Named thusly because two of the leads quarreling throughout the movie, mostly with Matt Damon’s De Carrouges instigating and Adam Driver’s Le Gris retaliating. So, the culmination is of course this big fight to the death in an unnecessary show of their masculinity. Even Jodie Comer’s character Marguerite, wife of De Carrouges points this out: it didn’t need to be done this way, but Jean’s pride and I believe his desire to blot out Le Gris, his nemesis, meant more to him than his wife. Margueritte never wants to blot out Le gris. She merely wants justice.
I think each man represented the spectrum of toxic manhood that can exist in this setting. Each man sees himself as a hero in his retelling while Marguerite sees them as brutish in his own unique way. A medieval Chad and Nice Guy squire if you will. We get their three perspectives. I never saw Rashomon before. My introduction to this storytelling device was through The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. So yes, I have endurance. I can sit through 3 full-fledged movies told from different perspectives (although the inclusion of Chastain, McAvoy, and Hader helped) and I got what the movie was trying to convey. It is an interesting portrayal of a woman's plight to maintain humanity in an inhumane society. Everything about it betrays your expectations. There isn’t much dueling to be had. And I mean sure we all expected a rape, but the presentation was unique both times. It’s presented as a story about two men’s bitter feud, but it really focuses on the woman who is just a pawn thrust in the middle of it.
It’s like the inverse of the Godless Netflix series controversy. A show presented as a female western utopia that really focuses on the feud between two male outlaws who were nearby. But I digress. I just felt very meh about this movie despite all the great themes I’ve deciphered. I can’t really articulate why. It’s not the accents. (Marie Antoinette is one of my favorite films) I found myself wondering if this would work better as a stage play or perhaps if they didn’t play it straight. Though the performances were fine, especially Jodie Comer who got to show off her polyglot skills, I found myself wishing that I was watching whatever movie Alex Lawther was in instead (He played an eccentric and underutilized King Charles VI). His mannerisms brought unexpected humor that I think could’ve done the film good if it just leaned into it.
Hear me out. The subject matter is truly grim but the tone to me seems self-aggrandizing as well and too austere for its own good. I know men and women even those you love and are close to can be complicit in rape culture. Especially in medieval France. And I know its release during this reckoning moment is an indictment against the sort of subdued treatment against women that persists. Especially in Hollywood. But it still rings kind of hollow for me. Or at least, not novel. And I think I love good satire that does these things more than a drama. Something like Galavant but more politically conscious. Hell, Measure for Measure is considered a comedy despite Isabella being propositioned by Lord Angelo against her will…But you know, that’s just one millennials’ opinion.
