The Last Duel (2021)

'The Last Duel' is a fun time. I remember hearing this flopped at the box office (not that that's a sure sign of anything) and had a joke told at its expense at the Oscars, therefore I wasn't too sure what to expect from this Ridley Scott movie. Happily, I comfortably enjoyed it. The plot is a little bit thin, especially for a 153 minute flick, though due to how it is portrayed via differing viewpoints I was always interested in what I was seeing onscreen. I actually was anticipating it to drag at some point down the line, though that surprisingly never happened. It's a great cast. The looks of Matt Damon and Adam Driver are questionable at first, though by the conclusion their appearance was one of my favourite things about their respective characters. The performances of Damon and Driver are strong, as is Jodie Comer's. Ben Affleck is also noteworthy, a word that can also be used in reference to Željko Ivanek and Adam Nagaitis - though, admittedly, for those that is more of a personal thing; it's always nice to see fellows from 'The Walking Dead' universe appear in other media.

Lengthy and rich-looking period drama might have some great set and costumes, and an interesting enough storytelling style with three different viewpoints, I found this not terribly entertaining and everything felt empty and cold. I like Ridley Scott but this is one of his lesser outings. **2.5/5**

There is definitely something of Kurosawa's "Rashomon" (1950) in the compelling watch that Sir Ridley Scott has stitched together here, depicting well, as it does, the rather pyramidical feudal system that provided the legal and cultural structure of life in 14th century Europe. The film centres around allegations made by "Lady Marguerite" (Jodie Comer) that during the absence of her war-hero husband "Sir Jean" (Matt Damon) she was subjected to the unwanted attentions of powerful squire "le Gris" (Adam Driver). By way of a legal presentation to King Charles VI, the narrative now presents us with three equally plausible tales of just how these events may have unfolded. A tale of the initial friendliness between the men and of the ambition, greed, politics and fickleness that led to their current predicament. I cannot say that Damon is particularly good, nor is the blondly coiffured Ben Affleck particularly impressive as their overlord "Pierre d'Alencon", but both Driver and Comer offer us strong and characterful performances as each of their stories are rendered to the Court. The different versions are largely the same, there are but subtle and nuanced variations that you might, were you to be on a jury, have to identify and evaluate - in the end there are no forensics, there is no evidence as such - it is all about whom you believe. Again, this makes the film more interesting. It's not just whom you believe, but whom you want to believe, whom you think you ought to believe. There is the powerful church to consider; the local lords - decisions cannot be made according simply to any "rule of Law" or "code of chivalry". The duel - letting God decide - is the culmination (we see this at the very start of the film before our deliberations begin), but the cleverness of Scott and the writers here is to present us with as near facts as they can - we are left to make our own assessment. We are left to look at the way in which land and people - high born, or otherwise - were pawns in a game knowingly, or otherwise, that frequently became matters of life or death. The photography reminded me a little of the recent "The King" (2019) in that the filthy, muddy, damp and rat-infested conditions in which even the grandees lived are presented authentically and that adds loads to the overall feel of the film. The weather being often cold and wet, the battles being fierce and bloody - all of this contributes well to the strong visual imangery. It is a long film, but I found the episodic nature carried that rather well and the last twenty minutes are certainly worth sticking around for.