On Thursday, November 18, the historical drama "The Last Duel" will be released in Russia. The film was directed by the four-time Oscar nominee Ridley Scott (The Martian, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Thelma and Louise), and the visual component of the film was the responsibility of cameraman Dariusz Wolski, who worked on the films of the Pirates of the Caribbean series ". The filmmakers have already collaborated on several occasions. Together they shot the films "The Martian", "Prometheus", "All the Money in the World", "House of Gucci" and others. Jodie Comer ("The Main Character"), Matt Damon ("Good Will Hunting") and Adam Driver ("The Black Klansman") played the central roles in "The Last Duel".
The action of the film is based on real events.
In the center of the plot are the French knights of the XIV century Jean de Carrouge (Damon) and Jacques Le Gris (Driver), who went down in history, among other things, as participants in one of the last duels allowed by the king and parliament.
In fact, Le Gris' accusations of rape of Carrouge's wife Margarita became the subject of the conflict.
According to the plot, the formation of a conflict between two good friends was influenced by past disagreements: first, Le Gris took a prestigious position, which de Carrouge claimed, and later received possession of a plot with an estate that was supposed to go to Damon's hero after the wedding.
The outfits in the picture are quite authentic, without the excessive sexualization that is characteristic of contemporary historical dramas.
However, at first, the film, despite all its beauty and subtle elaboration, seems quite standard: housing and political problems will not surprise the viewer, and historical dramas about brave knights and tyrant rulers and before Ridley Scott were filmed more than once.
But the degree of tension rises sharply when the conflict between Jean de Carrouge and Jacques Le Gris becomes frankly personal.
And it's not even the very nature of the problem - an encroachment on family values - but the manifestation of a bright female character.
Despite the fact that two knights participate in the climactic duel, it is Margarita who becomes the main character of the picture and the main driving force of the plot.
© Shot from the film "The Last Duel"
In fact, the film "The Last Duel" tells about the position of women in the Middle Ages and the blatant attitude of the whole society towards her.
Because of the unspoken competition between de Carrouge and Le Gris, Marguerite suffers first of all: her husband was not as successful and enterprising as expected, and the heroes share her own estate.
However, no one pays attention to these details.
More surprise and resentment among viewers is likely to be caused by the rape episode, which became the last straw in the development of the conflict.
Finding herself in a traumatic situation and deciding to fight for justice, Margarita meets a complete misunderstanding from all sides: according to the offender, everything happened by mutual consent, and the husband believes that in this situation the main victim is himself.
Even women turn away from the heroine.
So, the mother-in-law believes that Margarita should have been silent at all: not the first and not the last, she remained alive - and thanks for that.
And now - she disgraced herself and her family.
The more actively a girl fights, the more outrageous she finds herself in.
Closer to the denouement, what is happening turns into the most absurd drama.
High-ranking officials in all seriousness discuss the factors allegedly affecting pregnancy, and talk about the role of women in sexual relations in general, thereby reminding viewers of the most outdated stereotypes.
On the basis of dubious reflections, a decision is made, from which, again, Margarita may suffer the most.
At some point, it begins to seem that her husband did hear her and felt sympathy for his wife, but Jean de Carrouge immediately confirms: everything he did was conceived solely for his good.
As a result, the most reasonable, in comparison with her contemporaries, the heroine remains unnoticed, and her whole life, as Margarita herself noted, depends only on "which of the old men gets tired faster" in the duel.
© Shot from the film "The Last Duel"
The film is divided into three parts, each of which tells the same story from the side of one of the central characters.
At first, such a decision seems like a senseless stretching of an impressive timing: in each of the chapters, new scenes are presented, but a significant part of the episodes is repeated.
Over time, it becomes clear that Ridley Scott chose this format for a reason: some of the most important scenes were edited or filmed differently.
Even the smallest details eloquently demonstrate how differently the characters see the same events, and convincing acting (especially mesmerizing Jodie Comer) provides an emotional perception of the action.
The duel opens and closes the film.
Naturally, this scene looks different too.
In the beginning, it looks predictable and standard.
The viewer comes to the denouement with full awareness of the injustice of what is happening and the strongest indignation.
For those who do not know the real story, the perception can be somewhat spoiled only by the spoiler of the outcome of the duel, placed approximately in the middle of the tape.