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Movie Review:
A Knight's Tale
By Neveen Salem 26/05/2001
Cast:
William: Heath Ledger
Count Adhemar: Rufus Sewell
Jocelyn: Shannyn Sossamon
Chaucer: Paul Bettany
Kate: Laura Fraser
Columbia Pictures presents a film written and directed by Brian Helgeland. Running time: 132 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for action violence, some nudity and brief sex-related dialogue).
What if you had disco, rock super group Queen, and the wave in a film set in medieval Europe? Well then, you would have this not so traditional tale of fighting for honor, respect and the hand of a noble woman.
William Thatcher (charismatically portrayed by Australian up-and-comer Heath Ledger of "The Patriot" and "10 Things I Hate About You" fame) is a knights' apprentice who dons his newly deceased boss' armor and enrolls in a tournament so that he, and his faithful companions Roland (Mark Addy, of "Full Monty" fame) and Wat (Alan Tudyk), don't starve to death. The problem? He is a mere commoner. But, who cares?
His first match is won to the throbbing beat of Queen's "We Will Rock You." The kicker? The medieval audience not only knows the words and the proper places to clap, but they actually do the WAVE!!!
William decides to continue the masquerade and the plots turns into the classic social justice message seeking to challenge class distinctions. On the way to another tournament…William has been bitten by the bug, he and his delightfully funny cohorts run into none other than Geoffrey Chaucer himself (played by Paul Bettany...and by far the most entertaining character). In exchange for cloths and some food (confiscated due to gambling debts), Chaucer turns William into Ulrich von Lichtenstein of Gelderland and actually manages to pass him off as nobility.
The jousting scenes were excellently filmed and provided heart-racing excitement that was amusingly kitsch at some points. Strangely enough they resembled a WWF wrestling match.
Count Adhemar, devilishly portrayed by seasoned actor Rufus Sewell, gives von Lichtenstein a run for his money…both in the tournament and in the love story sub plot as they compete for the hand of the punked-out noblewoman Jocelyn. Although she proved to be a good woman, you found yourself rooting for von Lichtenstein to fall in love with feisty blacksmith Kate. But, the director faultily drops her from the equation.
The film focuses on the matches and on the danger that William's bogus persona could be revealed as Ahdemar's patience with the undefeatable hero is stretched to the limit.
Overall, A Knight's Tale is entertaining, light-hearted and will keep you laughing. How could you not love a movie where a medieval knight cuts a rug, John Travolta style to Davis Bowie's "Golden Years?"
The fighting scenes may be a bit too violent for the younger kiddies and Chaucer does show his backside a couple of times. Other than that…go see it.
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