With throwbacks to the ALIEN, ALIENS and ALIEN3 movies, featuring facehuggers, trackers, the Xenomorph and female protagonist, this new trailer for ALIEN: ROMULUS, made for the die hard fans dropped today. There are winks and nods to all the original movies.
The all-new sci-hi/horror-thriller from producer Ridley Scott and director/writer Fede Alvarez opens exclusively in theaters nationwide August 16, 2024.
ALIEN: ROMULUS takes the phenomenally successful “Alien” franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
Check out this past weekend’s interview with the director at Monsterpalooza. Alvarez said: “I want to believe in the canon of this movie is like gospel. I played “Alien: Isolation” and its what made me want to make this movie. I played 10 years ago. I was playing the game and I think we felt like ALIEN wasn’t that scary anymore. In playing the game and being terrified, I was like, this is can be actually terrifying and that’s when my mind start going like, oh man, someone give me a chance to make this movie, so definitely playing the game many times, I thought how do you reproduce the atmosphere? You hire these guys, you hire the people that worked on them.” He went onto say, “I tried to get everybody that was involved in those movies to get them back and also channel my own emotions of how I felt when I watched that and what what will create the same emotion today.”
The film stars Cailee Spaeny (“Civil War”), David Jonsson (“Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy”), Archie Renaux (“Shadow and Bone”), Isabela Merced (“The Last of Us”), Spike Fearn (“Aftersun”), Aileen Wu. Fede Alvarez (“Evil Dead,” “Don’t Breathe”) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (“Don’t Breathe 2”) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett.
ALIEN: ROMULUS is produced by Ridley Scott (“Napoleon”), who directed the original “Alien” and produced and directed the series’ entries “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant,” Michael Pruss (“Boston Strangler”), and Walter Hill (“Alien”), with Fede Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (“Charlie’s Angels”), Brent O’Connor (“Bullet Train”), and Tom Moran (“Unstoppable”) serving as executive producers.
If you’ve been reading this site for awhile, you know we celebrate “Alien Day” ever since it’s inception a few years ago.
Alien Day was created by a Sci-Fi subculture of people who wanted to honor not only the Alien film series. The first “unofficial” Alien Day was celebrated in the spring of 2015 by a group of folks in Brooklyn, New York, USA
The setting for ALIENS took place on LV-426 (the name of the moon where the xenomorphs are discovered in the 1979 film). Sci-Fi fans embraced it and made it the official day to celebrate every year.
In celebration of the 45th anniversary of Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi/horror masterpiece “Alien,” the film will return to theaters for a limited time starting on April 26.
Tickets are now available for purchase at Fandango or wherever tickets are sold. Be sure to check out the unique homage poster, TV spot, and preview of an exclusive conversation between Ridley Scott and Fede Alvarez, the director/writer of the upcoming theatrical release “Alien: Romulus,” which will appear on prints of “Alien” in theaters April 26.
One of the most influential sci-fi/horror films of all time, “Alien,” which was released in June 1979 and won an Oscar® for best visual effects, stars Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto. It is the terrifying tale of a crew aboard a commercial spacecraft that lands on an alien planet to investigate a mysterious transmission of unknown origin and encounters the deadliest lifeform in the universe. “Alien” is directed by Ridley Scot, with a screenplay by Dan O’Bannon and a story by Ronald Shusett, and the producers are Gordon Carroll, David Giler, and Walter Hill.
“Alien,” the iconic film that launched the phenomenally successful “Alien” franchise, has spawned successful products in various ancillary markets, including comic books, video games, novels, merchandise, and an active social presence. Fans can celebrate Alien Day and the fan-favorite “Alien” franchise with exciting products across collectibles, books, apparel, and more!
20th Century Studios’ “Alien: Romulus,” a truly terrifying cinematic experience from producer Ridley Scott and director/writer Fede Alvarez, opens in theaters nationwide August 16, 2024.
Check out their recent conversation.
The sci-fi/horror-thriller takes the phenomenally successful “Alien” franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
The film stars Cailee Spaeny (“Priscilla”), David Jonsson (“Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy”), Archie Renaux (“Shadow and Bone”), Isabela Merced (“The Last of Us”), Spike Fearn (“Aftersun”), Aileen Wu. Fede Alvarez (“Evil Dead,” “Don’t Breathe”) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (“Don’t Breathe 2”) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett.
The end-of-the-year awards contenders naturally include several biographical films, usually, they’re intimate tales of triumph and tragedy, such as NYAD and the upcoming MAESTRO. This holiday offering has that crossed with another genre, namely that it’s also a big sweeping historical epic. Fitting, since its subject made a huge impact on the entire world two centuries ago. In the director’s chair is a filmmaker known for such big, broad sagas, though he’s done several smaller dramas. And he’s comfortable setting his films in the far distant past and the far distant future. Here he’s flexing his considerable skills as he reunites with a former acting collaborator to tell the spectacular story of NAPOLEON.
It doesn’t begin with the title subject’s childhood, instead taking us right into France’s “Reign of Terror”, just in time for a royal appointment with “the blade”. Soon after, Lucien Bonaparte (Matthew Needham) encourages brother Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix) to take command of the military forces and protect those now in power from the gathering angry mobs of citizens. From Paris, Napoleon, now artillery commander, is sent far away to end the British blockade of the ports at Toulon. After that violent battle, he returns to France where the son of a naval officer killed in the Revolution pleads for the return of the family sword. Breaking protocol, Napoleon personally returned the weapon to the lad’s home where he becomes enamored of the widowed mother Josephine (Vanessa Kirby), Napoleon courts and weds her while gaining more political and military power as he leads the forces of France in victories across the globe, even triumphing in Egypt. Eventually, he takes over the reins of royalty in his homeland, crowning himself Emporer of France with Josephine as his queen. Their marriage proves to be quite turbulent as she cannot bear him a male heir. This leads to a divorce, a remarriage to a much younger foreign royal, and a disastrous campaign in wintery Russia. Soon Napoleon is banished to the island of Elba, but homesickness prompts a return home and an effort to resume his conquests after earning the loyalty of his army. But this all may be dashed by the plans of the Duke of Wellington (Rupert Everett) as he makes a final stand at Waterloo.
Bringing his off-beat acting stylings to the title role, Phoenix makes several unexpected performance choices. This makes for an odd juxtaposition with the grand spectacles of the historical recreations. Perhaps this is an effort to make the story more contemporary for multiplex audiences, but it serves to distance us from the iconic military mastermind. With his hesitant line reading and guttural grumblings, Phoenix feels more suited to recent roles like JOKER and BEAU IS AFRAID than this leader who somehow inspires troops to rejoin him after exile. Perhaps his performance is meant to comment on the recent resurgence of arrogant thugs in positions of power, but we never get inside his head. Unfortunately, one of the screen’s most interesting actresses is given little to do, other than react to his cruelty. Ms. Kirby has given us superb performances in both “indies” and blockbusters, but here she was left to be “lady in waiting” and relegated to “broken breeder”, usually with a dead-eyed grimace as “her king” goes about his “business”. One of the film’s unexpected pleasures is the return of Everett as the haughty but determined Duke who barks out commands with a sneer as though having to “put down” the French “mongell” were a distasteful chore.
Oh, the previously mentioned filmmaker is none other than the esteemed Ridley Scott, who seems to be almost “returning to his roots” with this story’s setting harkening back to his first feature from 1977 THE DUELLISTS. Perhaps that’s why the sweeping battle scenes have so much energy, plunging us dangerously close to the warriors as they dodge bullets and cannonballs (the early equine carnage may haunt you). Those bloody battlefields are effectively grim and grimy, as the cavalry attempts to dodge the cadavers that litter the countryside. And there’s an effective use of extreme locations, from the sands of Egypt to Russia’s frozen tundra (an ill-timed December surge). But then there are the long stretches between campaigns as we must bear witness to the convoluted political chaos (there are some needed ID titles for the principals) and the bickering Bonapartes which devolves into one of the most ridiculous sequences at a fancy state banquet. Napoleon’s loud public complaints over Josephine’s infertility dengerates into a clumsy “food fight”.There’s never a sense of passion between them aside from his jealousy over his “possession”. It’s not helped when major historical incidents are glossed over and even discarded. Josephine’s matchmaker son vanishes, and we never hear the fate of Napoleon’s son by his second marriage. Perhaps they’ll be seen in Scott’s proposed four-hour-plus “cut” for AppleTV+. After slogging through this 158 minute mishmash of a film that’s so uneven, it’s tough to be interested in a chance of more clunky palace verbal sparring. It seems that the biggest battle is between Scott and the “all over the place” script that proves to be the true Waterloo for NAPOLEON.
Here’s your first look at the brand new trailer for Ridley Scott’s NAPOLEON starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby.
For Scott, reuniting with Phoenix for the first time since Gladiator was an immense pleasure. “He’s the only actor where we talk for weeks beforehand, just chatting and arguing in an office over aspects of the character. At the end, we are on the same page,” says Scott. “He’s good for me, because he keeps me honest, and I’m good for him, because I keep him in line. Physically, he’s perfect for the role – some of his facial features are strikingly similar to Napoleon’s.”
Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise of the iconic Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar®-winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.
Columbia Pictures and Apple Original Films present, a Scott Free production, a Ridley Scott film, Napoleon. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby. Directed by Ridley Scott. Written by David Scarpa. Produced by Ridley Scott, Kevin J. Walsh, Mark Huffam, and Joaquin Phoenix. The executive producers are Raymond Kirk, Aidan Elliott, and Michael Pruss. The director of photography is Dariusz Wolski, ASC. The production designer is Arthur Max. Edited by Claire Simpson and Sam Restivo. The costume designers are Janty Yates and Dave Crossman.
For the score of the film, Scott enlisted British composer Martin Phipps for their first collaboration.
NAPOLEON has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content and brief language. The film will be released exclusively in theaters globally on November 22, 2023, before streaming globally on Apple TV+.
Napoleon (JOAQUIN PHOENIX, center) looks onto the battlefield in Apple Original Films and Columbia Pictures theatrical release of NAPOLEON. Photo by: Aidan Monaghan
Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix are back together for the upcoming film NAPOLEON. The two worked together on the 2000 Oscar-winning Best Picture GLADIATOR, with Russell Crowe.
Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar®-winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.
Here’s a look at the first trailer.
In April Apple Original Films announced that the historical action epic would first be released exclusively in theaters worldwide, in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, on Wednesday, November 22, before streaming globally on Apple TV+.
Directed by Scott from a screenplay by David Scarpa, “Napoleon” stars Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor and military leader. The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby. The film captures Napoleon’s famous battles, relentless ambition and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary. An Apple Studios production in conjunction with Scott Free Productions, “Napoleon” is produced by Scott, Kevin Walsh, Mark Huffam and Phoenix, with Michael Pruss and Aidan Elliott serving as executive producers.
Apple Original Films announced today that the epic historical drama “Napoleon” from acclaimed director Ridley Scott will first be released exclusively in theaters worldwide, in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, on Wednesday, November 22, before streaming globally on Apple TV+.
Directed by Scott from a screenplay by David Scarpa, “Napoleon” stars Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor and military leader. The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby. The film captures Napoleon’s famous battles, relentless ambition and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary. An Apple Studios production in conjunction with Scott Free Productions, “Napoleon” is produced by Scott, Kevin Walsh, Mark Huffam and Phoenix, with Michael Pruss and Aidan Elliott serving as executive producers.
Momentum around the Apple Original Films slate continues to grow since the debut of Apple TV+ just over three years ago. In addition to Apple making history as the first streaming service to land the Academy Award for Best Picture with “CODA,” Apple Original Film “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” also recently earned the Academy Award for Best Animated Short. “Napoleon” will premiere alongside upcoming Apple Original Films including the broadly praised “Tetris,” which stars Taron Egerton and recently held its world premiere at SXSW; acclaimed documentary “STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie”; feature documentary and Sundance selection “Underrated: Stephen Curry”; “Ghosted,” a high-concept romantic action adventure film starring Chris Evans and Ana de Armas; “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the upcoming film starring Academy Award winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, as well as newcomer Lily Gladstone, from Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese; the star-studded spy thriller “Argylle,” with Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose and Samuel L. Jackson, and more.
Sony Pictures’ distinct commitment to exclusive theatrical windows has driven significant box office returns including that of hit films “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” “Uncharted,” “Where the Crawdads Sing,” “Bullet Train,” “The Woman King,” and “A Man Called Otto.”
(Pictured): Cailee Spaeny. Photo by Dani Brubaker.
20th Century Studios’ new “Alien” film starring Cailee Spaeny (“Mare of Easttown”) will begin production in Budapest on March 9. Joining Spaeny in the cast are David Jonsson (“Industry”), Archie Renaux (“Shadow and Bone”), Isabela Merced (“Rosaline”), Spike Fearn (“The Batman”) and Aileen Wu (“Away from Home”).
In this ninth entry in the immensely popular and enduring film series, a group of young people on a distant world find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
(Pictured): Aileen Wu. Photo by Wolf Marloh.
Fede Alvarez (“Evil Dead,” “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” “Don’t Breathe”) directs from a screenplay he wrote with his frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues.
Ridley Scott, who directed the original “Alien” and produced and directed the series’ entries “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant,” and Michael Pruss (“Boston Strangler” upcoming) are producing under their Scott Free banner, with Brent O’Connor (“Bullet Train”), Elizabeth Cantillon (“Persuasion”) and Tom Moran (“The Donut King”) serving as executive producers.
Director Ridley Scott on the set of ALIEN: COVENANT
Scott Free Productions, formed in 1995, is the film and television production vehicle of acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott. The company is responsible for some of the most successful films ever made – including “Top Gun,” “Gladiator,” “Blade Runner,” “Alien,” “American Gangster,” “Thelma and Louise,” “Black Hawk Down,” “Man on Fire” and “Days of Thunder.”
Isabela Merced. Photo by Cibelle Levi
(Pictured): Spike Fearn. Photo by Ruth Crafer.(Pictured): Archie Renaux. Photo by Joseph Sinclair.(Pictured): David Jonsson. Photo by Joe Quigg.
HOUSE OF GUCCI is based on a true story, one filled with wealth, power, ambition, family, tradition, high fashion, and murder, a story that plays like Italian opera, equal parts tragedy and farce. Ridley Scott directs, and the lush production stars Adam Driver, Lady Gaga, Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Jared Leto.
Filled with gorgeous period clothes and cars, lovely sets and locations, mostly in Milan, and fine photography, HOUSE OF GUCCI delivers visual delights and jet-set style in this story that runs from the ’70s to the ’90s. The raw story material of a grand operatic epic is there too, but somehow HOUSE OF GUCCI never achieves epic levels, although it does make for a pretty good true crime thriller, set in a posh world of wealth and Italian fashion, with a satiric bent. HOUSE OF GUCCI was adapted from Sara Gay Forden’s non-fiction bestseller by writers Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna. It is one of those story that would leave audiences skeptical if it weren’t true.
Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), the pretty young daughter of the owner of small trucking company, meets Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) at a party, when she mistakes him for the bartender. As soon as she hears his name, she is taken with the shy scion of the famous fashion house. Maurizio is similarly dazzled, calling her Elizabeth Taylor rather than her name. Although he is too shy to ask her out, the resourceful Patrizia finds a way through Maurizio’s armor. Although Patrizia is definitely working-class, little educated and working as a secretary for her father, while Maurizio is a scholarly law student who is not much interested in his family’s fashion business, she adds a spark of fun his life lacks. It’s love, and soon he is willing to defy his coldly aristocratic father Rodolfo Gucci (Jeremy Irons), who thinks Patricia is both low-class and a gold-digger. Dad’s not entirely wrong but his son marries her anyway, despite threats of being cut off.
Patrizia’s father (Vincent Riotta) gives the now-homeless student a job, and the pair find happiness in a little apartment. For a while the film unfolds along this path, a sexy romantic comedy, with the couple enjoying an idyll in a small apartment, Maurizio ironing his own shirts and horse-playing with co-workers.
Patrizia does her best to charm her way into the Gucci family, by building bridges. Making little headway with her chilly father-in-law, she finds a pathway with Maurizio’s uncle Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino), who shares running the family firm with his brother Rodolfo. While Rodolfo is aristocratically aloof, Aldo is warm and charming, inviting the couple to visit him in New York, and treating Patrizia to a shopping spree in the family store. He seems as much to want to befriend his niece-in-law as much she wants to be accepted as part of the Gucci family, although Aldo has his reasons for that.
Aldo invites the couple to family gathering where Patrizia meets the extended Gucci family, a sequence that is a delight of over-the-top characters and comic misadventures. Chief among those characters is Uncle Aldo’s son Paolo Gucci (an unrecognizable Jared Leto with facial prosthetics), a chubby, balding, loudly-dressed klutz who fancies himself a fashion designer. As his father puts it, more than once, “Paolo’s an idiot but he’s my idiot.”
Then this fun, romantic comedy romp gives way to something darker, a twisty crime thriller with family intrigue, drama, back-stabbing and finally murder. When Patrizia marries in, the Gucci business is very much a family business handed down through generations, a well-oiled machine with its own internal rules. Patrizia becomes the wrench in those works, sparking events that never would have happened otherwise, with consequences no one could foresee.
HOUSE OF GUCCI is certainly an entertaining film, particularly fun in the more comic earlier part. But as the film becomes darker, it stumbles a bit with that turn, with the various parts sometimes failing to mesh. At a running time of over two hours, all those moving parts need to work together for it to step up from good film to the great film it could have been.
Ridley Scott gives us actors speaking English with Italian-ish accents, set in a glorious Milan straight out of old movies. This rather tongue-in-cheek approach will amuse some audiences and irritate (or maybe even offend) others. There is a strong farcical element to the first portion, so the shift to crime thriller and tragedy almost feels like you are watching a different movie, although the satiric undercurrent is still there. Audiences might also be divided on Lady Gaga’s performance, feeling she is the best thing in the film, or the weakest link in the more problematic second part, although she is perfect in the first.
The cast is stellar, if the casting is a bit puzzling at times. Adam Driver nicely plays the awkward, shy Maurizio with a firm reserve. By contrast, Lady Gaga is splendid to start as Patrizia, a broadly-drawn character more out of “Good Fellas” than anything else, whose grammar is not great and whose cultural knowledge is seriously lacking. But she is certainly fun, as she tells Maurizio when they first meet. Plus, Gaga and Driver have an unexpected mismatch chemistry together.
Jeremy Irons is at his chilly best as Rodolfo Gucci, a cold fish who can barely manage any affection for the son he claims to adore, while living in the past with memories of his late wife and long-ago movie career. In contrast, Al Pacino as his brother is the complete opposite personality, all affection and family warmth, using charm to get what he wants. The brothers are on opposite ends of the business spectrum as well, with the New York-based Aldo eager to embrace branding and coffee mugs with the logo, while Rodolfo is about tradition and dignity for the Gucci brand.
Rodolfo relies on lawyer and advisor Domencio De Sole (Jack Huston, who has his own interesting pedigree with grandfather John Huston), who is almost family although not a Gucci. At some point, Patrizia picks up her own trusted advisor, a fortune teller, Pina Auriemma, played by Salma Hayek, although the advice is mostly ego-stroking, a fateful choice.
Where the trouble for the movie, as well as for the Gucci family, comes in is when the film takes it’s darker turn, from fun and farce to thriller and tragedy. What happens blends ambition, greed and murder, in a stranger-than-fiction true story. If you don’t know the history, it is better to just wait and watch it unfold on screen. However, whether the script that is at fault or something else, Patricia’s character seems to undergo changes that do not fit well with what went before, which seems to muddy the film as it makes this shift.
All the over-the-top events of this story, both tragic and absurd, are matched with some over-the-top performances, particularly Jared Leto. All that suggests Ridley Scott intended this film as satire. It partly succeeds as in that, as a grand, operatic one at that, although the second, tragic part feels less focused.
HOUSE OF GUCCI is an entertaining, engrossing film that mixes crime thriller with farce. While it is a good film, an enjoyable film, one can’t help but feel it could have been more. All the elements were there for a great film, starting with the true story. It just didn’t get there, although it is still worth the ticket price. HOUSE OF GUCCI opens Wednesday, Nov. 24, in theaters.
“The truth does not matter, there is only the power of men.”
Matt Damon and Jodie Comer seen on set of the Last Duel in Ireland. 30 Sep 2020 Pictured: Matt Damon and Jodie Cromer. Photo credit: MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342
20th Century Studios’ The Last Duel Arrives on Digital November 30and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD December 14
20th Century Studios’ historical epic, The Last Duel, unravels the true story about France’s last sanctioned duel. Directed by the critically acclaimed Ridley Scott, the film stars Jodie Comer and Adam Driver as well as Academy Award® winners Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Certified-Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes™, The Last Duel will be available on Digital November 30 and on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD December 14.
Jodie Comer is spellbinding in this tale of betrayal and vengeance set in 14th century France from visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott. Based on actual events, the film stars Matt Damon and Adam Driver as friends Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris, two knights who must fight to the death after de Carrouges’s wife (Comer) accuses Le Gris of assault.
20thCentury Studios’The Last DuelBonus Features*
The Making of The Last Duel – With the documentary “The Making of The Last Duel,” get unprecedented access to renowned director Ridley Scott as he collaborates with the cast and crew to make critical decisions about location, cinematography and performances.
Now, here’s some “end of the year” old-school Hollywood spectacle-blockbuster “award fodder”. It takes place over 600 years ago, a true-life medieval tale set in “days of old, when knights were bold”. And it turns out those armored warriors were a lot like folks today (as Us magazine loves to say, “Stars, they’re just like us”…sure). There are issues at the heart of this story that still resonate, even dominating the current debates and elections. Yes, this has lots of swordplay, but inflated egos fuel the flames of deadly combat. And the end result is helmed by a director known for historical epics like GLADIATOR (hey, his first film way back in 1977 was THE DUELLISTS), though many forget they he also was behind the camera on THELMA AND LOUISE. Add a trio of screenwriters which includes actors, directors, and producers and you’ve got a most interesting mix for the epic yet intimate THE LAST DUEL.
The “inspired by true events” tale begins in late 1300s France, mere moments before the big showdown between Sir Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and Jacques de Gris (Adam Driver). As their aides assist them in donning their battle amour, countless spectators, including the royalty, line the long jousting field, as hundreds crowd around, many climbing the walls, of the massive venue. The scene shifts abruptly as the title chapter heading takes us back several years for Sir Jean’s version of the lead-up to this day. He and Jacques once fought side by side on the battlefield, pledging their loyalty and service to a member of the court of King Charles VI, Count Pierre (Ben Affleck). Later Jean returns to his family home, a castle crushed by weighty debts. He gets a visit from Jacques, who is now a tax collector for Pierre, and is warned of the hefty amount owed in back taxes. This reminds Jean that he has no heirs as his wife and only son passed away years ago. A visit to the disgraced Tribouville estate (Sir Robert had collaborated with enemies of the crown) prompts Jean to inquire about the family’s lovely single daughter, Marguerite (Jodie Comer). Eager to erase his tarnished name, Robert agrees to Jean’s marriage proposal and provides several prime pieces of land as a dowry. But it’s not long after the wedding that Jacques claims some of the property in lieu of back taxes. This drives a wedge between the old friends, as Jean even files a lawsuit. When that fails, Jean tries to mend fences by attending a festival in honor of Count Pierre. It’s there that Jacques meets and becomes somewhat smitten with Marguerite. His ardor leads to the incident that instigates their “fight to the death”. The film has two other chapter titles, with the events told from the perspective of both Jacques and Marguerite before the fateful clash of honor between the two former friends.
The power of the film is greatly bolstered by the talented cast of screen vets and a very promising newcomer. Regarding the actors, it may be best to start with the duo at the center of the title duel. Damon is quite compelling as the brusque, often boastful knight Jean, proudly trimming his beard to accent his jagged facial battle scar. He thinks of himself as a noble warrior for his country, though his plans for glory are hindered by his ego that’s paired with an obstinant streak. Away from battle, he rules his castle with an iron glove, showing little passion for his bride outside of the bed chambers (which is his own battlefield of thwarted procreation). As his BFF turned foe, Driver as Jacque is also a fearsome fighter, though he’s more dangerous out of the armor. He juggles many plots and schemes as he presents a different face to everyone. Driver gets a chance to display his comic skills as he joins the royal court debauchery with zeal while insulting all that dare to join him. And Driver certainly returns to “the dark side” in the different views of the “incident”. That scene is compelling and horrific thanks to the splendid performance by the aforementioned newcomer (a critical favorite in the lead on TV with “Killing Eve”, she made the leap to the movies with the very recent FREE GUY) Comer. She’s neither wilted victim nor “damsel in distress” as Marguerite, but rather a woman rebelling against the norms of the age. After enduring a passion-free marriage, her spirit is energized by the chance to manage the estate (she enjoys doing the books and getting her hands dirty). When the”event’ occurs she’s determined to stand up to those who would consider her “property”. Though she watches from the sidelines, Comer’s eyes and body language tell us that she’s right there in the thick of the fight. And though we see little of him in the “Jean chapter”, Affleck shines in one the year’s great supporting performances as the endearingly arrogant and lecherous Pierre. He steals nearly all of his scenes, whether reading prose to a belittled pack of dinner guests or as he tops off the evening with a naked multi-partnered bedroom romp (while his very pregnant wife sleeps next door). With his blonde hair, Affleck is the campiest “Queen B”. Rounding out the cast is Harriet Walter as the toxic mother-in-law of Marguerite.
Yes, this is the latest work from veteran filmmaker Ridley Scott (he’s now in his fifth decade behind the camera), who teams again with Damon (THE MARTIAN) for a riveting big screen (really try and catch it on the biggest one possible) entertainment with a most contemporary message (don’t be put off, thinking it’s too “woke”). Of course he’s got an excellent “map’ in the form of the screenplay adaptation (from the book by Eric Jager) by Damon, Affleck (their first collaboration since the Oscar-winning GOOD WILL HUNTING), and Nicole Holofcener (celebrated writer/director of ENOUGH SAID). It was a wise move to get such a team since the film hinges on three distinct interpretations of the “insult”. It’s amazing that a 1300s story can relate so well to the current climate, as middle-aged and elderly (often white) men make ludicrous declarations concerning the female reproductive system. Plus we get to see exchanges through the eyes of a “predator” who can’t fathom the idea of rejection from a woman. It’s incisive and smart, while never insisting that either of the duellists is wholly good (one is perhaps greatly delusional). We’re getting a lot more than a “gritter” take on the kings and knights epic. Oh but, the duel itself is more than worth the build-up, making us wince in pain as we try to avert our eyes (it’s not just about knocking you off your steed) to the brutality. Every artist excels in recreating the time period, from make-up to art direction to costume design. Plus the story really comes to life thanks to the subtle scoring of Harry Gregson-Williams, the cinematography of Darlusz Wolski, and the superb editing of Claire Simpson. Everything and everyone truly works at the top of their skills to make the medieval but very relevant THE LAST DUEL one of this year’s best films.
4 Out 4
THE LAST DUEL is now playing in theatres everywhere
