A Knight's Tale

A Knight’s Tale 2001

• Director: Brian Helgeland
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Shannon Sossamon, Paul Bettany, Laura Fraser, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Bérénice Bejo, Christopher Casanove
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Heath Ledger – The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Dark Knight, I’m Not There, Casanova, Brokeback Mountain, The Brother’s Grimm, Ned Kelly, The Monster’s Ball, 10 Things I Hate about You
• Rufus Sewell – The Tourist, Pillars of the Earth, The Holiday, Amazing Grace, Paris je t’aime, The Taming of the Shrew Re-told, Hamlet, Cold Comfort Farm, Middlemarch
• Shannon Sossamon – The Holiday
• Paul Bettany – Legend, Mortdecai, Transcendence, The Tourist, Creation, The Young Victoria, Dogville, A Beautiful Mind,
• Laura Fraser – Breaking Bad, Titus, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith, Neverwhere
• Mark Addy – Doctor Who, Robin Hood, The Full Monty
• Alan Tudyk – Rogue One, Maze Runner the Scorch Trials, Serenity, Firefly, 28 Days
• Bérénice Bejo – The Artist
• Why? Enjoyed it the first time
• Seen:  Once before. Now 30 June 2019 

       Peasant William (Ledger) is brought by fate onto the back of a horse in a dead man’s armour to take part in a joust, (strictly forbidden to anyone not of noble birth) to the tune of ‘We Will Rock You.’

       You get the picture.

       What a romp. Glory, riches and fair damsel don’t come easy, but they do come (that’s not much of a spoiler, is it?)

       Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer, Sewell as a suave villain lord, a few class and gender digs, a lot of nonsense and some good rock music with Bowie, Thin Lizzie et al, what more could one ask for?

       If you’re a scholar of medieval times and regard The Seventh Seal as a masterpiece, you might consider this frivolous. Well, I am a scholar of medieval times and I regard The Seventh Seal as a masterpiece (the only film by Ingmar Bergman that’s remotely watchable) and of course it’s frivolous!

       And?

       It’s a sweet tale. Good old Chaucer. Any similarities are purely coincidental. 

3 * of 5