A Knight’s Tale is a 2001 action romance film that puts a spin on the classic story of chivalry in old time England with a twist.
THE STORY: In 14th-century Europe, three men discover their jousting master has died in the middle of competition, but one of them, William Thatcher (Heath Ledger), desperate for a chance, decides to conceal his identity and put on the armor. He wins and the men think they might have a chance for glory, but the problem is he is not nobility, a requirement of the tournaments. To get past that, they enlist an equally down-on-his luck writer (Paul Bettany) into their fold, who forges the proper documents, and soon enough, the team are on a wining streak with William, now known as Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein from Gelderland falling in love with a noblewoman named Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon) and getting an enemy in Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell). Can he win the day … and her heart?
Director: Brian Helgeland
Writer: Brian Helgeland
Stars: Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell
THE RUNDOWN: Hardly taking itself seriously – the film peppered with classic rock songs – A Knight’s Tale is a silly but rousing adventure filled with fun characters and plenty of horseback action. Led by a terrific, star-making turn from Ledger, this is a story-book fairytale with a shallow and contrived plot entirely lifted by a ton of charisma and some inspired direction from Brian Helgeland. Taking a few cues from Gladiator, this is nonetheless well worth a watch, its goofy gusto just the thing for an entertaining night at the movies. Plus Alan Tudyk is just plain funny.
A fun and action-filled romance, this is made all the better by some great performances.
Pretty predictable and contrived, some might not get past the modern rock songs that seem way out of place.
THAT MOMENT: What would you do for love? It’s a question many films have taken to answering, or heck, at least trying to. For William Thatcher, it’s ride a horse with a long stick. Yeah, it’s a wee bit more complicated than that, but once he sees the lovely Jocelyn in the stands, it’s all he can do to try and win her attention. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much – he looking like Heath Ledger probably not hurting his cause – as she immediately shows some interest as he’s pretty good darned with a lance. Of course, there’s the evil Adhemar throwing wrenches in the works, his eye on her as a prize, making him William’s personal target, but come on, this is the movies. We all know where it’s going. Comeuppance, baby.
Under the false noble name of Ulrich, William and his team, including Roland (Mark Addy), Wat (Tudyk), Geoffrey (Bettany), and blacksmith Kate (Laura Fraser), begin a streak of victories that earn Ulrich a huge fanbase, but more importantly, the admiration of Jocelyn. She agrees to spend the evening at a banquet with him and over a dance (featuring David Bowie‘s Golden Years … awesome) become close. However, despite the obvious attraction, she is no novice when it comes to the affections of knights, several of whom have tried to squeeze a bit of romance from her with promises of victory. Yawn. To make sure Ulrich is on the up and up, truly in love with her, she has a plan to have him offer proof of his own. He must lose.
WHY IT MATTERS: One of the best things about A Knight’s Tale is how it sticks to some historical truths while simply having fun with the premise. There’s this really great moment early on when William is in a montage of sword-fights, earning credits to joust, and Helgeland brilliantly uses it as a spoof of boxing movies of all things, with contestants in a ring going at it and being sent to corners with their crews acting like trainers. Wat even does this bit where he throws water at William’s face, as seen in Rocky films. It’s fantastic.
I also love how Kate is never a love interest. She’s just a girl blacksmith, and while there’s a brief bit about her needing to prove she’s just as good as her male counterparts, it quickly sticks to her just being what she is, and never once having her fall for William or being the one he’s meant to be with. It’s super refreshing.
Either way, this moment when Jocelyn decides to test William’s love is especially well done, with the two of them starting in St. Vitus Cathedral, the stained-glass windows in the background offering the only light. What’s cool is how Helgeland films them from a short distance, before close up, the pair at opposite sides of the screen as they move like side-scrolling characters in a video game across and back on the set. Notice the people in the background as well, positioned to emphasize their movement and dialogue, with a priest eventually coming in to quiet Jocelyn, who angrily chastised him for picking only on her and not William. Way to go, girl.
The whole scene has a playfulness to it with a stage-play mentality, one of the few interior shots in the film (obviously green-screened) that has a bit of old school romantic banter. What we get from her is also the real twist, she telling him that if he wants her, if he really loves her, then he must do what he vowed not to do, lose. And lose it all. This is a smart twist. So many movies have victory be the hurdle for winning the girl’s heart and yet here, she flips that right around as all knights in her world swear they will win for her. Screw that. The real test is giving it up.
Naturally, William hesitates, and tells her he cannot lose, but of course, once out in the arena, seeing her in the stands, he relents and instead of riding in competition, allows himself to be struck repeatedly by his opponent. Shocked and slack-jawed in disbelief, his friends beg him to explain what he is doing? “Losing” he says. It’s the funniest line in the movie.
This is of course, just what we want from William, to see that it takes sacrifice to earn not just love, but trust. To this point, he’s been an unstoppable hero, his antics well beyond impressive, his exceptional skills giving him nowhere to go. By forcing him to literally put down his joust and take the blows, he’s suddenly different to the audience, a bit vulnerable but more importantly, honest, a guy who recognizes what it means to give up what they only think is important for something that is much, much more so.
A Knight’s Tale understands entirely what it wants to be, Helgeland perhaps inviting criticism in the name of entertainment, interested only in putting together a fun and breezy romance with bold, colorful characters and high adventure. While the film hardly challenges, it is nonetheless an earnest effort, featuring classic archetypes in a highly energized story with good old-fashioned romance. With a smartly-written demand from a beautiful woman upon a handsome knight looking to earn her love as the movie’s highlight, this is a sure thing. It’s a great movie moment.