The Last Duel: Ridley Scott signs his best film in a long time

Ridley Scott hadn't released anything since All the Money in the World in 2017. The filmmaker, now 83 years old, is back with his new production: The Last Duel. Written by Nicole Holofcener, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, the feature film traces the events inspired by real events that took place in France in the fourteenth century. The film reveals old hypotheses concerning the last known judicial duel in France, between Jean de Carrouges, played by Matt Damon and Jacques Le Gris played by Adam Driver. These two former friends come to face a duel with death, when Jacques Le Gris is accused of rape by Marguerite de Carrouges, played by Jodie Comer, of incredible efficiency. The Last Duel marks in any case the return in force of Ridley Scott.

The Last Duel: an intelligent three-part montage

It's nice to see Ridley Scott at such a high level. After a series of disappointing films like Exodus, Cartel, Alien: Covenant, or some relatively pleasant but not unforgettable proposals like Alone on Mars and All the Money in the World, the filmmaker is back to his best. It must be said that medieval films, he knows. After Kingdom of Heaven, The Duellists, Robin Hood and obviously Gladiator, Scott is back in this universe that suits him so much. With The Last Duel, the filmmaker offers an impressive rereading of this little-known judicial fact. He adapts the elements of the time to conduct a meticulous investigation, telling the truth according to each of the protagonists. Through an intelligent montage in three chapters , he narrates the events from the point of view of Jean de Carrouges, then Jacques Le Gris, to finish on the vision of the main interested party: Marguerite de Carrouges. Through this process, Ridley Scott offers his viewers a fascinating triple story. Finally, more exactly the same story taken through three different prisms. Three versions of the facts that answer each other, or on the contrary contradict each other, through extremely relevant details: dialogues that change, visual details that are not the same, etc… A way also to sublimate its staging, which is similar in each story, without being totally identical. With this three-part montage, the filmmaker covers the whole story, all the possibilities, opting for a modern and unexpected cutting, which offers pride of place to his three performers. Adam Driver, Matt Damon and especially Jodie Comer are all incredibly precise. They burst onto the screen in muscular, ambiguous roles that cast an insightful look at a barbaric era. Jodie Comer, who was recently seen in Free Guy, proves that she is an incredible actress.

Surprisingly current themes

In addition to this intelligent editing, Ridley Scott tackles extremely current themes. If the events take place in the fourteenth century, the subjects developed offer a surprising mirror with our own time. In the post-me-too period, Ridley Scott delivers a film that deals with the emancipation of women and the liberation of speech. Jodie Comer plays the first woman who raises her voice in the face of rape, at a time when women obviously have no place. Against all odds, it stands against a religious and intransigent political hierarchy, against sexist and violent mores, and against a terrible truth that will reason even in the court of the king. The Last Duel is therefore a terribly current work, which is placed on the side of the woman, and makes heard contemporary words, from an ancient era of several centuries. And this whole story, whether it's this three-part montage, where the stakes defined throughout this ultimately very political film, serve a final fight of rare power. Or rather, paradoxically, it is this final fight that serves the purpose established during the film. Far from being free, it magnifies the themes addressed during the 2 hours of film. It is a final confrontation that crystallizes all the issues of the story in a physical joust of visual beauty that has nothing to envy to Gladiator. A grandiose end point, for a social and political epic of a theatrical power that perhaps marks the renewal of Ridley Scott. https://youtu.be/pzk42o_7y5c