A knight's Tale (2001) is an interesting film. It doesn't have very high reviews from critics, but it does have decent ones from audiences. I can tell you one thing for sure. When this film is on TV, I stop and watch. There has to be something behind that. Let's explore!
⚔️STORY: When his master perishes, a lowly squire assumes his identity to try and achieve glory. Jousting is the way to accomplish this feat.
Heath Ledger went too soon. The dynamic actor gave one of the best performances ever on screen in The Dark Knight (favorite film from the 2000s), and he was in my 10th favorite The Patriot (review here) just the year before A Knight's Tale. You can read the 2000s Films Top Ten article by clicking here. Ledger's performance is respectable as William Thatcher. He portrays the two sides of the character well. We would have seen many more talented performances from Ledger if he were still around.
Something you'll notice right away is the music choices. We all know that Queen's "We Will Rock You" wasn't around in 1372, so why that instead of period music? The point is to make you feel like they would have felt hundreds of years ago. We hear music like that from Queen and others in our football stadiums, so that's the connection. Seeing knights joust would have been exceptionally exciting. The Great Gatsby featuring Leonardo DiCaprio did something similar. People at Jazz swinger parties felt like they were at a rave, so they played rap music.
Other characters are excellent too. Paul Bettany is the spokesman for the group, and he does well hyping up the crowd. The other one to mention is Shannyn Sossamon as Jocelyn. She's our protagonist's love interest. There's a good scene involving her and Ledger as they talk in a church. It's set like a play because it's a one-shot, so they have to do a long take and remember all their lines.
The antagonist, played by Rufus Sewell really makes your blood boil, so good job on that.
All of the jousting stunts are marvelous, and there's a lot of them. Some people say too many but... I'm amused.
I'm not going to say it couldn't be better because it can. However, I watch it all the time. It's worth it. My film rating is A-.
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