The Last Duel, set in 1386, from acclaimed director Ridley Scott is about one of the final Trails by Combat in France to determine the guilt or innocence of a criminal defendant.

Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) challenged and fought his former friend and comrade in arms Jacques Le Gris (Adman Driver) when Jacques denied the charge brought forth by Jean’s wife Marguerite (Jodie Comer) that Jacques had raped her.

The film is structured in three chapters, The Truth according to Jean, The Truth according to Jacques, and the Truth according to Marguerite making the script and film very similar to the Japanese classic Rashomon where a samurai and his wife are attacked in a forest by a bandit, the wife raped and the samurai murdered but the events as recounted from four points of view vary widely in their details with objective truth being obscured by each narrator’s ego and subjectivity. Unlike Rashomon, The Last Duel privileges one account as objectively true while leaving the other two as biased betraying the intent of Rashomon’s device and reducing the film to a mere criminal narrative.

That said The Last Duel is an enjoyable film to watch. Scott is one of the most talented directors working today and none of the cast merely walk through their parts, though in my opinion Jodie Comer is leagues ahead of her costars. While have the least amount of narrative drive, Marguerite’s choices do not drive the plot and her absence from all battle and most of the court political scenes mean we are never treated to an objective version of those events, Comer’s choices as an actor make plain her character’s pain and suffering in a world dominated by violent, cruel, and selfish men.

Dariusz Wolki’s cinematography is stark and cold reflecting a medieval setting that shuns the romantic depictions often found in period adventure movies for one the presents that period as one of ugly dirty squalor where even nobles live far less appealing lives than ours today. The combat presented in the warfare and duel scenes is nasty and hard with Scott disfavoring flamboyant theatrical combat for a more grounded approach of men fighting hard for their lives.

The Last Duel while not Scott’s best work is far from his worst and is worth seeing particularly in theaters should your personal vaccinations and community spread allow it.