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Editor’s Note: This story contains mentions of rape.

Marguerite de Carrouges stands over a bloody battlefield watching her husband risk both of their lives for justice. Her fate is completely in their hands, but her stoic face is at the center of it all.

Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel” is a big-budget retelling of a historical event: France’s last sanctioned duel in 1386. The film centers on, among other things, rape. It is also a story about loyalty, marriage and gender in the ruthless medieval France, giving audiences a glimpse into the customs and systems of this period.

The story starts with two squires, Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) and Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) fighting in battle, side by side. Soon, they come into their own conflict, which escalates to the extreme when Carrouges’ wife, Marguerite de Carrouges (Jodie Comer), accuses Le Gris of raping her. The same events unfold from three times through the movie, each from the perspective of these three characters.

“The Last Duel” arrived in theaters after being delayed almost a year due to the pandemic. It grossed $27 million worldwide, an abysmal return for its $100 million budget. These numbers are low even for the pandemic box office, but director Scott did not blame Disney-acquired 20th Century Fox for poor marketing — instead he asserted that millennial audiences were simply not willing to receive his film.

Scott’s holier-than-thou comments were not well-received by many on Twitter, opening up a discourse about why this star-studded historical epic bombed in a relatively good market. The film was publicized as an alternatively structured, feminist-leaning story of sexual assualt.

It is easy to see 83-year-old Scott aggressively defending his mostly male-led film and assume that he has completely missed the feminist mark, and to dismiss the film as another male-directed, male-centric, Bechdel-fail nightmare like writer Andi Zeisler did in this now-deleted tweet. While this assumption is easy, it is reductive and wrong.

Those Twitter critics probably didn’t watch “The Last Duel,” because they haven’t observed the main point of the movie — the structure. The three perspectives contrast Marguerite’s experience with Jacque’s and Jean’s abuse and lies.

Largely ignored in this discourse is Oscar-nominated screenwriter Nicole Holofcener, who wrote the third part of the film, the perspective of Marguerite. The other two perspectives, that of Marguerite’s husband Jean and her rapist Jacques Le Gris, were both co-written by Damon and Ben Affleck.

Although there are three different versions of the truth, one thing remains the same: Marguerite was raped, and her impossible struggle toward justice leaves everyone, even herself, wraught with anger, guilt and regret. Hannah Strong, associate editor of the film magazine Little White Lies, praised the film’s portrayal of this struggle.

“‘The Last Duel’ discourse is exhausting. While the premise alone gave me cause for concern, I thought it was a great film that accurately depicts how f*cking exhausting it is to be a woman attempting to get justice,” Strong tweeted.

The Last Duel discourse is exhausting. While the premise alone gave me cause for concern, I thought it was a great film that accurately depicts how fucking exhausting it is to be a woman attempting to get justice

— hannah strong (@thethirdhan) November 23, 2021

The discourse that followed Scott’s comments is part of a larger conversation questioning sexual assault’s place in film and television altogether. But violence against women does not always have to be a plot device for the male perpetrator.

Feminist author Jessica Valenti addressed this perspective in a tweet in response to an article quoting Scott’s defense of his film. “Or maybe folks are over watching movies about women’s rapes as fodder for men’s stories,” she tweeted.

This thought seems convoluted and oversimplified. A woman’s story can contain horrors that are reminiscent of reality, thus conferring importance to women who have faced that reality.

Or maybe folks are over watching movies about women's rapes as fodder for men's stories ¯\_(ツ)_/¯https://t.co/OHuLhrmDsS

— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) November 22, 2021

It is reasonable for audiences to choose not to watch graphic rape scenes on the big screen, and this could be a large part of the low numbers. This, however, does not make the film problematic, and the same reluctance occurs for many films featuring other horrors — they just aren’t for everyone.

There are absolutely times in film and television where rape and violence against women are gratuitious and only a piece of the male hero’s journey. “The Last Duel,” however, is not one of those films. It was clear, even before the film’s release, that this is Marguerite’s story; most of the not-so-effective marketing materials have Comer’s character front and center.

Marguerite’s perspective comes last as the truth that is finally revealed. This structure, partnered with both the opening and closing images of Marguerite alone, completely centers her in the narrative. She is the altruistic eye watching and present during the men’s every move. Their actions emphasize and illustrate her truth.

There are several parallels in Jean and Le Gris’ behavior that foreshadow their abuse of Marguerite. Most notably, Le Gris’ henious reputation and sexual deviance soon leads him to feeling entitled to Marguerite.

Period films, especially those set in the medieval times, usually feature mistreatment of women, as was the reality of those years. “The Last Duel” is not a made-up story choosing to feature a rape; it is a historic retelling, and this is an important distinction.

Marguerite has extraordinary agency and Comer’s performance is the highlight. The titular duel is the film’s climax. There are many scenes just between Driver and Damon’s characters, but they are never truly leading. Overall, it does not feel like a story about the men’s rivalry — it is about injustice against Marguerite, and it is cathartic to watch her prevail.

Published on December 6, 2021 at 12:12 am