Normandy during the Caroline War, 14th century. French squire Jacques Le Gris arrives at the castle of squire Jean de Carrouges, demanding he pay his debts for the war taxes. In order to get some money, Jean marries Marguerite de Thibouville, and her dowry is several acres of land. However, Count Pierre seizes the land and gives it to Jacques. Jean cannot get Marguerite pregnant after five years of marriage, and he is absent to fight in far away battles. When he returns, Marguerite tells him that Jacques entered the castle under a false pretext and raped her. Jean challenges Jacques to a duel, even though these duels were outlawed by that time. If Jean is killed in the duel, Marguerite will be burned at the stake. In the duel, Jean kills Jacques. Marguerite gives birth to a child, presumably Jacques'.
The second screenplay written jointly by friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (with the help of filmmaker Nicole Holofcener) is good, but still weaker than their first and much more inspired effort, the endearing "Good Will Hunting". The dialogues are more conventional this time around, missing that finesse and creativity. "The Last Duel" chronicles the real-life incident in 1386 when one of the last French duels were allowed to determine if Jacques Le Gris was guilty of the accusation of a rape of Marguerite de Thibouville (amazing Jodie Comer who is an astounding acting discovery), except that it is presented "Rashomon"-style, showing three chapters, each from the perspective of one of the three main characters: Jean, Jacques and ultimately Marguerite. The problem is that there are no huge surprises nor twists when a new chapter introduces the same event from a different perspective: in the first one, Marguarite claims Jacques raped her. In the second one, it is shown and thus confirmed that he indeed raped her. The third chapter again shows the rape from Marguerite's perspective, again confirming the same thing, and thus not much new is revealed. Ridley Scott again directs the film with flawless technical expertize: everything here is perfect from the technical perspective. And yet, it all feels somehow routine, sterile, mechanical and schematic. As if a certain wild energy needed to make a movie come to life is missing. One of the most absurd moments is when Jacques is questioned about the accusations of rape, mirroring the "MeToo" movement, and so he replies: "The accusation is false. Of course she made the customary protest, but she is a lady. It was not against her will." However, all the chapters indeed confirm he is guilty of rape, and thus there is not that much doubt or mystery for the rest of the story. A slightly overlong, but quality made reconstruction of the middle ages with a lot of attention to detail and great locations.
Grade:++
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