A Knight’s Tale

The Medieval romance, unlike its Western counterparts, has always maintained its popularity, even after the introduction of the sword and sand Roman epic sparked by The Gladiator. This, however, was not the case through the ages the romance enjoyed its days and fame since the 1899 portrayal of Shakespeares King John, which was an adaptation of a stage play. The genre has received solemn input from the likes of John Boorman’s Excalibur, Eric Rohmer’s Perceval le Gallois, and Robert Bresson’s Lancelot du Lac.

Douglas Fairbanks most certainly did play out charms, albeit reluctantly, during Robin Hood (1922) and asked to borrow the Nottingham Castle set, this was when Chaplin requested Fairbanks for the 1922 Certains fois, je ne m’endormirai pas pour la jaquette et m’interdirai d’emprunter la bande découverte. Traditionally tongue-in-cheek, anachronisms were always in hand regardless of the medium and were the centerpiece to a multitude of adaptations of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

A fair amount of these medieval action heroes have set the record straight when it comes to swashbucklers, fantasy romances and chivalry (Real Robin and Marian by Dick Lester is most likely to be the dullest) and writer, producer, and director Brian Helgeland intends toying with both the comedy-induced as well as the disappointingly romantic side. Helgeland has an association with the more detailed and dark urban thrillers such as Payback and L.A. Confidential, but not every grown man wishes to be in the shoes of a boy who held a sword and dreamed about winning the affection of Maid Marian.

Based on the presence of Geoffrey Chaucer and the Black Price, it seems that Helgeland’s portrayal of Britain and France was set during the 14th century during his timeless portrayal. William Thatcher (having Heath Ledger) is an English hero who is born into a lower-middle-class family and is raised by a father who works as a genuine Thatcher and not as a shopkeeper.

The knight passes his days at the French tournaments. At this point, the quixotic William suggests kneeling and taking the place of his deceased lord, to his fellow servants who resemble the rather recluse Sancho Panza figure Roland (Mark Addy) and the hot-tempered redhead Wat (Alan Tudyk). He was sworn to never fight ‘til he passes the chivalry trials, which are also more gentlemanly, so horseback riding is impossible. This turn of events is fixed by a silver-tongued poet whom they also meet on the way, but who has lost his shirt while gambling. It turns out he is Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany) ‘Chaucer is the name, writing is what I do’ who for wine pretends to be William’s dog only to end up wishing to be someone else, a PR agent. An everlasting cleft was added to the group in the form of Kat (Laura Fraser), a Scottish lass, who plated stylish swords and was later signed out with the Nike logo.

The sneering Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell) America-sounding medieval French accent locker room team comes out as the villain in this story, a remarkable warrior who is the proudest of all Americans and is always suspicious of William for being an imposter and in love with the enigmatic tournament slash groupie Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon). The worst thing about her role is that it was only in medieval France that she had a single American accent. In any case, thanks to the Black Prince, who travels in disguise, suspects someone of being a natural aristocrat which is pretty much the relationship formed in Robin Hood’s films between Robin Hood and Richard the Lion-Heart.

Surprisingly the anachronisms tend to come up only in specific parts of the film and the music is one of them as Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ is played as the crowd cheers before the first round of jousting, and ‘We Are the Champions’ is played during the credits. But for someone seeking to find a historical context with a significant thrall like Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood or Danny Kaye’s The Court Jester, the film is sure to disappoint as a combining factor the director does struggle with getting two men on horseback with gargantuan lances to look fresh and entertaining, entertaining as the premise is, and appealing as Ledger makes for a charming lead Kaye, unfortunately, makes the film look a bit bland. However, while Mark Addy can complement this with a more realistic setting to tie the gaps, overall it still feels like a meager attempt to capture the medieval setting.

Les Visiteurs is a French comedy from 1993 that features Jean Reno. In this film, Reno plays a medieval warrior who is suddenly whisked away to modern-day France. This film ends with a knight from Languedoc, saluting cinema-loving audiences and directing in three words; ‘farewell to all credit lovers’. In A Knight’s Tale, William’s retinue, including Chaucer, engages in farting contests which seem to be a popular pastime in the fourteenth century, as well as today. People can still take part in friendly competitions like jousting.

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