Directed by Brian Helgeland
Staring Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany, Laura Fraser, Mark Addy and Alan Tudyk
Released in 2001

My friends, more than one of them, took A Knight’s Tale too seriously. I can still remember the whining I heard from them. About not wasting your time because the rock and roll soundtrack ruins the film. The costumes don’t accurately portray the time period. Folded steel didn’t exist at that time.

I didn’t watch this movie for a year and a half after it came out because of the complaints. Because, at that time, I let my friend’s comments influence what I would go spend money on in the theater. How I have every wished I would have simply told them to shut up.

This movie is an absolute blast of fun and romance. It portrays the jousting as what it was, the major sporting event of the time period. The soundtrack, while completely incorrect for the time period, only adds to the film instead of detracting from it and the costumes, again not perfectly accurate, are stunning, especially the vast array of gowns that Lady Jocelyn (Sossamon) wears through the course of the film. Do not let some period accuracy Nazi talk you out of seeing A Knight’s Tale.

As for the story itself, it has all the elements of fun. Hot leading couple, distasteful and snobbish bad guy, lots of action and a humorous entourage for the leading male… and… a lesson! A simple one, really… that what you most desire from life is not completely beyond your means, that you must somehow change your stars to acquire that desire.

Within the span of the film you’ll meet William (Ledger), a poor thatcher’s son and knight’s squire, who disguises himself as a knight to finish a tournament when his master dies. With him are Wat (Tudyk) and Roland (Addy) who also worked as squires with William’s knight.

Transforming himself into Ulrich von Lichtenstein, William discovers he can actually win some of the events at the tournaments and in the course of traveling from tournament to tournament around Europe he meets Chaucer (Bettany) who becomes his Herald and makes the transformation complete. Another tournament and he meets Lady Jocelyn and Count Adhemar (Sewell) as well as his blacksmith Kate (Fraser). The rivalry between Ulrich and Adhemar for Jocelyn’s attentions is both one of the most dramatic and humorous points of the movie.

Well… that’s about as much as I can give you without completely spoiling the film. I must confess that Chaucer is hands down my favorite character and that there is a wonderful scene at a banquet that blends David Bowie’s Golden Years and a medieval dance seamlessly. A Knight’s Tale is ancient with a modern twist and a good addition to any movie collection.

Rating: