The Last Duel is one of those movies that would've worked better as a mini series or if made for TV via Netflix or any rival streaming network in this day and age or would've celebrated to the max 20+years ago since back then the market for historical epics was huge. If a film is able to make the viewer suspend their disbelief throughout it's runtime then that's half the job done. Unfortunately I failed to do so because everytime I saw Damon, Affleck & Driver on-screen, I felt like I was watching an SNL Skit. They played their roles well but I just didn't believe them. Jodie Comer(who carried the movie) and some of the supporting actors like Same Harriet Walter(Jeans mother) fitted in the movie better than they did. The Rashomon method of storytelling used in The Last Duel did well in not only highlighting Jean & Jacque's blind spots in how they view themselves & the simmering tensions between the two men which served as an interesting pretext to the inevitable but also succeeded using Marguerite's perspective as a means of commentary on the treatment of women by medieval society and it's judicial system at large at it's most sexist. Especially when dealing with victims of rape & sexual assault. I must salute your honesty as to why the Last Duel flopped in the box office I had a similar observation. Against the more family friendly, escapist competition of pre-existing value, TLD never stood a chance. I give The Last Duel a 6/10
Thank you for your thoughts! It's interesting to hear that you their performances didn't work for you. I know many dislike the accents. It certainly offers a creative spin from Kurosawa's great film; I totally understand your rating.
@@cinematothemax The Last Duel was taylor made for the feminist/me too crowd yet not only did it fail to connect with that audience. It left them alienated. This was due to the heavy subject matter and the objectivity in which the film chose to tell the story. This on some level resulted in Marguerite's courage and quiet strength in the face of adversity was lost to the unintended message of "it's a man's world. Always has been and always will be" because the take away became about what men of that period could get away with in their treatment of women who had little to no autonomy to begin with. Another factor was the class rivalry between the 2 combatants which reduced Marguerite's plight to that of a pretext or an excuse for them to kill each other. On one end you had Jean the frustrated working class Knight who risks his life fighting in battles to make ends meat while on the other there was Jacque the rising star climbing through the ranks of the French Nobility. TLD being marketed as a feminist movie for the me too era of cinema wasn't lost on the male audiences just as caught in their gender politics as women felt put out by seeing the worst of themselves put to screen. In this case at their most hyper masculine, self absorbed & misogynistic. The hype surrounding this movie was about Ben Affleck & Matt Damon working together on script for the 1st time in 25 years since Good Will Hunting rather than the story at hand. No doubt The standing ovation at The Venice Film Festival was Jodie Comers Cinderella Moment and having a 3rd screenwriter, Nicole Hololfcener pen Marguerite's part gave the TLD a boost in credibility as a feminist movie but all of that failed to translate into box office success. The greatest irony of the Last Duel is that in ending up alienating the very audience it sort to cultivate.
I thought this movie was really really good, better than any other movie I've seen in a while. But I agree with another commenter, it nightfall been more successful as a TV series on HBO MAX or Netflix. Movies nowadays are dominated by franchises.
Thank you for this video. I need a place to express the love hate emotions I felt after watching The last duel. It almost shuns it's own audience. I love history, but there's no character I can relate to. I want to support the husband, but he's depicted as abusive, foolish, undisciplined and monstrous. Then there's the rapist, depicted as passionate, intelligent, deeply in love. Overcome with desire. The wife almost enjoyed the rape, tho brutal, not much different from her warrior husbands love making.. So in the end we are glad when he dies. He's not depicted as a hero, or at all concerned for his wife. We never celebrate, there's no victory, there's nothing. It's just an amazing fight scene that we don't care who wins. We hope they both die, then they do. And we get a long look from the beautiful woman with her son. Seemingly glad they are both dead and she doesn't have to put up with being raped anymore. The story of the champion husband chivalrously defending his wife is much better. Yes it's very Robinhood prince of thieves.. but why not. I'm sure it would have made more than 5 million measly dollars.
I recommend you watch "The Last Duels Blind Spots" . It's a great video that explains the complexity of the film. It's not really about liking or relating to the characters. Although I have read the book and I did enjoy it, as well as saw the difference between the married couple and how they obviously love each other very differently compared to the film. But I really liked what they did with Carrouges character. Both men have very different accounts on what happened, even for very little moments. But what they both have in common is how they do not see Marguerite as a person and see her only as an extension of themselves. It's meant to show how they are two sides of the same coin. The real tragedy of the film is that in the end, Marguerite was never seen as a person or even a victim. The same people who cheer her and mostly her husband, would have cheered the same way if he lost and she was burning at the stake. To them it was all just a show, no one really cared what happened to her, not even her husband. He simply saw it as an offense against him rather than her. But that's what makes the film so amazing is that it's one of the most accurate depictions of how people back then reacted to these things, and that was through the man's lenses rather than the actual victim.
@@savannahk2641 I see your point and that is tragic, what I also found as tragic is the fact that when he gives Marguerite's side of the story, the director completely ignores her sworn testimony... Which was this, She fought so hard, he wasn't able to rape her until he had called his assistant back in to hold her down.. she also testified she had screamed so long and so loud that he had to tie his cloak around her head and face in a tight knot, to silence her screams. Why, why, is her sworn testimony completely eliminated? This is supposed to be an opportunity for Marguerites story and perspective to be told? But we're not going to even hear or see what she testified to be true.. The movie literally let's the world "the Truth" hang there before telling a man made version of what she didn't say happened.. that to me, is gross, and truly the tragedy of this story.
@@ruebenthomas6496 When I read the book I was shocked to learn his assistant came in to hold her down. I sadly read the book after I watched the movie and I thought the same thing about why they took her testimony out when I watched it for the second time. As well as show just how hard she fought back. Her version of things is really downplayed compared to how the assault actually happened. It's definitely gross how they had both men speak more during the hearing then Marguerite herself.
@@savannahk2641 Thank you, the movie subtly suggested Marguerite might have enjoyed the rape or maybe it wasn't that bad. Perhaps this rapist didn't even realize he's committing rape.. The male actors in this film declared this a feminist movie.. A feminist movie that hides the women's sworn testimony? A man says, I don't like her version of what happened.. and writes in a completely different thing.. and declares it "the truth"! I was shocked. This is not supporting feminism. This suggests she is unsure about what she wants, she is weak in her resistance. She is afraid of men. Unsure about the questions she is asked.. The Real Marguerite was confident, brave, willing to fight to the last breath. Sure in her testimony, willing to die for the truth. This is plain in her bold testimony.
Great video, the movie really deserves more attention!
Thank you so much, it really does!
The Last Duel is one of those movies that would've worked better as a mini series or if made for TV via Netflix or any rival streaming network in this day and age or would've celebrated to the max 20+years ago since back then the market for historical epics was huge.
If a film is able to make the viewer suspend their disbelief throughout it's runtime then that's half the job done. Unfortunately I failed to do so because everytime I saw Damon, Affleck & Driver on-screen, I felt like I was watching an SNL Skit. They played their roles well but I just didn't believe them. Jodie Comer(who carried the movie) and some of the supporting actors like Same Harriet Walter(Jeans mother) fitted in the movie better than they did.
The Rashomon method of storytelling used in The Last Duel did well in not only highlighting Jean & Jacque's blind spots in how they view themselves & the simmering tensions between the two men which served as an interesting pretext to the inevitable but also succeeded using Marguerite's perspective as a means of commentary on the treatment of women by medieval society and it's judicial system at large at it's most sexist. Especially when dealing with victims of rape & sexual assault.
I must salute your honesty as to why the Last Duel flopped in the box office I had a similar observation. Against the more family friendly, escapist competition of pre-existing value, TLD never stood a chance.
I give The Last Duel a 6/10
Thank you for your thoughts! It's interesting to hear that you their performances didn't work for you. I know many dislike the accents. It certainly offers a creative spin from Kurosawa's great film; I totally understand your rating.
@@cinematothemax The Last Duel was taylor made for the feminist/me too crowd yet not only did it fail to connect with that audience. It left them alienated. This was due to the heavy subject matter and the objectivity in which the film chose to tell the story. This on some level resulted in Marguerite's courage and quiet strength in the face of adversity was lost to the unintended message of "it's a man's world. Always has been and always will be" because the take away became about what men of that period could get away with in their treatment of women who had little to no autonomy to begin with. Another factor was the class rivalry between the 2 combatants which reduced Marguerite's plight to that of a pretext or an excuse for them to kill each other. On one end you had Jean the frustrated working class Knight who risks his life fighting in battles to make ends meat while on the other there was Jacque the rising star climbing through the ranks of the French Nobility.
TLD being marketed as a feminist movie for the me too era of cinema wasn't lost on the male audiences just as caught in their gender politics as women felt put out by seeing the worst of themselves put to screen. In this case at their most hyper masculine, self absorbed & misogynistic.
The hype surrounding this movie was about Ben Affleck & Matt Damon working together on script for the 1st time in 25 years since Good Will Hunting rather than the story at hand. No doubt The standing ovation at The Venice Film Festival was Jodie Comers Cinderella Moment and having a 3rd screenwriter, Nicole Hololfcener pen Marguerite's part gave the TLD a boost in credibility as a feminist movie but all of that failed to translate into box office success.
The greatest irony of the Last Duel is that in ending up alienating the very audience it sort to cultivate.
I thought this movie was really really good, better than any other movie I've seen in a while. But I agree with another commenter, it nightfall been more successful as a TV series on HBO MAX or Netflix. Movies nowadays are dominated by franchises.
Thank you for your thoughts! I'm glad to hear you liked it. Hopefully the filmgoers can keep the independent side of the industry alive.
Thank you for this video. I need a place to express the love hate emotions I felt after watching The last duel. It almost shuns it's own audience. I love history, but there's no character I can relate to. I want to support the husband, but he's depicted as abusive, foolish, undisciplined and monstrous. Then there's the rapist, depicted as passionate, intelligent, deeply in love. Overcome with desire. The wife almost enjoyed the rape, tho brutal, not much different from her warrior husbands love making.. So in the end we are glad when he dies. He's not depicted as a hero, or at all concerned for his wife. We never celebrate, there's no victory, there's nothing. It's just an amazing fight scene that we don't care who wins. We hope they both die, then they do. And we get a long look from the beautiful woman with her son. Seemingly glad they are both dead and she doesn't have to put up with being raped anymore. The story of the champion husband chivalrously defending his wife is much better. Yes it's very Robinhood prince of thieves.. but why not. I'm sure it would have made more than 5 million measly dollars.
Thank you for watching and for your comment!
I recommend you watch "The Last Duels Blind Spots" . It's a great video that explains the complexity of the film. It's not really about liking or relating to the characters. Although I have read the book and I did enjoy it, as well as saw the difference between the married couple and how they obviously love each other very differently compared to the film. But I really liked what they did with Carrouges character. Both men have very different accounts on what happened, even for very little moments. But what they both have in common is how they do not see Marguerite as a person and see her only as an extension of themselves. It's meant to show how they are two sides of the same coin. The real tragedy of the film is that in the end, Marguerite was never seen as a person or even a victim. The same people who cheer her and mostly her husband, would have cheered the same way if he lost and she was burning at the stake. To them it was all just a show, no one really cared what happened to her, not even her husband. He simply saw it as an offense against him rather than her. But that's what makes the film so amazing is that it's one of the most accurate depictions of how people back then reacted to these things, and that was through the man's lenses rather than the actual victim.
@@savannahk2641 I see your point and that is tragic, what I also found as tragic is the fact that when he gives Marguerite's side of the story, the director completely ignores her sworn testimony... Which was this, She fought so hard, he wasn't able to rape her until he had called his assistant back in to hold her down.. she also testified she had screamed so long and so loud that he had to tie his cloak around her head and face in a tight knot, to silence her screams. Why, why, is her sworn testimony completely eliminated? This is supposed to be an opportunity for Marguerites story and perspective to be told? But we're not going to even hear or see what she testified to be true.. The movie literally let's the world "the Truth" hang there before telling a man made version of what she didn't say happened.. that to me, is gross, and truly the tragedy of this story.
@@ruebenthomas6496 When I read the book I was shocked to learn his assistant came in to hold her down. I sadly read the book after I watched the movie and I thought the same thing about why they took her testimony out when I watched it for the second time. As well as show just how hard she fought back. Her version of things is really downplayed compared to how the assault actually happened. It's definitely gross how they had both men speak more during the hearing then Marguerite herself.
@@savannahk2641 Thank you, the movie subtly suggested Marguerite might have enjoyed the rape or maybe it wasn't that bad. Perhaps this rapist didn't even realize he's committing rape.. The male actors in this film declared this a feminist movie.. A feminist movie that hides the women's sworn testimony? A man says, I don't like her version of what happened.. and writes in a completely different thing.. and declares it "the truth"! I was shocked. This is not supporting feminism. This suggests she is unsure about what she wants, she is weak in her resistance. She is afraid of men. Unsure about the questions she is asked.. The Real Marguerite was confident, brave, willing to fight to the last breath. Sure in her testimony, willing to die for the truth. This is plain in her bold testimony.