Anton Chekhov's The Duel (2010)
Anton Chekhov's The Duel Photos
Movie Info
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Cast
as Laevsky
as Nadya
as Von Koren
as Samoylenko
as Marya
as Deacon
as Sheshkovsky
as Sheshkovsky
as Olga
as Atchmianov
as Postal Superintendent
as Atchmianov Senior
as Ustimovitch
as Kirilin
as Officer 1
as Officer 2
as Clerk
as Mustapha
as Fyodor
as Shopkeep
as Govorosky
as Boyko
as Ilyana
as Ilyana's Mother
as Katya
as Woman with Baby
as Woman with Baby
as Dmitri
as Nikodim
as Lady with Lapdog
as Promenading Family
as Promenading Family
as Promenading Family
as Promenading Family
as Tatar Horseman/Mountaineer
as Kerbalay
as Blind Masseuse
as Organ Grinder
as Organ Grinder
as Lovely Young Woman
as Lovely Young Woman
as Stevedore
Critic Reviews for Anton Chekhov's The Duel
All Critics (37) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (30) | Rotten (7)
You want bite. But the movie's teeth are locked behind the dramatic equivalent of a retainer.
Much of what is spelled out in the book is artfully condensed for the film, which was shot in Croatia and is pretty enough to double as a tourist lure.
It somehow isn't as exciting as a duel over a woman should be. If you're not well rested before entering the theater, it could put you under.
Chekhov's stories and plays often vibrate in that zone where comedy and tragedy are indistinguishable. And so it is with this movie.
If you see this movie, it will give you more pleasure and more to think about than any of the more popular entries currently out there.
The setting of the title event is spectacular, and the photography is wonderful. In places the movie seems as lazy as Laevsky. But Chekhov's story provides a lot to chew on.
Audience Reviews for Anton Chekhov's The Duel
An aristocrat who questions his relationship with a married woman incites the ire of a scientist in the Russian countryside. Everything worth loving about Chekhov - the subtlety, the well-drawn characters, the crises of conscience - is here and filmed beautifully. I especially liked the performance by Andrew Scott as Vanya who performs a scene that is described in the script as "hysterics," but I think the best phrase is an "existential paroxysm." The Duel is a film built on subtext, and it takes a sharp, discerning eye to appreciate why the characters behave as they do, each action sharply motivated. I thought that the subplot of Vanya's financial difficulties was never resolved, but I suspect that an apologia for this film would suggest that larger existential issues over-weighed money; it's true, but a commitment to solving all his problems would not have been hard to show. Overall, Anton Chekhov is one of world literature's great writers, and The Duel displays all the great aspects of his work.
Super Reviewer
A Russian tale that takes a fleeting look at the human condition, accomplished with smart production values, as a dissolute clerk and a fastidious budding scientist disagree about life itself and how it should be lived. Of course there is a confused woman between them. Not bad at all.
Super Reviewer
As Laevsky(Andrew Scott, of "Sherlock") confides to his friend Samoylenko(Niall Buggy), he no longer loves his lover Nadia(Fiona Glascott), a spendthrift. What truly frightens Laevsky is that he has a letter in his possession that tells him that Nadia's husband is now dead, of which she is unaware. And once she is aware, it is a one way trip to the altar. For this and other reasons, Von Koren(Tobias Menzies) does not like Laevsky, feeling that in his day affairs were conducted entirely in private. Plus, Laevsky outdoes himself when it comes to sloth and indolence. With its deliberate pace and excellent cinematography, "The Duel" is an evocative movie that bottles one point in time, allowing us to observe it at our leisure. But then time is never entirely static as the people along with the social mores of the era are evolving however slowly. Also this serves as a valuable reminder that lovers and spouses are two separate categories of people but that does not mean they cannot be loved in the same ways. And who knew a movie based on a work by Anton Chekhov could be so darn sexy?
Super Reviewer
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