The Last Duel reviews

[Sabin]

I wouldn’t say that The Last Duel deserved much better than it’s reputation considering that it had “flop” written on its forehead a mile away. Full disclosure: a former roommate of mine is Nicole Holofcener’s assistant. When he told me about the project, those were my words and he said “Yeah, you’re probably right.” As a whole, the thing that makes it the most interesting is probably why it doesn’t work. Dramatically, it never quite find its thrust. By the end, I wasn’t sure what I was rooting for or what I wanted to see happen beyond “I guess it’d be nice if she didn’t die, but it would be nice if everyone else in this film did.” However, it does have some very interesting moments scattered here and there because it’s such an unusual film with much of the stakes brought about but collecting rent and minor land disputes. The biggest flaw is it never quite roots it’s narrative conceptually before our eyes, informing us of what we’re about to see. Maybe a couching device up front? The Damon section fares poorest because Damon is such a lousy fit for this role. He improves as he goes along but the tale as seen through his POV is such a dull one. I’m not convinced it wouldn’t have been stronger coming second and exaggerated. The Driver/Affleck section (written by Affleck) is probably the best because it just gains the most curiosity. We learn the most. And Affleck is delightful in this supporting role. Why give him a Razzie nom when I prefer him in this role to most of the Oscar lineup? Then we arrive at “the truth” and it lost a bit of interest for me despite Jodie Comer being excellent. It does just leap out as fighting a contemporary battle in the past, but I almost can’t blame them for going for it when medieval judges are speaking straight-faces about pregnancy not being possible through rape when Missouri representatives were saying the same thing within the last ten years. Her tale, stops being of narrative interest and starts being a horror tale, which is dramatically compelling in an entirely different way.

This strikes me as a movie that everyone gets excited about making but nobody stops to ask why it’s a good story. That’s usually what happens when the project isn’t really a story but an interesting thing that happened.

[Mister Tee]

I stayed away from this in theatres, because what we used to call costume pictures are very much not my thing -- the further back the centuries go, the less likely I am to want to see the movie. This film mostly confirmed that decision -- I got very tired of the muddy medieval look -- but I also can't say the story gripped me much; certainly not enough to justify the 2 1/2 hour running time. The final segment -- Marguerite's Version -- is easily the most powerful of the three, not least because it allows Jodie Comer to become a character instead of a stand-in-the-corner bare presence. The problem is, I didn't feel enough significant differences among the three versions that would justify me watching them repeatedly. In Rashomon (the obvious model), the perspectives are wildly different, raising a "what is reality?" question. Here, the distinction between Le Gris' memory of the rape and Marguerite's is pretty miniscule, and leaves me no doubt as to whose version is self-serving and whose is the truth.

Though, honestly, the mere tenor of the times lets you know who to believe. That's one problem I've always had with movies set in the past that touch on somewhat contemporary issues: I'm invited to judge an outmoded way of thinking and find it wanting. I expect some of the talent involved meant to evoke a "how different is it from today?" vibe, but most people are just going to feel superior to the wildly dated mores, and ignore those things that haven't changed enough.

Finally, there was the duel itself: an ugly, stupid, violent 10 or 15 minutes that, sure, made me want the bad guy to lose, but mostly I didn't care about.

The deepest irony of the film, for me, came in the credits that rolled after the action finished: the film is telling us it's Marguerite's story, but she gets listed third, after Matt Damon and Adam Driver. Truth and moral righteousness are one thing; billing is another.

[Sabin]

Beat me to it by five minutes. I wrote: Mixed. Jodie Comer is a thing.


https://www.indiewire.com/2021/09/the-l ... 234663613/

Keeping true to its title in function and form, “The Last Duel” is at constant odds with itself. Alongside meticulous recreations of the late middle ages and a few of the worst hairdos ever put on screen, Ridley Scott’s lavish historical drama offers 152 minutes of dialectical tension, mirroring its climactic battle nearly beat for beat as different versions of what this film could be fight it out until only one remains standing. And like any knockdown, drag-out melee that begins with a joust and ends in the mud, this push and pull between earnest epic and winking revision can be a bit of a mess for those in the ring and great fun for those in the stands...

B+

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/s ... dam-driver

However, by the time the film gets round to showing its hand as an episode of Medieval #MeToo, it has numbed us with so much flash and fustian that the heart of the story has almost been drowned. Marguerite’s story could have made a fascinating, somewhat Shavian drama if only the grandiose spectacle (and the 152-minute running time) had been stripped back. As it is, you quickly tire of the mud, metal and permanently medieval weather: if it’s not snowing, everything’s steeped in mist. And it takes a considerable leap of faith to get over Damon’s mullet and bogbrush beard, less 14th-century knight than 1990s nu-metal bro.

**/5 stars

https://www.thewrap.com/the-last-duel-f ... am-driver/

What’s frustrating about “The Last Duel” is a sudden pivot about an hour in that divides the film into two halves: meaningful and mediocre, ambiguous and pointless. If only Scott would stick to the mystery: What makes “Rashomon” work is its ambiguity, as it swaps perspectives but never offers answers. In “The Last Duel,” the perspectives are all the same. Once all three flashbacks are revealed, it’s hard to avoid the feeling you’ve been duped into thinking you’re watching a whodunnit when you’re really watching something else. The third act plays as unsubtle #METOO messaging, with a stab at timeliness that would have landed more effectively had the plot maintained its air of mystery.

[Mister Tee]

If the blogger Oscar-for-Ridley fantasy is to come true, it doesn't seem likely this'll be the reason. Not bad but medium reviews.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 235011424/

https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/t ... 235059966/