Swords and Secrets Collide in the Iconic Director's Meaty, Medieval Melodrama
By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Here's an unpleasant confession: sometimes, I watch movies just because I think they're going to be some kind of train wreck that I can't take my eyes off of. That's why I ended up watching The Final Duel (2021), one of the strange articles on Ridley Scott's film director. While Scott made historical epics like The Gladiator before, he was a director I always associated with ambitious sci-fi films Alien, Blade Runneragain Prometheus. Now, all of a sudden, he was directing a sword-and-sandals classic that had disturbingly famous faces like Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Adam Driver. Jason Bourne fighting Kylo Ren in your old times? This I it was necessary to see!
Also, my thinkingwas that this would absorb it completely. The male leads all have disturbingly modern faces, the story is very dense, and Ridley Scott doesn't change all the time (seriously, go compare The Gladiator again Gladiator II,I courage you). However, to my shock, The Final Duel it's amazingly beautiful. The director brings together a popular storytelling technique and a fun medieval setting to provide a subtle commentary on sex, violence, and power. This is Scott boldly going where he's never gone before, and you can join his journey by streaming The Final Duel on Disney+.
Good Will Dueling
The central structure of The Final Duel is relatively straightforward. The hero played by Matt Damon begins the film with a good relationship with his squire, a man played by Adam Driver. However, the squire ends up sleeping with the knight's wife, and the characters have very different accounts of the event. The squire insists that this was consensual sex, but the knight insists that his former friend beat his beloved wife. They took this issue to the supreme law of the land, the King issued an announcement that they will settle this issue with the titular last duel.
While that may sound simple enough, Scott adds some complexity The Final Duel by adopting the classic way of telling the story of Rashomon. We just don't know what happened in the way he said, he said kind of in the way; instead, the movie presents everyone's very different accounts of life. First we see the knight's version of events and then the squire's, culminating in a final, apparently authentic account from the knight's wife (played by Jodie Comer). In this way, the film invites us to investigate our assumptions about these characters and events, all of which are inevitably shaped by contemporary debates about the relationship between gender, power, and the system of infidelity.
The Ancient World As You've Never Seen It
Writing and working (more on that soon) at The Final Duel they are really high quality. However, it should be noted that this is one of those rare films that is worth watching even with the sound off. That's because it's a visual treat from start to finish, completely recreating a bygone era. Nothing looks like a simple soundstage; instead, it seems that Scott cleverly brought the 15th century back to life. That's a big part of what makes this movie so engrossing: long before you discover its characters and plot, you'll fall in love with its incredible beauty.
To put it in bold words, The Final Duel a movie where you can see money on the screen. While a good portion of the $100 million budget may have gone to the big names in the cast, it's clear that there was plenty of money left over for sets and costumes. That may sound like a low bar to clear, but keep that in mind The Pendragon Cycle: The Rise of Merlin a reported $20 million was spent on seven episodes, and the costumes and props look like they were pulled from a Spirit Halloween dump.
In contrast, all aspects of Final DeadlineThe costumes and scenery are so lovingly created that each scene transports us back half a millennium.
Amazingly Focused Activities
To my surprise, The Final DuelThe concerts are really good. The narrative style of Rashomon allows leading man Matt Damon to play multiple versions of his character. At times, he is charming and noble; sometimes cold and cunning. The same goes for the breadth of Adam Driver's character, who is portrayed alternately as a greedy, socially awkward man or as a loving man and gentle lover. This is part of the film's trick, of course: whichever narrative you find most convincing ultimately reveals more about you than the various characters on screen.
While Ben Affleck is great as the figure who chooses to pick up a wine glass over a sword, the performance is excellent The Final Duel from Jodie Comer. She plays the knight's wife, a role that often diminishes her agency and presents her as a prize to be fought for by rival men. The film is very interested in examining misogyny and its consequences through a medical lens, something I was worried Ridley Scott would struggle to convey. But Comer's subtle and subtle performance helps reinforce this point as her narrative reveals the need to believe women when they talk about their attackers.
Living Up to the Title
If you are wondering, The Final Duel it really lives up to its title. Everything comes with a nasty argument between Damon and Driver, which aims to reveal the truth of the squire's alleged crimes. The duel works well as a fight scene, and its brutality makes this film a dirty, must-watch climax. But the duel also serves as a culmination of the movie's themes, revealing that truth is a very tricky concept: what and who we believe is often an extension of our social order. And while you can kill someone, it is not so easy to kill what you are designed to believe.
The Final Duel is a sweet, medieval melodrama from a director best known for redefining the sci-fi genre. But Ridley Scott does a great job of telling an unusual story in a way that makes each episode more immersive than the last. Do you want to get to the bottom of this mystery and see who the real villain is? Or maybe you just want to play over beautiful sets and intense fight scenes? Either way, you need to put down the sword and pick up the remote, like The Final Duel currently streaming on Disney+!
