Anton Chekhov's The Duel (2011)

Sadly for me, The Duel is a film which looks good on the screen, but unfortunately is a badly directed adaptation of Anton Chekov's fine novella of the same name. The director, Dover Koshashvili, portrays Laevsky, the central character in the novella, as a nasty, brutish lout whose bizarre behavior is as unaccountable to the other characters in the film as it is to the viewer. He has left St. Petersburg for a small town on the Black Sea with another man's wife. He discovers that he does not love this woman, Nadya, and wants to leave her and return to St. Petersburg. He tries to borrow money from a local doctor, who in turn asks a zoologist, Van Koren, for the rubles. Van Koren hates Laevsky and tries to persuade the doctor to convince Laevsky to take Nadya with him when he leaves. When Laevsky comes to ask for the money, he insults the doctor and Van Koren uses this provocation to challenge Laevsky to fight a duel. Those that wish to see this film can discover the outcome of the duel for themselves.

As noted, director Koshashvili's mishandling and misunderstanding of the main character make it difficult for the viewer to make much sense of the story. All the other characters in the film have the same problem as the viewer; they watch Laevsky's antics with some astonishment, not knowing what to make of his behavior, and yet they tolerate him. Almost as confusing and equally unsatisfying is the treatment of Nadya, the woman who has left her husband for Laevsky. The director has little understanding of what motivates her as she interacts with Laevsky and the other characters in the film. In Chekov's novella, Nadya plays a small, but important role. In Koshasvili's film she is a central character and has many scenes unnecessary to the development of the story.

After viewing the movie I went back to Chekov's novella to determine if there was some confusion in his telling of his story and his treatment of his characters. The story, translated by the reliable Constance Garnett, is crystal clear and beautifully told. Laevsky and Nadya are complicated human beings. Chekov is so skillful and great a writer that we slowly begin to understand these truly unhappy and pitiful people. I recommend the novella, not the film.

Any adaptation from a much-loved work of literature is bound to disappoint, or puzzle, on certain levels. Some succeed and some fail miserably. This "interpretation" of Chekhov's novella is faithful, esthetic, respectful perhaps almost too respectful to work as a film on its own, if the viewer has no prior knowledge of Chekhov's often strange and certainly vanished world. I do think this is a successful interpretation of Chekhov's intent, however; it is well-written, well-acted, and immaculately produced, with gorgeous scenery and music, and it renders well the atmosphere of the original. Not a film for anyone expecting "action" from the duel of the title, but certainly rewarding for those who are still looking for a visual poetry from the cinema, or a questioning of the human heart.

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It is a wonderful interpretation of the famous Chekhov's novel with a new approach and deep examination of the novel's main characters. The direction of the film and the photography are second to none. Considering none of the actors were of Russian background their ability to study and recreate that "Russian" soul is really commendable. It felt authentic Russian through and through. It was a real treat. My mother-in-law, an old English lady fell in love with the film. I felt so proud! Definitely recommend buying it and keep on your library shelf for returning back to it again and again and then passing on to your kids. It is worth it.

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Chekhov's THE DUEL, an astounding novella that will change your mind about what a short work of fiction can do, has been faithfully, thoughtfully, affectionately, and intelligently transformed into a movie that has all the wild energy and deep psychological pathos of the original work. Don't miss it. Everything about it is wonderful, the actors, the direction, the setting (shot in Croatia which is stunningly beautiful), and the script. Can't recommend highly enough.

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Thumbs up. If you're an Andrew Scott fan, you'll like this one. (It's so beyond Scott's other roles and he shows himself as a versatile, quality actor in this one. I'm not familiar with Chekhov at all but doesn't matter here. None of the story is obscure as you'd expect from a classic writer. The story was done more like a stage play but most frequently outdoors. More like a series of vignettes with the same characters. The cast did a good job to go with Scott's exceptional acting. The scenery in The Duel was worth watching if just for the sea scenes. I wanted so much to NE there. The costumes were not overwhelmingly period. I am SO glad they used their own British accents instead of trying to do Russian accents. It's worth watching more than once. (Now that Scott's won the BAFTA award, I'm hoping to see him in more movies!)

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