A knight's Tale film review

certificate_PG

A KNIGHT'S TALE

Taking risks should be encouraged. Without them the world would be a dull place. However, the inherent nature of risk taking is that it can fail and when it does the consequences can often be dire. A Knight's Tale is a case in point. Director and writer Brian Helgeland's idea to create a post-modern medieval melodrama with a contemporary soundtrack might have worked. I don't know how, but then I'm not a director. The sad thing is, based on this evidence, Helgeland doesn't know how either.

From the early moment showing a crowd at a jousting tournament clapping along with Queen's We Will Rock You it was obvious that things had already gone horribly awry. It wasn't clear whether humour in this instant was the desired effect, but it was certainly the one achieved. In fact it became increasingly difficult to determine exactly what impact A Knight's Tale was trying to make. They might have been selling it as a romantic action comedy drama, but what one ends up buying is a farce.

Heath Ledger, with a convincing English accent, but less convincing set of dreadlocks, is William Thatcher, a squire to the nobleman Sir Ector. When Ector is killed, Thatcher, who has "waited his whole life for this moment", steps into his shoes - literally. Donning his dead boss's armour, he passes himself of as Ector in order to compete in a jousting tournament, a privilege reserved only for the nobility. From his humble beginnings, armed with the knowledge imparted by his father that "a man can change his stars", Thatcher's quest to become a champion jouster begins. He is accompanied on this mission by a pair of trusty misfits, the cuddly Roland (Mark Addy) and the volatile Wat (Alan Tudyk).

The three soon become four after they find themselves stumbling upon a naked man who introduces himself by declaring, "Geoffrey Chaucer's the name, writing's the game". This jolting juxtaposition of styles and toying with historical accuracy reminded me fondly of the Carry On films. Although I don't imagine the comparison to be intentional, Chaucer's inflated rhetoric, delivered with great bravado and style by the excellent Paul Bettany, became one of the film's few highlights..