Direction: Ridley Scott
Country: USA
Revisiting the topic of honor by judicial duel offered in The Duellists (1977) - his debut feature - and evoking the combat thrills of his widely-known Gladiator (2000), Ridley Scott conceives another epic medieval knight tale with The Last Duel. The film stars Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer in the leading roles. Ben Affleck, who co-wrote the script with Nicole Holofcener (Please Give, 2010; Enough Said, 2013) and Damon, also plays a supporting role. He and Damon haven’t collaborated on a movie script since Good Will Hunting.
Based on true events, the story unfurls in three chapters, each of which reveals the truth according to the protagonists. Set in France, it tells how the valiant knight Jean de Carrouges (Damon) and the squire Jacques Le Gris (Driver), once best friends, became fierce enemies in a dispute that only a duel to the death can settle.
Slightly better than Driver here, Damon brings enough gravitas to his role, endowing his wife (Comer) with trust and support in the grave accusation of rape she brings to the fore.
We’ve seen this before, and yet, Scott handles everything with assured know-how, signing a dark picture whose pace becomes slackened in the third version of the happenings. At this point, the film takes us into a state of nearly exhaustion, but then comes the thrilling and ferocious duel, pumping the adrenaline in our bodies.
Adapting Eric Jager’s 2004 book of the same name, this is a decently executed film that entertains without dazzle.
