (19.12.2021)

Ridley Scott and his historic comeback! I put this film off for quite a while, but I'm surprisingly pleased with the result. Scott relies on an unconventional theme, which he tells from three different points of view, and since I love the courts, history and the actors, I did without yawning and suffering, which I feared due to the lack of action scenes. In the first third Ridley serves up a couple of shorter battles, wonderfully raw and brutal – even though they lasted barely two minutes, it was still a treat and I'm quite annoyed that he didn't extend them to at least five minutes. Technically, the film is top notch, the costumes, the sets, the locations are very believable. The dialogue is top notch, the actors give their best. Matt Damon is superb, Jodie Comer is impressive, and Adam Driver is sleazy as a snake (I'm not really into Driver yet, his film choices don't really suit me), and the tense trial and the incredibly intense final duel were also great, more or less demanding 5 stars because it had everything and lacked nothing. A solid historical film that I may even repeat once, but I give Ridley a minor slap for the short battles, next time I want the carnage! Story 4/5, Action 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 5/5. 8.5/10. (20.01.2022)