First up is Jean, who bravely saves Jacques’s life only to be betrayed when his erstwhile friend uses his influence with Count Pierre d’Alençon (Affleck) to purloin Jean’s land and inheritance, and thence to “feloniously and carnally take my wife”, for which Jean demands duelling redress. From here we spiral back to the Battle of Limoges, thrice revisiting events leading up to the titular duel, recounting “the truth according to” each teller. We open in Paris in 1386, with shots of Marguerite de Carrouges (Jodie Comer) being ritually dressed in black as her husband, Jean (Matt Damon), and his opponent, Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), are laced into chainmail and armour. Intriguingly, screenwriting duties have been divided across the film’s central characters, with co-stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (who won an Oscar for their Good Will Hunting script) handling the male versions of this story while Nicole Holofcener lends “my perspective as a female” to bring a “different voice” to the table. Inspired by author Eric Jager’s 2004 account of France’s last officially recognised judicial duel, in which God was trusted to pick the righteous winner, it’s effectively a medieval rape-revenge drama told in three chapters from three different perspectives, all leading up to one blood-soaked battle. R idley Scott’s latest epic plays like an armour-clad reimagining of Rashomon crossed with a #MeToo-inflected remake of Straw Dogs.
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