3 stars.
this is a classy movie, but it is not special, and it has a feminist message.
the characters are well developed, it is well acted but somehow it feels more like a random episode of a soap opera than an epic saga, which it doesn’t even try to be.
you can sort of think of “The Last Duel” ( 2021 ) as Barbie ( 2023 ) set in Medieval France and R rated. You have Barbie and two Kens, except they have to duel to the death, but in the end it’s all about Barbie and her struggle for women’s rights and not them.
the movie starts with the two men preparing for the duel and starting to fight, but doesn’t show the conclusion …
it then spends about 1/2 hour each on showing what lead up to it first from the perspective of Jean, then Jacques and finally Marguerite - which is probably the most unique aspect of this movie. the same story is re-told three times allowing each of the 3 characters a turn at being the protagonist.
although the objective events are the same in each retelling, each of the 3 characters sees themselves as the good guy ( or girl ) and others as stupid, evil or selfish - and everybody only notices or remembers the parts that make them look good in their own eyes - so for example in the first battle when Jean and Jacques are still friends they both save each other’s lives but each one only remembers saving the other’s life but doesn’t seem to realize or remember having his own life saved in his retelling of his side of the story …
finally after the viewer has the perspective of all the parties involved we return to the duel itself which this time of course is allowed to proceed to the bitter end …
at first i thought this annoying to be told the same story 3 times but in retrospect this is the only reason the movie deserves any stars at all - because it shows that it’s not about good guys vs bad guys but about the situation itself - and all the characters are just trapped in it.
this aspect makes “The Last Duel” a smart movie, that is definitely not for kids. Children like to be told who is the hero and who is the villain, and most Americans ( at least the ones who watch sportsball and vote in elections ) never grow out of this. but reality of course is more complex, and “The Last Duel” deserves a lot of respect for showing that complexity.
So the movie is classy, but is ultimately a critique of the times and feminist propaganda rather than a gripping tale … perhaps the very same thing that makes it classy is also what makes it no fun. Fun is something children have and adults need to be drunk or on drugs to have it, but “The Last Duel” is neither childish nor drunk nor fun.
The movie is almost completely realistic, and everything is counter-balanced. Even the feminist angle which is all over the movie is mostly counter-balanced. It is very hard to say anything bad about the movie …
But if i told you that it will be memorable i would be lying.
I can neither recommend watching it nor recommend against watching.
Jodie Comer is pretty, but even though there are many sex scenes ( or at least the same scenes retold more than once from perspective of different characters ) she is never nude and in fact is pretty much fully clothed during sex.
there is a scene with nude girls but they are just random courtesans and they’re in the background so not a very sexy movie.
Marguerite the feminist is the real protagonist of the movie of course even though she is the last of the 3 to be introduced in the film. The movie is tricky like this - it introduces characters ultimately in reverse order of their importance to then deliberately turn the tables and get you to admit that you jumped to conclusions without considering the other side of the story.
but even Marguerite the feminist is ultimately revealed to be flawed and regrets her feminism literally saying that she should have been concerned with protecting the people around her but instead she chose to be right regardless of the cost, like an idiot.