Movie · 2021 · History, Drama, Action, Thriller · 2h 33m · R · English
Curator score: 6.4/10 (550.5K ratings)
The true story of a woman who defied a nation and made history.
Overview
King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire, Jacques Le Gris, by challenging him to a duel.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.4/10
IMDb: 7.3/10
Letterboxd: 3.74/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Metacritic: 67
TMDB: 7.4/10
Director
Ridley Scott
Production
20th Century Studios, Pearl Street Films, Scott Free Productions
Cast
Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck, Harriet Walter, Marton Csokas, Alex Lawther, William Houston, Oliver Cotton, Željko Ivanek, Nathaniel Parker, Tallulah Haddon, Aurélien Lorgnier, Bryony Hannah, Thomas Silberstein, Adam Goodwin, Ian Pirie, Daniel Horn, Michael McElhatton, Sam Hazeldine
Where to watch
Hulu, fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
Curator Review
Verdict
A grim, muscular medieval drama that uses a trial-by-combat premise to expose power, misogyny, and the unreliability of male honor. It’s long and austere, but the structure, performances, and final perspective make it a sharp, memorable watch.
Best for
historical dramas with moral bite
Rashomon-style storytelling
adult viewers who like bleak, serious period pieces
fans of courtroom or accusation narratives
viewers interested in gender politics and power dynamics
Skip if
you want a fast, breezy sword-and-sandals adventure
you dislike repetition or chaptered storytelling
you prefer heroic medieval epics over cynical ones
you’re looking for a light action film
you’re sensitive to sexual violence and coercive power dynamics
Overview
Ridley Scott turns a medieval grievance into a bruising anatomy of ego, status, and violence. The repeated-accounts structure is less a gimmick than the film’s engine: each version reveals how men edit reality to preserve their self-image, while the woman at the center is forced to navigate a system designed to ignore her.
Worth noting
The movie is at its strongest when it leans into institutional cruelty and the absurdity of “honor” as a legal solution to abuse. It can feel heavy and methodical, and the first two sections deliberately replay familiar beats, but that accumulation pays off in the final perspective, which gives the story its moral force.
Bottom line
Performances are a major draw, especially Jodie Comer, who carries the film’s emotional and ethical weight. This is not a crowd-pleasing historical epic; it’s a severe, intelligent one, and the brutality is meant to sting rather than thrill. If you want a prestige period drama with teeth, it lands hard.
Top Letterboxd reviews
matt lynch (4★) · 5701 likes
"How doth ye like yon apples?!"
davidehrlich (3.5★) · 4979 likes
Boston was *wild* in the 1300s.
Taylor Williams (4★) · 4780 likes
The most daring lack of commitment to accents in ages
2000 · Action, Drama, Adventure · 2h 35m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (3.8M ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Kanopy, AMC, Philo
Another Ridley Scott historical spectacle, but with more overt momentum and revenge-driven catharsis.