Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are arguably one of the greatest Hollywood pairings of all time. With them being long-time friends, it's always a treat to see these two together again, and their latest offering, The Rip, has a ton of twists. However, out of all of the films that Damon and Affleck starred in together, my favorite is probably one of their most overlooked, 2021's The Last Duel.
Directed by Ridley Scott, who’s made his fair share of historical dramas and sci-fi movies (with Alien often considered one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time), The Last Duel, which is based off of a true story, is pretty much Rashomon with knights. The trouble is, it absolutely flopped at the box office. That said, here’s why it’s still worth a watch if you haven’t seen it yet.
Matt Damon Plays A Complete Oaf… But That’s Not How He Sees It
Now, if you’re only familiar with Akira Kurosawa’s samurai movies, you might not know what Rashomon even is. Well, in a nutshell, Rashomon is a movie where its plot device is that it’s the same story, but told from different perspectives. Oftentimes, characters will see the same event entirely differently, and you may start to wonder who’s even telling the truth.
Well, in The Last Duel, we see the same story told from three different perspectives, one being Matt Damon’s as the knight, Sir Jean de Carrouges; another being Adam Driver’s knight character, Sir Jacques le Gris; and the last being Jodie Comer, who plays the wife of Sir Jean, Marguerite. The “last duel” in question revolves around Marguerite’s honor, as she was raped by Sir Jacques in her husband’s absence, and the two knights fight to the death over it.
However, here’s the thing. In Damon’s chapter, he seems like a noble knight in every sense of the word. He’s respected by all, including his wife.
That said, it’s only through subsequent chapters where we learn that he’s viewed as a bit of an oaf by pretty much everybody, including said wife. It’s fascinating watching Damon be valiant in one chapter, and a total dope in others. While we didn’t include The Last Duel on our list of the best Matt Damon movies, I'd certainly put it up there.
Ben Affleck Also Stars As A Libertine Count
Out of all of the performances in The Last Duel, I think Ben Affleck’s might be the most interesting. He doesn’t get his own chapter, but rather hangs on the fringes of each of them.
He plays the real-life Count Pierre d’Alencon, who acts as the overlord to Damon’s character. However, the Count is more on Driver’s side than Damon’s, as the Count - as I mentioned earlier - sees Damon’s character as a bit of an oaf. With that mindset, the Count has no problem with gifting a lucrative estate, which should rightfully be owned by Damon’s character, to Driver’s character, whom he much prefers.
What’s most interesting about Affleck’s character, though, is just how modern he feels in this historical world. With his bleach blonde hair, and his sense of ennui (when he’s not getting laid), he feels like a man out of time, and it really works. In our review of Gladiator II, we highlighted Denzel Washington’s performance, and I think the same could be said for Ben Affleck’s performance here. It’s an absolute highlight in an already phenomenal film.
Plus, it’s just funny seeing Affleck treat Matt Damon so poorly in this movie, given what good friends they are in real life.
Adam Driver Plays An Absolute Scoundrel In This Picture
Adam Driver is another fascinating actor, as he can play a misguided villain, like he did in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy; a martyr, like he portrayed in one of my favorite Scorsese movies, Silence; and an absolute rogue, like he plays in this film.
I mean it, you might love Adam Driver, but you’re going to absolutely loathe him in this movie. In his chapter, we see things entirely differently. Instead of a rapist, it seems like Comer’s character (who I’ll get into next) led him on. We see a noble knight who puts his life on the line in battle, and in his eyes, Damon’s character likes to hog all the credit. But the sun shines heavily upon Driver, and he really makes it seem like he’s the hero in this story.
But even in his own chapter, you can tell just how smarmy he is. And you know he’s smarmy because Affleck’s character takes a liking to him, and Count Pierre d’Alencon is a Libertine scumbag. It really shows just how good Ridley Scott’s direction is, and how excellent Adam Driver is as an actor, as we can see him believing he’s a genuinely worthy individual when even the audience can tell that he’s full of himself.
It’s only in the final chapter though that we really see how despicable he truly is.
Jodie Comer Rounds It Out As The Film’s Mistreated Moral Compass
In the final chapter of the film, we get the actual truth of the story, and it comes from Jodie Comer’s character, Marguerite de Carrouges, who is wronged by pretty much everybody in her life. We see that she’s the one who actually handles all of the finances, whereas Damon’s character made it seem like he had it all under control (so like a man). We also see that Driver’s character wasn’t seduced by her, but rather he forced himself upon her and assaulted her viciously.
Despite the subject matter pertaining to sexual abuse, it doesn’t seem that way until we actually see Comer’s side, as she’s the victim of every man in this movie. She’s a victim of her husband, who leaves her unsatisfied. She’s a victim of her husband’s friend, who rapes her. And she’s a victim of society as a whole, which chooses not to believe her… at first.
However, Comer’s character was raped, and she stands behind her truth, because it’s all she has. When even the women in her life advise her not to make a big deal of it, she won’t back down. The duel happens because she knows that what was done to her was wrong, and she won’t let that slide.
In truth, Marguerite de Carrouges is the only noble one in the entire film.
In Short, The Last Duel Is A Criminally Underappreciated Gem, And My Favorite Damon/Affleck Collaboration
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been in 15 movies together, and I like a great many of them. However, while most people will probably always bring up movies like Air, Dogma and, of course, Good Will Hunting (and maybe even one of my favorite romantic comedies, Chasing Amy, though Damon had a much smaller role in that one), I think more people should talk about The Last Duel.
For one thing, the structure of the film is fascinating. Sure, it could have been told from just one perspective, but that would have been very limited. It could have also been a lot more straightforward, but the three-chapter structure really makes this film.
Plus, it’s just great to see pals Affleck and Damon be on such wildly different sides of the spectrum. In the end, Affleck’s character remains unaffected by the events and acts more as a patient observer. Meanwhile, Damon’s character is a total bruiser and used more like a pawn. It works!
Which is why I think you should watch The Last Duel if you haven’t already. I think it’s their finest work together to date!
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