Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2021: Ben Affleck in The Last Duel

Ben Affleck did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for a SAG award for the wrong performance, for portraying Count Pierre d'Alençon in The Last Duel.

The Last Duel is a fantastic film by Ridley Scott that depicts the final officially sanctioned duel in France which resulted from the rape of Sir Jean Carrouges's (Matt Damon) wife Marguerite (Jodie Comer) by Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver). 

While the film is brilliantly presented through the three different perspectives of the principals involved with the crime, Ben Affleck isn't really part of that whole structure, because as the saying goes "once a frat bro, always a frat bro". Ben Affleck seems atypical casting for a historical piece of this ilk, though he acquitted himself well enough in his previous foray via a supporting role in Shakespeare in Love. Affleck does so again, as once more in crafting one's presence in a historical piece it often isn't about being strictly accurate to reality rather feeling natural in the film's reality. Affleck doesn't fashion an English accent, or a French accent that would be far more accurate, he takes the same technique as former all American leads in a film about French duelists, Scott's other fantastic film about duels The Duellists, of Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine, it is rather by the reduction the stronger Americaness of his natural voice. A technique that wholly works honestly and Affleck as much as he isn't the first you'd think of for the material, he ends up fitting right into the world that Scott creates, though in his own way. Affleck after all doesn't play one of the people, or even one the knights working hard to maintain their castle and lands via war-craft, he rather is one of the few people who just gets to enjoy life being a Lord who simply waits for others to bring him money and more power. 

As mentioned before Affleck is a consistency in the stories in terms of who Pierre is, however how much we see of him changes substantially. Affleck's appearances in the first recounting, which is Jean's, are brief but terrific in the passive dismissiveness of his performance towards his off-screen friend in Matt Damon. Every time Jean enters a room Affleck does this perfect near eye roll, like, "oh he's this guy again". His delivery of "closer" when Jean is pledging his loyalty is with the pitch perfect complete disregard for whatever the man may be presenting to him. In Jean's version you get one thing clear, that Pierre thinks very little of him and Affleck accentuates that wonderfully well. Affleck really takes much closer to center stage when we see Jacques's version of the tale, which where we got a straight forward story of the noble hero, an epic of old with Jean, in Jacques we get more of the modern Game of Thrones style take where there's more than little bit of debauchery required. Affleck's Pierre is right at home in this version of the tale where his role is its most substantial, and I think essential in terms of his placement in the film. Being a tale as it is, in a time as it is, it is difficult to find too much levity, thankfully Affleck provides just that by offering us a medieval frat boy for the ages. 

Affleck is terrific in his first substantial scene by in a way playing the part so differently from the far more serious turns of the rest of the cast. Affleck doesn't over do it, but he has just the right amount of fun with it, fittingly as one of the few people at the time who seemingly was allowed to have fun within a horrible system. Affleck in the scene is arguing against any defense of Jean's failures as a commander to Jacques, who actually wants to defend the man, which Affleck doesn't accentuate based on seemingly any reasonable loss rather based on just how boring Jean is. Affleck is less passionate about losing land and is more so as he speaks of his low view of Jean in every regard, showing a man who the one thing he really can't stand is someone as dour as Jean. This emphasized all the more as Affleck puts as much passion into his brief moment afterwards as he questions Jacques about his shoe options, something obviously as important to Pierre as anything else might be. This moment is quickly topped as we see Pierre as the Lord at a dinner party and is a hilarious lout. Affleck so pompously speaking Latin words as this great thinker, though said with all the cunning of a lecher reading a salacious novel. This particular obsession seemingly only shared as much by Jacques, and Affleck's reactions show that Pierre's favoritism towards Jacques comes more than anything just is on his same frat bro wavelength. That of the man who likes to present himself as a great thinker, but he only greatly thinks about one thing, how to get laid.  

Affleck provides the right comic relief at the right time by showing a man wholly interested in just his vices and showing the mutual companionship with Jacques that comes from just that mutual fixation. Affleck is hilarious by showing that anything other than that, is to him a bit of an inconvenience. When speaking of his business interests Affleck's delivery is rambling, mumbling, something Pierre barely likes to even talk about even when he must. I especially love his moment over overseeing his sons on some hunting expedition, with Affleck just so passively looking on and putting in the barest effort as he praises his son. Especially love his moment of hesitation and near double take when having a second thought on whether he got his second son's name right or not. A wonderful scene for Affleck is when Jacques comes to Pierre with concern that Jean is suing him over a property dispute, while Pierre is naturally in the middle of an orgy. Affleck throughout the moment is great by showing the sleaziest smile on his face as he just wants Jacques to stop moping and join in on some debauchery already. Affleck's reactions in the moment are great as though he's just barely listening and just bemused by the whole situation of the lawsuit. His reaction of it not even as inconvenience, completely summing himself up as a man who always gets what he wants. His moment of "fixing" the situation by simply giving Jacques even more power, with this phony grand gesture, as a quick fix of the man, who really just wants to get back to the sex already. 

We also get a few more moments with Jean and Affleck is again delightful by being as broadly as dismissive as he can be towards Jean. What I really love though is Affleck's reaction each time is with this certain boredom and disbelief as though saying "oh look it's the bore again". Affleck's terrific by playing every moment as just barely being offended rather almost just amused by how angry and to him boring Jean is at every point. His delivery of pointing out Jean's poor strategy to build favor is with this casual manner of "you serious dude, this isn't the way to get ahead with me". Affleck's greatest scene actually though isn't overly comic, though there is kind of a humorous undertone within Affleck's own performance, where Jacques and Pierre discuss the rape charge against Jacques. Affleck is a little quieter emphasizing that even within Pierre he knows the charge is something serious and not even something he can bring his usual blitheness to. Affleck's delivery is fantastic in the scene because he is able to say it with his hesitation as though Pierre is hoping that it can be dismissed immediately as nonsense, yet there's kind of a slight unease that it won't be. When Jacques admits to it, but as something he claims is consensual, Affleck's reaction is flawless as though he's saying "dude, come on, it's me". When Jacques basically admits to it, again Affleck's reaction is great by saying it without saying it as "really dude, why?". Affleck doesn't quite make Pierre any less than despicable still, but I do love that he shows that even Pierre isn't fooled by Jacques's claims, even if he will help cover it for him. The cover up which Affleck plays as Pierre in a way at his most formal as he states the charge as a rumor and just something that should be ignored, which he believes it will be if it falls only on his authority. Unfortunately when Jean circumvents Pierre by going straight to the King for appeal, Affleck's performance is pure gold in the intensity of his anger and the perfection of his exasperated delivery of "cuuuunt" referring to Jean, showing the man's frustrations knowing that now the charge will not be going away anytime soon nor his troubles. Affleck again is limited in Marguerite's telling, though we do get him watching the final duel from the stands, where I do adore Affleck's investment in the entire affair, and especially his final reaction of "oh man, he was my dude" when things don't go his way. Despite what some organizations will tell you, which should've been defunct before they were even funct, Ben Affleck delivers a great performance here. He finds his place within the style of the film, but finds just the right variation to offer a perfect breath of fresh air within its proceedings, even if probably smells of wine...among other things.