A story of betrayal and revenge, set in 14th-century of France, where brutality and violence against women are common and disputes are resolved in duels to life and death. Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and Ben Affleck star. Premiere on DVD and Blu-ray ™ on February 23.
France from 1386 is a country ravaged by a hundred-year war with England. Ubiquitous violence reigns in it. Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) is a respected knight of Normandy, a man of noble origin, known for his courage and skill in combat which he commanded on the battlefield. His friend Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) is the son of a Norman squire. Intelligence and eloquence make him one of the most admired nobles at court. When Count Pierre d’Alençon (Ben Affleck), a royal cousin and baron at the court of Argentan, takes the side of Le Gris in a bitter dispute over property, his position, much to Carrouges’ displeasure, begins to grow stronger. Relations between friends worsen even more when Pierre promotes Le Gris instead of Carrouges and entrusts him with responsibility for his affairs.
Despite the injustice that befallen him, Carrouges is doing well. He marries Marguerite (Jodie Comer) – a beautiful, wise woman with a strong will and a large dowry, the daughter of Sir Robert de Thibouville (Nathaniel Parker). A year later, Carrouges introduces his wife to Le Gris – now more charming and arrogant than ever. Men then decide to reconcile despite their differences.
Carrouges still fights for his country as a knight. When he returns home from a particularly painful defeat, he discovers that Marguerite has been brutally attacked by Le Gris, who has denied the woman’s allegations. Marguerite is not going to keep silent, however. She accuses the attacker, which is an act of courage and rebellion that puts her life in danger.
To clear herself of the disgrace and shame that this type of accusation has brought upon the family, Carrouges goes to the mansion at Argentan. After hearing both sides, Pierre once again takes the side of Le Gris. Carrouges refuses to give up and goes to the Palace of Justice in Paris to appeal the sentence. King Charles VI (Alex Lawther) agrees that the trial should take the form of a fight. The men will face a death and life duel that will judge who is right in this dispute. From that moment on, the fate of all three rests only in God’s hands.
The thought-provoking Last Duel is a cinematic drama told from three perspectives: it examines the omnipotence of men, the fragility of justice, and the strength and courage of one woman who, though lonely, does not give up in the fight for the truth.
The main roles were performed by acclaimed actors: Oscar® winners Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Adam Driver twice nominated for this award and Emmy® winner Jodie Comer .
The scenario of The Last Duel is based on the 2004 book The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France , written on the basis of historical source materials . It contains extremely detailed descriptions of the legendary duel and the events that led to it, which brought the author a lot of recognition. Eventually, the book also caught the attention of Matt Damon, who immediately saw its cinematic potential and dreamed of Ridley Scott at the helm of this production. The director has scored dozens of critically acclaimed films in all styles and genres. Films that excite and move audiences to this day.
We knew it was an amazing story. The question was how to tell it in a really interesting way , says Damon . – Then we came up with the idea of a few perspectives and bait. Two-thirds of the film with these two men is only to discover that the woman is the main character of the story.
Damon and Affleck worked on the script with Nicole Holofcener, screenwriter and director nominated for an Oscar ® for the script of Can You Ever Forgive Me? . They each wrote from the perspective of Carrouges, Le Gris, and Marguerite, respectively, to make sure the story captures all three voices.
I entered this collaboration because Matt and Ben are not women. Not that they can’t write a great female character, a lot of men do. But I think that my contribution to the text and film is my female perspective. A different eye and a different voice – explains Nicole Holofcener.
People like Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris were the heroes of their own stories – but also their unreliable narrators and chroniclers. Marguerite’s perspective is valuable because it offers the necessary correction of men’s unquestioned views on themselves and the world around them.
These men were born in the middle of the Hundred Years’ War. The life they knew was brutal – rape and theft were an integral part of it, which were and still are weapons used in war, explains Damon. It is a violent world and incredibly cruel. While reading this book, it seems that the only story worth telling is the story of this woman . Her incredible courage, living under the terrible pressure of objection and humiliation, and at the same time relentlessly to tell the truth about what happened to her in these times and in this culture– says the impersonator of one of the main roles.
The final duel , based on the story of an extraordinary woman, is an engaging study of power and the will to survive, as well as cultural patterns and traditions that resulted in conspiracy and manipulation of facts, obscuring the truth. Even though all three heroes had common experiences, they actually lived in completely different worlds. And only one of them can be real.
Although the film presents the experiences of Marguerite de Carrouges, who lived more than 600 years ago, her story has enormous power because it resembles the legacy of all those who quietly but persistently fought for justice over the next centuries. Although it is the female figure that comes to the fore here, the presented image of the world is absolutely strict. Brutal realism, faithfully reflecting the reality of medieval France, makes The Last Duel one of the best-told chivalry stories that we have seen on the big screen in recent years.
Special Features in the BLU-RAY Edition :
- Reports from the plan
- Cinematic trailer