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Title: A Knight's Tale (2001)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Heath Ledger | ... | William Thatcher | |
| Rufus Sewell | ... | Count Adhemar | |
| Shannyn Sossamon | ... | Jocelyn | |
| Paul Bettany | ... | Geoffrey Chaucer | |
| Laura Fraser | ... | Kate | |
| Mark Addy | ... | Roland | |
| Alan Tudyk | ... | Wat | |
| Bérénice Bejo | ... | Christiana (as Berenice Bejo) | |
| Scott Handy | ... | Germaine | |
| James Purefoy | ... | Colville | |
| Leagh Conwell | ... | Young William Thatcher | |
| Christopher Cazenove | ... | John Thatcher | |
| Steven O'Donnell | ... | Simon the Summoner (as Steve O'Donnell) | |
| Jonathan Slinger | ... | Peter the Pardoner | |
| Nick Brimble | ... | Sir Ector | |
Inspired by "The Canterbury Tales," as well as the early life of William Marshall (later First Earl of Pembroke), this is the story of William, a young squire with a gift for jousting. After his master dies suddenly, the squire hits the road with his cohorts Roland and Wat. On the journey, they stumble across an unknown writer, Chaucer. William, lacking a proper pedigree, convinces Chaucer to forge genealogy documents that will pass him off as a knight. With his newly-minted history in hand, the young man sets out to prove himself a worthy knight at the country's jousting competition, and finds romance along the way. Written by Anonymous
This film shows without any quibbling just how bright the star of Heath Ledger was. He is luminous in this; beautiful, funny, physical and engaging. He plays excellently against the stunning Shannyn Sossamon, who fits perfectly into the modern medieval setting of this film. Set in the C14th a man of poor birth but sharp intellect rises through the ranks of page-dom with the desire to become a nobleman for food, fame, glory and love.
An impressive ensemble cast including the superior Paul Bettany (Chaucer - you can see he had fun with this rather exposing (!) role), Rufus Sewell, Mark Addy, Christopher Cazenove, James Purefoy and Alan Tudyk provides a film that is nigh-on flawless for cinematography that is exciting and gripping, the screenplay - the script - is amazing, laugh out loud funny all the way through. It's one of those films which require certain intelligence to get all the asides and witticisms, or numerous viewings to pick up on all of them, otherwise its still a funny and enjoyable film. With something for everyone this film is a joy to watch again and again, it's also attractive visually - many points to the costumers who mixed historical fashion with a modern edgy almost punk twist. Ditto the soundtrack - mixing in modern music was a clever touch, similar to Romeo and Juliet (Baz Luhrmann), and also an interesting look at fame and the cult of celebrity.
A great viewing experience which sometimes even brings a tear to my eye. If you don't enjoy this film, there's something wrong with you. Ignore the haters, it's not supposed to be historically accurate or high-brow! Sometimes a feel-good, comfortable, Disney-esque story arc is just what you want.