King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire by challenging him to a duel.
This amazing story, based on true events, finds itself rooted in 14th Century France in the year 1386. The fact that it is told from three different perspectives adds an unusual dimension that dares one to try and exclude all the factors that make it relevant to three different storytellers who have nothing to gain but their own prideful discretion. Directed by Ridley Scott, this film, with dual roles by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Nicole Holofcener as producers and actors truly shadows the storyline and gives full depth to the character development of an astute pair of men from opposite sides of the track whose passion for their societal positions whittles itself down to the suppressed emotions of a male-dominated society, with a woman at the center of it all who can’t defend herself against the tyranny and bureaucracy of proud men.
As the film opens, Matt Damon plays the role of Jean de Carrouges, a Knight who is well-known for his skills on the battlefield. He takes the King’s daughter’s hand in marriage and a battle later ensues over the land gifted as a dowry as it has changed many hands. On the other end of the spectrum, Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) is a Squire who is one of the most revered nobles in the Court. As the years progress, Carrouges’ wife Marguerite (Jodie Comer) engages in therapy and other efforts to understand why she remains infertile, as she attempts to second-guess herself as to whether or not she is satisfied with sexy time with her husband. Unable to continue to suppress his love for Marguerite, on one of Carrouges’ trips out of town, Le Gris forces his way into Marguerite’s bedroom and rapes her, and then attempts to keep her silent by declaring no one would ever believe her. When Marguerite decides to go to the highest court to prove she is telling the truth, not only does she risk her life, but her husband’s as well.
In a society that puts honor above all, the king agrees to a duel between Carrouges and Le Gris that will determine by death, the innocence of Marguerite who has risked everything to protest her rape. While the battle seems to be an ultimately high wager, the town’s citizens are for it as it is important for them to put this behind them and restore honor back to their daily living. In the staging of the duel, director Ridley Scott’s finest touches are brought to the forefront with the finest of pageantry in what will forever be known as France’s final legally sanctioned trial by combat. For both its historical value and the audacity of men, Eric Jager’s ‘The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial By Combat In Medieval France’ has an intriguing and lustfully entertaining adaptation that is sure to rein in the pitiful and pompous alike from either one of its versions.
In Theaters Friday, October 15th
