It’s one thing to make birthday videos on a yacht and to unfollow your former fiancé on Instagram. It’s another to appear on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival for your (old) new beau’s film premiere.
Yet this is exactly what Jennifer Lopez did on Friday night, clutching Ben Affleck’s hand, while wearing, as reported by the Associated Press, enormous Cartier diamonds and a white dress designed by Georges Hobeika. Affleck spiffed-up with a tux from Dolce & Gabbana. (You can—and should—scroll through a dazzling gallery here.)
The extremely public, warp speed resurgence of Affleck and Lopez has gone from low-key visits in late April following their respective break-ups to Ana de Armas and Alex Rodriguez, to sources saying they were ready to spend the “rest of their lives together,” then Ben checking out rings at Tiffany and Co. (Here is a timeline of it all, if you need a refresher.) If nothing else, it makes for some great gala premiere looks.
Earlier, the red carpet at this year’s Venice fest was the location of what may end up being the best short film of the year, an as-of-yet-untitled work of art in which Oscar Isaac kisses Jessica Chastain’s arm. Between that and the return of Bennifer 2.0, it’s clear which venue now holds title to the world’s center stage.
The Last Duel, which Affleck co-wrote with Nicole Holofcener and his ol’ chum Matt Damon, was directed by Ridley Scott, and co-stars Affleck, Damon, Adam Driver, and Jodie Comer. It is based on a true account from 14th-century France, in which two friends fight to the death following a rape accusation.
Reviews out of the gate have been mixed, with Indiewire calling it “an intelligent and genuinely daring big budget melee,” but with The Guardian waving it away as “Medieval #MeToo.” Screen International and Variety were somewhere in between, the latter calling the 152-minute film an “intriguing but overcooked medieval soap opera.”
The film will be out in U.S. theaters on October 15.
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