‘The Last Duel:’ A solid Ridley Scott popcorn flick

“The Last Duel” is a compelling film that strays from traditional storytelling techniques. The narrative doesn’t waste valuable time holding your hand and encourages you to draw your own conclusions. Trigger warning, there is mention of sexual assault.

The film revels in its lack of glamour, tending not to shy away from the more difficult aspects of the story. While providing thrilling introspection into the unspeakable dogmas of the middle ages, Ridley Scott doesn’t fail in delivering a drama that will have you hooked from start to finish.

We follow the story of two friends, with a bond forged through their shared experience in battle. Jean De Carrouges (Matt Damon) is the more headstrong of the two. A less wealthy knight, Carrouges is constantly seeking to test himself in battle for some extra coin.

Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) is the intellectual foil, earning him an esteemed reputation in his court. As the pair continue their exploits, their relationship begins to wane over time. The film primarily focuses on observing their suffering companionship, building up to the intense climax for which the title is aptly named.

After a grueling sequence of events, Le Gris rapes Carrouges’ wife Marguerite (Jodie Comer.) Carrouges challenges Le Gris to a duel, proclaiming that God will decide the fate of the accused.

The main feature of this narrative is its approach to this historic standoff. The story is presented in three sequences over the two and a half hour runtime, providing the accounts of Carrouges, Le Gris and Marguerite. These accounts require the most attention, as slight details are changed based on each retelling of the story.

Lines are tweaked, characters react differently and loyalties shift based on who is sharing their perspective. Each character’s portrayal of events calls for a new perspective on the crime, providing drama in its purest essence. And that’s essentially what this movie is. It’s a clean, basic, predictable drama. And that’s fine.

There’s nothing particularly new or interesting about the execution of this film, but it doesn’t fail to provide some solid entertainment. Though its direction isn’t particularly remarkable, one can admire the way different sequences were shot and directed based on one character’s perspective.

The cast carries this one. Damon features an excellent portrayal of Carrouges’ very flawed, yet ego-inflated character. This is especially apparent in Carrouge’s version of the incident, where he frames himself as a compassionate, loving companion to his wife. Damon does a good job of characterizing Carrogues based on who’s telling the story, quickly adapting his character in new ways.

Driver’s performance is quite entertaining. His demonstration of Le Gris’ confident swagger is something to behold, competently selling the squire’s despicable nature. Jodie Comer is the lynchpin for this film.

Playing the accuser, Marguerite, calls for a different kind of performance. The character is risking her life by making this accusation, and Comer surely delivers on that front. Her version of the story, arguably the most powerful, shows the true colors of the two combatants. Comer does an excellent job of making believe that Marguerite was caught in the middle of something much bigger than herself, facing death for the pettiness of these stubborn men.

I’d argue that the most appealing part of this movie is the conversations you can have afterwards, based on how you might interpret each character’s perspective on the drama. Maybe Marguerite was being deceptive, maybe Carrougues was an abusive husband, perhaps Le Gris was another power-hungry despot of the dark ages.

Nothing is set in stone character-wise, and that leaves a lot up to interpretation. And frankly, that’s something Ridley Scott’s known for. If you’re familiar with his work, or just looking for a solid popcorn flick, look no further.

3.5 of 5 Torches