"The Last Duel" is Ridley Scott's best film in years.
It's a historically invested, satisfying, and visually spectacular epic, the kind that 83-year-old Scott especially likes (aka "Gladiator," "Kingdom of Heaven"), and the kind that Hollywood hardly produces anymore. It has a huge budget and big stars, but no It has superheroes and almost no computer graphics (CGI) effects. I do not know about you, but I missed it.
The plot (which is based on a true story) takes place in 14th-century France, and at its center are two brave knights fighting side by side: Jean de Carroise (Matt Damon) and Jacques Le Gray (Adam Driver).
Both are friendly and both serve Duke Pierre (Ben Affleck), a hedonistic nobleman who spends time in many participating orgies.
But while the smart and talented Jacques is taken under Pierre's wing and gains power and property, the impulsive and tactless Jean feels deprived and unappreciated, and this contributes to the formation of tension between them.
But then - Marguerite, de Caroush's wife (Judy Comer, "Kill Eve"), astonishes everyone and accuses Le Gary of rape.
Le Gary claims he is innocent, and Duke Pierre backs him up.
But the agitated de Carrouge does not give up.
He rides to Paris to appeal to the King of France and to invite Le Gary to a duel to the death.
He gets what he wants.
But there is a twist: by law, de Carrouge's loss would also result in the execution of his wife, Marguerite.
This is the story, more or less, but the clever script signed by Damon and Affleck, together with screenwriter-director Nicole Holofsner ("We Talked Enough", "Really Perfect"), mediates it for viewers in an intelligent, modern and surprising way, making it much more interesting and enjoyable From what you would think.
The film is divided into three episodes, and in each of them the events are presented from the point of view of one of the main characters (Jean, Jacques and Marguerite), in the style of "Record". Meanwhile, viewers learn new details about what happened and are forced to re-evaluate what they thought of each of the characters up to that point. Needless to say, Jean and Jacques, and the noble (and horribly toxic) masculinity they represent, do not fare well in this process.
So yes, on the one hand, "The Last Duel" is a provocative historical epic in the spirit of the MeToo era, which makes a fascinating (though not very subtle) deconstruction of the medieval knights.
But on the other hand, it is much more than that.
It's interesting throughout (and you'll probably talk about it later too), all its actors do a great job (the most reliable driver, the funniest Affleck, the pathetic Damon in a good segment and Comer doing her most successful cinematic role so far), and despite the depressing theme, it's too A very entertaining film, which is wonderful to take viewers to another world and leave them there for two and a half hours.
As a dessert, the duel scene, which opens and closes the film, is a real treat worth the ticket price alone.
A spectacular display of power and the pulse of a master filmmaker who gives a head start.
Ridley Scott may be 83, but he directs this brutal, stunning and bloody sequence like someone at the height of his power.
That will never end.
Score: 8