The Last Duel: Matt Damon and Nicole Holofcener on Using the Rashomon Storytelling Device

With Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel opening in theaters this weekend, I recently got to speak with Matt Damon and Nicole Holofcener about making the fantastic movie. Written by Damon, Holofcener, and Ben Affleck, The Last Duel is based on the true story of France’s last sanctioned duel. The film follows the story of Jean de Carrouges (Damon) and Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), two friends who ultimately become bitter rivals after Carrouges’ wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer), is attacked by Le Gris; when she accuses Le Gris in public, Carrouges steps forward to defend his wife’s honor against his friend via trial by combat, a fight that will only be resolved in death. Ben Affleck plays Pierre d’Alençon, who is friends with Jacques Le Gris and has little respect for Jean de Carrouges. During the interview, Damon and Holofcener talk about why they wanted to use the Rashomon storytelling device where we see three different perspectives of the same events, how women were property when The Last Du