The Last Duel Movie Review (2021)

A solid film that gives you three different perspectives of the real-life rape charges of Marguerite towards Jacques in 1386 France, The Last Duel takes you on a contemplative ride.

There are times that I give myself a snicker over the movies that I choose to watch. This time had nothing to do with the film itself, but my own impression. The vast majority of the time, I see or hear about a movie, quickly look it up if it intrigues me, make sure that it’s not a horror film (not my thing), add it to my watchlist, and completely forget about it until I look at the photo one day and hit play.

When I hit play on this movie, I thought it would be something about knights where Matt Damon was the bad guy (I mean, look at the picture), Jodie Comer was some kind of queen, and Adam Driver was some other dude (but I didn’t know who). Yeah, that is not what it’s really about.

The Last Duel is based on the true story of Jean de Carrouges (Damon) and Jacques le Gris (Driver), two squires during the Hundred Years’ War in France. Jean’s family has died and he has become poor and unable to pay the taxes that he is required to pay. While visiting the house of disgraced nobleman Sir Robert de Thibouville, Jean meets and becomes entranced by his daughter, Marguerite de Thibouville (Comer). He is taken with her looks as well as her huge dowry of money and land. In the years following this, and while facing other financial and marital issues, Jean leaves for a short time on business, and when he returns, Marguerite accuses Jacques of rape.

This film is structured in such a way that you are told the same story of the rape through the perspective of Jean, Jacques, and Marguerite at three different times. This happened in 1386, so there is limited information about what intimately happened, but each perspective does a very good job of demonstrating how subtle differences in behavior and vocal emphasis can make a huge difference.

I also really enjoyed the fluctuation in tone within the film. The entire story is very serious, from the rape to the war to the deaths during battle. But during the scenes focused on characters associated with nobility in power, there is a silliness. Alex Lawther’s King Charles VI is always amused, like a little boy giggling with pride at his little pony doing tricks. He only has a few appearances, but each time is super amusing.

There is also a scene at the beginning of the movie where Ben Affleck’s Pierre II of Alençon, a blonde nobleman, stands and accepts knights who are pledging their loyalty to him and the cause. Several men state the same pledge and Affleck nods semi-impatiently. As Matt Damon’s Jean kneels down to pledge the same thing, Affleck yells, “Closer!” Jean scooches closer and continues on, as seriously as he was before. This was clearly not in the script, and as Affleck and Damon are best friends in real life, it is very funny to see this real moment of them messing around while totally in character.

This is a strong drama with a longer runtime, but I never felt the length. It moved along at a good pace, it is an intriguing story, and there are lines like, “A rape cannot cause a pregnancy, that is just science” to give you a good eyeroll. I was also fascinatingly distracted by the lavish hairstyles that the women had. Did they grow more hair back then? What did they use as extensions? How long did it take for those braids and buns? Talk about patience.

Runtime: 152 minutes

Motion Picture Rating: R

Languages Spoken In The Film: English

Should You Watch It? Yes

Did I Cry? Nope

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms