When I walked out of The Last Duel, one of the best Rashomon-style stories I'd experienced in my whole life, possibly the best, I was excited to recommend it to people, but on reflection realized that almost all of the people I could recommend it to either never watch movies in theaters, preferring the cheaper alternative of home streaming services, or would be put off by the fact that the plot involves a lot of sexuality, some of it violent.
So it made me sad to learn this paradox may have contributed to its financial underperformance.
The Last Duel is, being Rashomon-style, the same story told from the perspective of three different characters, the tough French knight Jean, his educated former best friend Jacques, and Mauguerite, Jean's wife who accuses Jacques of raping her, and how it all culminated in the very last legally-sanctioned trial by combat in France.
To start with, I do wish they'd used a bit more of a color palate throughout the film. I'm a bit tired of the Real Is Brown philosophy as applied to medieval films, and the persistent blue color filter they always slap over outdoor scenes. But I also liked the way stone castle interiors tended to be lit by fireplaces; that was a nice touch, and the costumes aren't all dull brown leather sludge.
But, I suspect you're here for the storytelling rather than the aesthetics, and I have to praise the decision to depart from the usual genre standard of making everyone a liar in their own special way. Instead, as we see events from different perspectives, we come to understand that no, everyone is telling the truth, as best as they understand the truth... but not all truth is created equal.
Let me start by saying the film does a good job of humanizing Jacques and helping us understand why he did what he did without ever trying to make excuses for him. There's a version of this film that could exist where he's a straight-up black-hat villain and Jean a white-hat hero, and I'm very glad we got this instead, because this helps us to understand how and why sex offenders might see the things they do as legitimate, and therefore how we, as individuals, can self-examine to rid ourselves of similar thinking or work to prevent such toxic attitudes from spreading. And this same complexity is attached to almost everyone else, as Jean goes from an honorable man wronged by the world to an impulsive and thoughtless brute, or his mother from a stern, wise disciplinarian to a miserable, unpleasable harpy, depending on the perspective. Mauguerite's is generally treated as the most accurate of the three, but it largely avoids making her out to be a victimized martyr, and gives her soul-searching moments as the trial and the consequences of failure loom.
The fighting is brutal and intense, but infrequent, largely concentrated in career-soldier Jean's story in the first third of the film. Much of the rest involves more intrigues and legal drama, which I'm all for but recognize isn't necessarily what a lot of other viewers are after. And while I, personally, am not much for pornographic stuff in my non-pornographic films, barring a few minutes I might've missed taking bathroom breaks, for once I'll defend every sex scene in the film as plot-critical, and more to the point, deliberately shot in as banal, unappealing, unpornographic a manner as possible, especially the harrowing rape.
As a period piece drama and a serious character study, it's one of the best movies of its kind, and I recommend it if you want something a bit meatier... but, again, know what you're getting into. I wouldn't recommend it for immature audiences, or for those who aren't looking for something with a bit more to it than pure entertainment.
Film Genuinely Great Filmmaking, But Dark Subject Matter Limits Audience
When I walked out of The Last Duel, one of the best Rashomon-style stories I'd experienced in my whole life, possibly the best, I was excited to recommend it to people, but on reflection realized that almost all of the people I could recommend it to either never watch movies in theaters, preferring the cheaper alternative of home streaming services, or would be put off by the fact that the plot involves a lot of sexuality, some of it violent.
So it made me sad to learn this paradox may have contributed to its financial underperformance.
The Last Duel is, being Rashomon-style, the same story told from the perspective of three different characters, the tough French knight Jean, his educated former best friend Jacques, and Mauguerite, Jean's wife who accuses Jacques of raping her, and how it all culminated in the very last legally-sanctioned trial by combat in France.
To start with, I do wish they'd used a bit more of a color palate throughout the film. I'm a bit tired of the Real Is Brown philosophy as applied to medieval films, and the persistent blue color filter they always slap over outdoor scenes. But I also liked the way stone castle interiors tended to be lit by fireplaces; that was a nice touch, and the costumes aren't all dull brown leather sludge.
But, I suspect you're here for the storytelling rather than the aesthetics, and I have to praise the decision to depart from the usual genre standard of making everyone a liar in their own special way. Instead, as we see events from different perspectives, we come to understand that no, everyone is telling the truth, as best as they understand the truth... but not all truth is created equal.
Let me start by saying the film does a good job of humanizing Jacques and helping us understand why he did what he did without ever trying to make excuses for him. There's a version of this film that could exist where he's a straight-up black-hat villain and Jean a white-hat hero, and I'm very glad we got this instead, because this helps us to understand how and why sex offenders might see the things they do as legitimate, and therefore how we, as individuals, can self-examine to rid ourselves of similar thinking or work to prevent such toxic attitudes from spreading. And this same complexity is attached to almost everyone else, as Jean goes from an honorable man wronged by the world to an impulsive and thoughtless brute, or his mother from a stern, wise disciplinarian to a miserable, unpleasable harpy, depending on the perspective. Mauguerite's is generally treated as the most accurate of the three, but it largely avoids making her out to be a victimized martyr, and gives her soul-searching moments as the trial and the consequences of failure loom.
The fighting is brutal and intense, but infrequent, largely concentrated in career-soldier Jean's story in the first third of the film. Much of the rest involves more intrigues and legal drama, which I'm all for but recognize isn't necessarily what a lot of other viewers are after. And while I, personally, am not much for pornographic stuff in my non-pornographic films, barring a few minutes I might've missed taking bathroom breaks, for once I'll defend every sex scene in the film as plot-critical, and more to the point, deliberately shot in as banal, unappealing, unpornographic a manner as possible, especially the harrowing rape.
As a period piece drama and a serious character study, it's one of the best movies of its kind, and I recommend it if you want something a bit meatier... but, again, know what you're getting into. I wouldn't recommend it for immature audiences, or for those who aren't looking for something with a bit more to it than pure entertainment.