In 2021, The Last Duel quietly slipped through theaters. It had all the ingredients of a major prestige film: Ridley Scott directing, Matt Damon and Adam Driver headlining, Ben Affleck in a striking supporting role, and Jodie Comer delivering a performance of extraordinary restraint and power. And yet, despite the pedigree, it flopped. Many people didn’t even know what it was.
Now, typically when we revisit a film like this, it’s to examine what went wrong with the storytelling — to tighten a plotline, fix a character arc, or reshape a missed opportunity. But in this case, we have no such complaints. The Last Duel is a storytelling triumph. Its structure is bold but effective. Its characters are complex and contradictory in the best way. The themes are heavy, but the emotional execution is razor sharp. There is nothing broken in the script that needs repairing.
And that’s what makes its failure all the more frustrating.
For those who saw it, The Last Duel revealed itself to be not a sword-swinging epic, but something far more intimate, painful, and relevant: a story of a woman forced to risk her life just to speak the truth. It wasn’t about chivalry. It was about Marguerite de Carrouges, a woman who accuses a powerful man, Jacques Le Gris, of rape, and must watch her fate be decided — not by reason, not by testimony, but by a duel between two men. If her husband loses, she burns alive.
The film’s power lies in its structure. Through a Rashomon-style lens, we see the same events unfold three times: first through the eyes of Jean de Carrouges, Marguerite’s husband; then through the perspective of Le Gris, the accused; and finally, from Marguerite herself — the version the film labels, simply and chillingly, “The Truth.” Each perspective strips away another layer of ego and denial. What begins as a tale of male pride and political rivalry becomes a quiet horror story about a woman being suffocated by the silence around her.
And yet, it was titled The Last Duel. A title that, while technically accurate — it was France’s final legally sanctioned trial by combat — completely misses the point. It sells the film as a medieval action piece when, in truth, the duel is not the heart of the story — it’s the violent punctuation on a story about justice denied. The title tells us nothing about the soul of the film. It doesn’t even hint at Marguerite.
Imagine instead if the film had been called The Reckoning of Marguerite. With just those few words, the frame shifts. This is no longer about two men in armor — it’s about a woman confronting the men, the court, and the culture that would rather see her die than admit she might be telling the truth. “Reckoning” suggests judgment — not just legal, but moral. Not just of the men involved, but of an entire world that failed her.
The tragedy is that many never even saw the trailer, let alone the film. In late 2021, theaters were still recovering from the pandemic. Adult audiences — the kind drawn to serious, character-driven drama — were hesitant to return to cinemas. Those who did were being pulled toward big franchise fare with clearer marketing hooks. And when The Last Duel was promoted, it leaned heavily on sword fights, stern-faced knights, and a muted color palette. The subtlety was buried. The emotional urgency never made it into the ads.
It’s not that the film failed because it was flawed. It failed because it was brilliant in a moment that didn’t want brilliance — or didn’t know where to look for it. With a stronger title, better positioning, and a campaign that put Marguerite front and center, it could have reached the audience it was made for.
The Reckoning of Marguerite wouldn’t have changed a single scene. But it might have changed how people saw the film — or whether they saw it at all.
As it stands, The Last Duel is destined to be one of the great underseen dramas of its time. But perhaps, over time, word of mouth will lift it to where it belongs. Perhaps it will find a second life, not as a forgotten historical oddity, but as a razor-sharp examination of power, silence, and the price of being believed.
And maybe one day, when someone recommends it to a friend, they won’t even call it by its original name. They’ll say: “You should watch The Reckoning of Marguerite. It’s one of the best films you’ve never seen.”
Thanks,
Ira
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