The men play the victims while it’s the Lady that reigns supreme in The Last Duel

by Kathia Woods

Based on a true story, this is a strange crime story in which the rapists get to do the vengeance, set in a 14th-century society of good old boys obsessed with their own reputation for gallantry, nobility, and courtly love. Nicole Holofcener, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck co-wrote it, and Ridley Scott directed it with the same muscular force that he used in his previous crowd-pleaser Gladiator. The Last Duel received a frosty reception from critics at its Venice film festival premiere last month, possibly because they were concerned about this theme being led by alpha male actors. Despite its flaws, the film's vintage feature film energy captures attention, as does its innovative, albeit strained three-act Rashomon framework, which tells the same story from three different perspectives, mostly without the use of magic.

This is a rape saga in which the complainant is not automatically granted the #MeToo survivor prerogative, instead telling us the story as told by the victim's partner, the perpetrator, and finally the victim herself in a he-said-he-said-she-said format. A clever use of intertitles, on the other hand, reveals which story is true. It is based on Eric Jager's best-selling book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France, which told the story of how, in 1386, the Norman knight Jean de Carrouges insisted on a fight-to-the-death with a certain Jacques Le Gris, with whom he was already embroiled in a bitter feud over land ownership and military preferment, and whom he now accused of raping his wife, Marguerite.

Damon gives a solid performance as the self-absorbed Carrouges. He is a man obsessed with power and recognition. He is also envious of his fellow soldier Le Gris. Adam Driver is demanding as a full-fledged despicable human disguised as a hero.

Unlike Carrouges, Le Gris is well-liked by Count Piere d'Alecon. A man who is a first-class womanizer and manipulator. Affleck, who has blond hair and matching brows, is a steady presence as the self-indulgent ruler.

Alex Lawther, as the King, joins this court of jesters. Even a knighthood and marriage to the stunning Marguerite de Thibouville, played by Jodie Comer, can't keep his restlessness at bay. His inability to conceive his wife adds to his problems. But that is not the worst of his dilemmas; upon his return from his difficult journey from Paris, he learns from his wife that Le Gris raped her.

Carrouges sees the incident not as a betrayal of his wife, but as an opportunity to exact his vengeance and gain the respect he so desperately craves.

Le Gris maintains that Carrouges is a bitter man besought with jealousy and chooses the path of denial. The Lady Marguerite is caught in the middle of all this madness, amid the men fighting to outdo each other. She is told repeatedly to let go of the matter, but she can't because she is afraid that burying the truth will allow the transgressor to do it again.

The matter plays like a three-penny opera with the men joying for position while Marguerite is stuck in the middle with no agency over her own being.

This film works because of Jodie Comer who gives a career turning performance. The Last Dual also resonates because we hear the woman’s point of view not just the men.

Even though the men claim to the be victims. The other advantage is that, despite taking place in medieval times, it still has relevance today. One should keep in mind that the rape scene may be upsetting for some, but it isn’t graphic to attract undue attention.

This cast may be dominated by men, but it is the Lady who reigns supreme, and it is her presence that makes The Last Duel worth seeing.