The Last Duel, Review: Ridley Scott’s return to the Middle Ages crossed with Rashomon
It was only a matter of time before Ridley Scott, one who’s traveled the world and seven seas with his cinematic art and genre crossing, returned to the Historical Epic in Medieval times. The Last Duel makes complete sense as a spiritual successor to his 2005 landmark Kingdom of Heaven, and thank luck for 2021 because it couldn’t have come sooner.
Kingdom of Heaven was his Crusades Epic that attempted to make sense of turn-of the century issues, political and religious. Here with The Last Duel, it’s moral and social as 14th century aristocrat Marguerite de Carrouges (Marguerite de Carrouges) must gain justice for horrible deeds committed against her by Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver). Scott enchants the audience and dares them to take a side with any of the three leads via utilization of the Rashomon effect, a cinematic technique etched into history by the legendary Akira Kurosawa in his own turn-of the decade motion picture (released in 1950).
The Middle Ages have never looked so sweeter and sour through the lens of Scott and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski. The lack of sun combined with the seemingly everlasting winters and falls, muddy environments, fire, darkly lit interiors, battle sequences and especially the duels are all honed in with old-fashioned practical sets and wizardry.
Several of the performances are also old-fashioned; I was never entirely sure what accent Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were employing with Jean de Carrouges and Count Pierre d’Alençon respectively, but they add to the characters more than they distract. The actors are recognizable in the best way, and can be taken with the most dire straits throughout the film. Affleck’s Pierre d’Alençon borders on camp at times, but one can be sure it was likely intentional. 50s and 60s genre epic filmmaking has found ways to seep back into our modern times, and the old-fashioned filmmaking and performances combined with modern social commentary makes for the best of both worlds. Adam Driver is as sizzling as ever in his performance, both in dialogue and onscreen emotion. Young actress Jodie Comer has been making a name for herself on the big and small screen; she shall continue to do so in cinema with her award-worthy performance as Marguerite under the reign.
Sir Ridley Scott has had and probably will continue to stumble and fall with his projects, but when he achieves something immaculate, it must be embraced on the most articulate theater screen possible. The Last Duel is an engaging, merciless and bold fable for our times.
RATING: 3.5 out of 4 stars.
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