A grim, intelligently structured medieval drama that turns a duel into a study of power, memory, and misogyny. It’s long and sometimes deliberately repetitive, but the Rashomon-style perspective shifts and Jodie Comer’s performance give it real force.
The Last Duel
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · History · Drama
Wed · 2h 33m
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer
Overview
King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire, Jacques Le Gris, by challenging him to a duel.
Director
Ridley Scott
Cast
Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer
Curator Review
Verdict
A grim, intelligently structured medieval drama that turns a duel into a study of power, memory, and misogyny. It’s long and sometimes deliberately repetitive, but the Rashomon-style perspective shifts and Jodie Comer’s performance give it real force.
Best for
historical dramas with adult themes
films about injustice and gendered power
viewers who like layered, chaptered storytelling
fans of brutal, grounded medieval action
Skip if
you want a fast-paced sword-and-sandal adventure
you’re allergic to repetition or a long runtime
you prefer lighter historical epics
you need a cleanly heroic lead
Overview
Ridley Scott stages this as a hard, unsentimental medieval courtroom tragedy, where honor culture is exposed as a thin excuse for male vanity and violence. The three-part structure is the film’s sharpest idea: each retelling reveals not just what happened, but how men edit reality to protect themselves.
Worth noting
The action is sparse but punishing, and when the duel finally arrives it feels earned rather than ornamental. Matt Damon and Adam Driver are effective as competing versions of entitlement and grievance, but Jodie Comer is the film’s center of gravity; the movie becomes much stronger whenever it lets her perspective break through the noise.
Bottom line
It’s not flawless. The middle can feel dutiful, and the film’s thesis is sometimes stated more bluntly than it needs to be. Still, it’s a serious, muscular historical drama with real bite, and one of Scott’s more compelling late-career works.
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Themes
medieval justice, sexual violence, patriarchy, honor culture, memory and perspective, revenge, power and property, truth and testimony
Topics
historical drama, medieval, Rashomon structure, revenge, patriarchy, sexual violence, courtroom conflict, grim tone, epic scale, period action