“The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”
– Proverb of unclear origin.
In our lives, there are those who are family by DNA and those by relationships. When those who sired us, grew up alongside us, and were supposed to protect us, fail in some measure to live up to what society tells us, the lucky ones have friends to fall back on, those who they call “brother,” “sister,” or some other tender nickname that speaks to their closeness. Thus, when that bond is broken, the hurt is deeper, the wound more fatal, the healing near impossible, as the betrayal comes from someone who we choose to have in our lives, rather than someone we happened to be stuck with. This is the catalyst for first-time directors Luke Spencer Roberts and Justin Matthews in their dark comedy The Duel, a film which demonstrates that pain often only begets more pain, and that there are those willing to prey upon it.
Patrick Warburton as Christof in THE DUEL. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Four best friends — Woody, Colin, Sam, and Kevin (Callan McAuliffe, Dylan Sprouse, Denny Love, and Hart Denton, respectively) — find themselves at a crossroads when Woody learns that Colin has been sleeping with his girlfriend. Thinking himself with no other recourse, he challenges Colin to a duel. Not some facsimile of the notion, but a pistols or sabers at dawn gentlemen’s duel. At first, Colin is reluctant to participate, but when Woody provides ample motivation, the two set about to figure out how to get this done with Sam and Kevin as their seconds. But this is all bluster until Woody brings them to supposed dueling expert Christof (Patrick Warburton) who can give them all the tools and knowledge they need to restore their respective honor. But as things spiral out of control and the now-five find themselves on the luxurious estate of a mysterious benefactor, is there still a way for differences to be settled before blood is drawn?
As crafted by co-writers Roberts and Matthews (Upgraded (2024)), while the betrayal is only one piece of the puzzle of this story, it is the main piece, so that’s where we shall begin. That said, what follows will attempt to keep spoilers to a minimum, even going so far as to not address elements shown in the trailer.
L-R: Callan McAuliffe as Woody and Dylan Sprouse as Colin in THE DUEL. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Beginning and ending with flames, The Duel doesn’t dawdle getting to the conflict. After a brief character introduction, the fighting best friends and their seconds are given moments as pairs (serving as necessary exposition), and then the foursome is brought together with Christof and things really get underway. Smartly, the characters continually point out the absurdity of the situation, identifying the strange escalations, before finally giving themselves away to it all. At first, calling out the strangeness has a little bit of a “this isn’t a movie” feel that undercuts the illusion of cinematic storytelling, but, given what transpires, to not address the odd confluence of events would be even more off-putting. Our central four performers successfully navigate the balance of the grounded and the absurd by matching the energy of the moment, their characters’ own escalations blending with the circumstances the characters find themselves in, thereby providing reactions that are as natural as possible. This matters as the story begins in Venice, California, and then transitions to places elsewhere, requiring that the audience go with it. Here’s the thing, though, The Duel isn’t a rom-com, an action thriller, or a horror film, and at no point do Roberts and Matthews position it as such; rather, by forming their narrative within the confines of a dark comedy, they are able to push the reasonable bounds of their story’s reality in the vein of dark comedy Very Bad Things (1998).
L-R: Hart Denton as Kevin and Denny Love as Sam in THE DUEL. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Oddly, the real meat of The Duel isn’t in the quarrel between Woody and Colin (in which both have made transgressions that are disqualifying as friends, regardless of who did what first), but in the exploration of class. These four are young adults, the little bit of information we’re given via conversation suggesting that at least Woody and Colin have known each other since high school, and these four are well past the standard college-attendance age. None appear particularly well off, their dress and language suggesting middle class both in education and career, though nothing of their respective educations or careers is explicitly discussed. What we do know, though, is that both primary men are shown walking through Venice, passing homeless encampments without batting and eye. What we do know is that it’s Woody’s idea to find an expert duelist so that restitution of honor can be potentially acquired. What we do know is that Christof is in antiquities, his clientele is affluent, and the mysterious Rudolfo (Ronald Guttman) is well-known by the duelist via reputation. One may presume that Roberts and Matthews are utilizing a theatrical trick in storytelling of incorporating a “secret wealthy underbelly” (a source of great laughter in Game Night (2018)), but this feels different and intentional, especially as the narrative plays out. Just like Woody and Colin walk past the encampments, out of no particular stated meaning beyond potential disinterest or lack of use, the four are actually being used by Christof and Rudolfo for their own entertainment purposes. To that end, it makes no difference who lives or who dies, because the people telling the story don’t care as long as blood is spilled. If there’s any kind of major issue with The Duel, it’s that it doesn’t take advantage of this element enough.
María Gabriela de Faría as Aphrodite in THE DUEL. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
As cinematic faire, The Duel is an interesting directorial debut. It provides opportunities for its cast to have their own striking moments, understands the weight of silence and holding on an actor, and that heightened circumstances don’t necessarily mean heightened reality when delicate emotions will do. There’s control and intention on display, even if one must dig to really get what the story is seeks to accomplish. In that vein, The Duel does not satisfy complacent audiences looking for dark hilarity, but, more importantly, it doesn’t successfully kick-off a conversation on the wealthy class’s obsession with outdated rites masked as “gentlemanly rituals.” It shows us the encampments, it rails against the idea of the duel, but it never fully digs into why these concepts are connected due to needing to spend so much time focused on the violently disintegrating friendship. Frankly, you have to really dig in to the film in order to see this thematic concept within the narrative. But what it will do is serve as a keen starting point for where these storytellers may go next.
In theaters July 31st, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Lionsgate The Duel webpage.
Final Score: 2.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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