The Last Duel (2021 film)

The Last Duel
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRidley Scott
Written by
Based onThe Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France
by Eric Jager
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDariusz Wolski
Edited byClaire Simpson
Music byHarry Gregson-Williams[1]
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Studios
Release dates
  • September 10, 2021 (2021-09-10) (Venice)
  • October 15, 2021 (2021-10-15) (United Kingdom and United States)
Running time
153 minutes[2]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100 million[3]
Box office$30.6 million[4][5]

The Last Duel is a 2021 historical drama film[6] directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon, based on the 2004 book The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager. Set in medieval France, the film stars Damon as Jean de Carrouges, a knight who challenges his former friend, squire Jacques le Gris (Adam Driver), to a judicial duel after Jean's wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer), accuses Jacques of raping her. The events leading up to the duel are divided into three distinct chapters, reflecting the contradictory perspectives of the three main characters. Affleck also stars in a supporting role as Count Pierre d'Alençon.

An adaptation of Jager's book was first announced in 2015, though it was not officially greenlit until July 2019. Affleck and Damon were confirmed as stars and co-writers that month, with Comer and Driver joining the cast later that year. Filming took place in France and Ireland from February to October 2020, with a hiatus of several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Last Duel premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 10, 2021, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 15, 2021, by 20th Century Studios. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and was selected by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2021. Although the film performed poorly at the worldwide box office, it later found financial success in post-theatrical markets.[7][8]

  1. ^ "Harry Gregson-Williams to Score Ridley Scott's 'The Last Duel' | Film Music Reporter". December 15, 2020. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  2. ^ "The Last Duel". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on October 15, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Variety-BO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "The Last Duel (2021)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "The Last Duel (2021)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  6. ^ "The Last Duel movie review & film summary (2021)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021. Nevertheless, while "The Last Duel" may be a partial model of mindfulness, it still obeys the requirements of the period action drama.
  7. ^ "A Highly-Rated Matt Damon Flop is a Hit on Streaming". January 23, 2022.
  8. ^ "'The Last Duel' gets reappraised after people actually watch it". December 31, 2021.