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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Last Duel (2021) in Movies
Oct 28, 2021
Three nuanced perspectives on a winter’s tale.
In Ridley Scott’s new movie “The Last Duel” we are in the late 14th century in France. And – apart from in one scene – it appears to be perpetual winter!
Plot Summary:
Widowed Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) is a battle-hardened warrior, loyal to King Charles VI of France (Alex Lawther). He is becoming progressively estranged from his one-time friend Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), a personal favourite of Normandy ruler Pierre d’Alençon (Ben Affleck).
But Carrouges’ lovely new wife Marguerite (Jodie Comer) accuses Le Gris of a terrible crime. But who is telling the truth? Only God can decide, as Carrouges and Le Gris must duel to the death.
Certification:
US: R. UK: 18.
Talent:
Starring: Jodie Comer, Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Ben Affleck.
Directed by: Ridley Scott.
Written by: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener.
“The Last Duel” Review: Positives:
It’s an intriguing script – the first collaboration between Damon and Affleck since their Oscar-winning “Good Will Hunting” from 25 years ago. It presents 3 different versions of “the truth” from three different perspectives. (One of these – Marguerite’s version – is suggested as being the ‘actual’ truth through a clever delayed fade of the chapter title). Many of the same scenes are repeated in each variant: sometimes with obvious differences in fact; sometimes with the slightest nuance of tone or expression; and sometimes with no change to the visuals, but with the benefit of hearing the dialogue being spoken. Very clever.
“Killing Eve”‘s Jodie Comer is just brilliant here. She is the master of nuanced expression, and she genuinely deserves an Oscar nomination for this work. Combined with her great and fun role in the surprise summer hit “Free Guy“, Comer is surely on a path to movie acting greatness.
Damon, Driver and Affleck also have great fun with their roles: they are all eminently watchable and this is a study in acting greatness. But I particularly loved Alex Lawther’s turn as the king: all excitable childish power in the body of a young adult.
Battle scenes and the final duel are delivered in visceral nature reminiscent of Ridley Scott’s famous battle and arena scenes in “Gladiator”.
Excellent production design and special effects on show here. Another Oscar nomination perhaps? The movie was filmed in the Dordogne region of France and also – after a 2020 Covid lockdown – in Ireland.
Negatives:
At two and a half hours it’s another long film (is October 2021 designated long film month??). And although the nuances between the different versions of reality are fascinating, there’s a degree of tedium involved in rehashing the same scenes (in some cases) for the third time. Arguably I think a few of these re-versions could have been omitted to reduce the bladder-testing run time.
Summary Thoughts on “The Last Duel”
This is Ridley Scott back on top form again. I found this a gripping watch. As the film opens, we are teased with the start of the ‘boss level’ duel between Damon and Driver. But these final dramatic scenes are the emotional lynchpin of the movie since only then do you understand the background and the ramifications of the fight.
Evidently, 14th Century France was NOT a great time for sexual equality. Women were merely chattels, denied not only fair play and self-determination, but also the bedroom niceties of foreplay and, in most cases, orgasms. As the story was based on real events, the courage and determination of Marguerite of Carrouges were extraordinary. And Jodie Comer’s portrayal of her wonderfully demonstrates, yet again, why she is the UK’s most exciting acting export for many years.
Plot Summary:
Widowed Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) is a battle-hardened warrior, loyal to King Charles VI of France (Alex Lawther). He is becoming progressively estranged from his one-time friend Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), a personal favourite of Normandy ruler Pierre d’Alençon (Ben Affleck).
But Carrouges’ lovely new wife Marguerite (Jodie Comer) accuses Le Gris of a terrible crime. But who is telling the truth? Only God can decide, as Carrouges and Le Gris must duel to the death.
Certification:
US: R. UK: 18.
Talent:
Starring: Jodie Comer, Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Ben Affleck.
Directed by: Ridley Scott.
Written by: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener.
“The Last Duel” Review: Positives:
It’s an intriguing script – the first collaboration between Damon and Affleck since their Oscar-winning “Good Will Hunting” from 25 years ago. It presents 3 different versions of “the truth” from three different perspectives. (One of these – Marguerite’s version – is suggested as being the ‘actual’ truth through a clever delayed fade of the chapter title). Many of the same scenes are repeated in each variant: sometimes with obvious differences in fact; sometimes with the slightest nuance of tone or expression; and sometimes with no change to the visuals, but with the benefit of hearing the dialogue being spoken. Very clever.
“Killing Eve”‘s Jodie Comer is just brilliant here. She is the master of nuanced expression, and she genuinely deserves an Oscar nomination for this work. Combined with her great and fun role in the surprise summer hit “Free Guy“, Comer is surely on a path to movie acting greatness.
Damon, Driver and Affleck also have great fun with their roles: they are all eminently watchable and this is a study in acting greatness. But I particularly loved Alex Lawther’s turn as the king: all excitable childish power in the body of a young adult.
Battle scenes and the final duel are delivered in visceral nature reminiscent of Ridley Scott’s famous battle and arena scenes in “Gladiator”.
Excellent production design and special effects on show here. Another Oscar nomination perhaps? The movie was filmed in the Dordogne region of France and also – after a 2020 Covid lockdown – in Ireland.
Negatives:
At two and a half hours it’s another long film (is October 2021 designated long film month??). And although the nuances between the different versions of reality are fascinating, there’s a degree of tedium involved in rehashing the same scenes (in some cases) for the third time. Arguably I think a few of these re-versions could have been omitted to reduce the bladder-testing run time.
Summary Thoughts on “The Last Duel”
This is Ridley Scott back on top form again. I found this a gripping watch. As the film opens, we are teased with the start of the ‘boss level’ duel between Damon and Driver. But these final dramatic scenes are the emotional lynchpin of the movie since only then do you understand the background and the ramifications of the fight.
Evidently, 14th Century France was NOT a great time for sexual equality. Women were merely chattels, denied not only fair play and self-determination, but also the bedroom niceties of foreplay and, in most cases, orgasms. As the story was based on real events, the courage and determination of Marguerite of Carrouges were extraordinary. And Jodie Comer’s portrayal of her wonderfully demonstrates, yet again, why she is the UK’s most exciting acting export for many years.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Girls with Sharp Sticks (Girls with Sharp Sticks #1) in Books
Oct 19, 2022
When I read the synopsis of Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young, I was hooked. I love stories about mysterious boarding schools, so I had to read this book! Plus, I had read The Program by Suzanne Young and loved that book. I was not disappointed by this novel.
Philomena aka Mena is one of the beautiful girls. In fact, all the girls at her all girls boarding school are beautiful. They are taught how to behave. They're only allowed salads for food, and their classes focus more on etiquette and how to act in male company. They are all fully obedient until one day something awakens in Mena. She realizes that not all is as it seems at her boarding school. Something sinister is going on, and Mena will do anything to find out to protect her friends.
The plot of Girls with Sharp Sticks has been done before. In fact, much of the plot reminded me so much of the 2018 film Level 16 with a few differences. However, I still really enjoyed the plot. While one of the major plot twists became obvious to me about halfway through the book, there were still a few plot twists that I never would have predicted. Throughout my reading of this book, I felt like I was standing right there in the pages watching everything unfold. Yes, there were some over the top things that happened in the story, but this didn't put me off. I loved that this novel didn't have much romance in it. There is a very light romance though.
I very much enjoyed the creepy boarding school setting with it's very strict teachers (the majority of them male). As this is a series, there is a minor cliff hanger, but I feel like this book can be read without having to read the other books in the series unless you want to know what happens afterwards. You could just read Girls with Sharp Sticks and leave it with the happyish ending though if you really wanted to.
I enjoyed reading about all the characters even the vile ones. Mena certainly was an interesting character with her thought process and how fearless she was. Her curiosity did get her in trouble from time to time, but she persevered to get to the bottom of what was happening at her school in order to protect her friends. Guardian Bose was easy to hate because of how horrible he treated the girls. I just wanted him to go away because he was so mean! I had a love hate relationship with Anton. On one hand, I felt that he cared about the girls in his own way, but I knew he was not to be trusted at all. Jackson had an interesting back story, but after learning his back story, I was left wanting to know more about him. My favorite character throughout the book was Valentine. There was just something about her. In my mind, I had pictured her a a beautiful frail girl, but looks can be deceiving! I was hoping we'd get to read more about her throughout the book than what we did. Valentine was the best part of the book in my opinion.
Trigger warnings for Girls with Sharp Sticks include profanity, blackmail, brainwashing, violence, mentions of sexual assault, and murder.
All in all, Girls with Sharp Sticks is an engrossing read with its interesting character and a plot that will have you cheering on the young women as they try to figure out what's going on at their school. I would definitely recommend Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young to those ages 16+ who are sick of being told what to do by the patriarchy.
Philomena aka Mena is one of the beautiful girls. In fact, all the girls at her all girls boarding school are beautiful. They are taught how to behave. They're only allowed salads for food, and their classes focus more on etiquette and how to act in male company. They are all fully obedient until one day something awakens in Mena. She realizes that not all is as it seems at her boarding school. Something sinister is going on, and Mena will do anything to find out to protect her friends.
The plot of Girls with Sharp Sticks has been done before. In fact, much of the plot reminded me so much of the 2018 film Level 16 with a few differences. However, I still really enjoyed the plot. While one of the major plot twists became obvious to me about halfway through the book, there were still a few plot twists that I never would have predicted. Throughout my reading of this book, I felt like I was standing right there in the pages watching everything unfold. Yes, there were some over the top things that happened in the story, but this didn't put me off. I loved that this novel didn't have much romance in it. There is a very light romance though.
I very much enjoyed the creepy boarding school setting with it's very strict teachers (the majority of them male). As this is a series, there is a minor cliff hanger, but I feel like this book can be read without having to read the other books in the series unless you want to know what happens afterwards. You could just read Girls with Sharp Sticks and leave it with the happyish ending though if you really wanted to.
I enjoyed reading about all the characters even the vile ones. Mena certainly was an interesting character with her thought process and how fearless she was. Her curiosity did get her in trouble from time to time, but she persevered to get to the bottom of what was happening at her school in order to protect her friends. Guardian Bose was easy to hate because of how horrible he treated the girls. I just wanted him to go away because he was so mean! I had a love hate relationship with Anton. On one hand, I felt that he cared about the girls in his own way, but I knew he was not to be trusted at all. Jackson had an interesting back story, but after learning his back story, I was left wanting to know more about him. My favorite character throughout the book was Valentine. There was just something about her. In my mind, I had pictured her a a beautiful frail girl, but looks can be deceiving! I was hoping we'd get to read more about her throughout the book than what we did. Valentine was the best part of the book in my opinion.
Trigger warnings for Girls with Sharp Sticks include profanity, blackmail, brainwashing, violence, mentions of sexual assault, and murder.
All in all, Girls with Sharp Sticks is an engrossing read with its interesting character and a plot that will have you cheering on the young women as they try to figure out what's going on at their school. I would definitely recommend Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young to those ages 16+ who are sick of being told what to do by the patriarchy.