The Last Duel movie review: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck period drama follows Roshomon effect, but not with great results

Period dramas generally have an eye on the contemporary cultural moment, not least because the makers are keen to show off present-day thematic resonances. This can be a useful quality; some of the earliest episodes of Game of Thrones (or the entire three-season run of The Borgias) come to mind.

If one looks beyond dramas, this quality becomes all the more important. Today, we remember Blackadder as one of the best TV comedies of all time, not just because of how funny Rowan Atkinson was, but also because with each new iteration of his character (his descendants are all referred to as ‘Blackadder’ too) we are reminded of the fact that those in power often start to resemble each other in their greed and pettiness.

The problem begins when one starts to retro-fit present-day scenarios and themes into medieval narratives, and this is precisely where Ridley Scott’s gorgeously mounted The Last Duel loses its way, before fighting back with a splendid third act. Written by Nicole Holofcener (who wrote and directed the magnificent Enough Said), Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck, The Last Duel sees Damon and Affleck in pivotal roles.

Damon plays Sir Jean de Carrouges, a middle-aged French knight in the 1300s, which does not quite explain why he has the worst onscreen mullet-and-beard I have ever seen. De Carrouges is quick-tempered, rather proud of his prowess in the battlefield, and has recently married Marguerite (Jodie Comer), the young daughter of a very rich man. Sadly for De Carrouges, this does not really bring him the riches and social capital he had hoped it would.

Adam Driver plays Jacques Le Gris, a clever, refined, and well-read friend of De Carrouges who takes a shine to Marguerite — and later forces himself on her (ignoring what he clearly believes to be a ‘feeble no’ because in his worldview, it is customary for all women to protest a little), which leads to the titular duel between him and De Carrouges. According to medieval French law, if the husband fails to defeat the rape-accused in single combat, the wife is the one put to death for lying and false accusations (an even more ghastly version of the Game of Thrones ‘trial by combat’ proviso).

Affleck plays Count Pierre d'Alençon, overlord to De Carrouge and Le Gris, the hedonistic cousin to the king. The veteran actor has a lot of fun in this role; the wine, the prostitutes, and the bottle-blonde smarminess are all perfectly in place. Much like in Good Will Hunting, the film that shot him and Damon to fame (the two won a screenwriting Oscar for it while still in their 20s), he seems to enjoy playing a Bad-Influence-On-Matt-Damon.

The structure of The Last Duel will divide audiences. It is a spin on the Rashomon formula: have everyone’s points of view represented with exclusive storylines, and then bring it all together with a ‘definitive’ version (or not).

The first two sections promise much but ultimately underwhelm: Damon’s inconsistent performance must shoulder some of the blame here. When you are not being distracted by his medieval mullet, you notice that Damon does not sound like a person from the 14th century at all; the accent, the voice punctuation, the mannerisms and so on do not really work in tandem. You are always conscious of the fact that this is one of the most famous actors in the world doing his best, but ultimately coming up well short of the mark. In contrast, both Affleck and Jodie Comer turn in superb performances, especially Comer who has delivered some blockbuster outings these last two to three years (Killing Eve, Free Guy, and so on)

Scott’s majestic compositions are once again a delight to see on the large screen. The duel itself is superbly shot and the various other battle sequences are every bit as good as they were 20 years ago, in Gladiator. With a better script, The Last Duel could have been a late career highlight for Scott, instead of the amusing sideshow it ultimately proves to be.

The Last Duel is now available in Indian cinemas.

Rating: **1/2

Aditya Mani Jha is a Delhi-based independent writer and journalist, currently working on a book of essays on Indian comics and graphic novels.