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A Knight's Tale

Movie A Knight's Tale Director Brian Helgeland Producer Tim Van Rellim, Cast Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Mark Addy

By Ad-Lib What would happen if Hollywood was invaded by a bunch of directors from Bollywood? Well the result could be many more movies like A Knight`s Tale! Starring the talents of the handsome young Heath Ledger, Mark Addy and Alan Tudyk, this flick is set in medieval times with the emphasis on courage, dreams and achieving those dreams. It all starts off when William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) a poor wanderer and his friends Roland (Mark Addy) and Wat(Alan Tudyk), decide to make a quick buck by impersonating a dead knight who died in a joust. William wins the joust and the prize but he wants more. He wants to be a Knight and joust as Knights do. So after pooling their resources and a bit of training, they head for a competition where William will try his luck with the professionals. On the way they meet a writer (and very able PR person) Geoff Chaucer (Paul Bettany) who has a gambling problem. They use his talents to establish a line of nobility for William as only those of noble birth can take part. So in the new garb of Sir Ulrich Von Lichtenstein of Gelderland they sign up for the games. William sees maiden Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon) and is smitten. But in comes the villain Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell) who is also in contention for the heart of Jocelyn. William fails his first shot at defeating Adhemar but meets blacksmith Kate (Laura Fraser) who for later championships develops special armour for him. Many rounds of jousting take place in different kingdoms and Sir Ulrich becomes famous for his wins much to the anger of Adhemar. In Bordeaux however, Jocelyn asks Sir Ulrich to lose the joust to prove his love. He does and still wins the joust after Jocelyn asks him to win for her as well. Here memories of William’s past come back to him in the image of his father who sent him off as the only way a little William could be a Knight was to be in the company of Nobles. When the championships reach London, Sir Ulrich makes a trip to his now blind father, but is noticed by Adhemar and is revealed as a commoner. He is arrested but is later set free by Edward the Black Prince (James Purefoy) who knows firsthand about the noble nature of William. He is publicly Knighted and sent as Sir William to joust Adhemar. A Knight`s Tale is a good movie but the parallels to Bollywood are just too conspicuous and now that I have said so, that`s exactly what you`ll focus on. Performances of established comedian Mark Addy and Alan Tudyk are superb. Very British indeed. Paul Bettany is also a character who stands out with his outlandish speeches, poetry and general loudness. Direction doesn`t seem to have been a very tough job for Brian Helgeland (i.e. Not too intellecutually taxing). The movie slows down at every romantic moment so you might have to bring your pillows along and the joust sequences though thrilling make you want to catch both Knight`s lances and speed it up. Overall it’s a long movie but very tolerable and good Saturday night viewing for all the family. I would rate this movie a 6 out of 10.