Review by aractos-890-607133

--The introductory chapter of The Last Duel felt long and boorish, with some gratuitous violence. I wanted to like this movie, I wanted a title with an interesting cast and director to work. There haven't been enough traditional movies lately I feel, they've been drowned out by colourful pop pieces. The first chapter did not bode well at all. But then the movie really starts.

--The second chapter significantly shifts the tone of the movie and it becomes clear that we are actually experiencing its story through multiple, unreliable narrators, and the violent, crude and boorish first chapter was an illustration of its narrator rather than flawed directing. The movie recalls the same events through three different viewpoints, all of which tell us something about their narrator, reminiscent of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon from 1950. It is hard to tell just how much detail went into creating such distinct experiences for its three chapters, and how much was circumstances retroactively appearing as genius design, but the end result is excellent.

--Without spoiling too much, I hope the audience of this movie will be patient with it and attentive. There are many nice details and divergences in the stories told that need to be noticed for the full experience. When I saw news articles which implied Ridley Scott blamed the short attention spans of today's audiences for this movie's poor box office performance, I laughed and thought he might be turning into an old grumpy man who is stuck in his ways, something that to an extent we all have to look forward to. But Mr Scott was onto something. This movie may be a bit too slow for today's audiences. It may also stand the test of time though. The actors performances, the beautiful direction and ultimately compelling story are well worth watching it.