Lesha, 16 of our Hollywood Preview crew went to a screening of a new adventure/romance film. Here's the scoop on:

A KNIGHT'S TALE

Medieval jousting fans, looking like superbowl freaks with faces painted in their team's colors, stomp the grandstands and sing along to Queen's classic "We Will Rock You".
A Knight's Tale isn't your grandma's Errol Flynn swashbuckler. Hot Aussie actor Heath Ledger says of his film's director Brian Helgeland "It's really smart what he did with the music. By not using an historically correct score, he broke down the barriers and gave us (actors) a broader playground". When we see a lady armor maker "sign" her metalwork with that familiar Nike symbol, we're tempted to shout…"Joust DO IT"!

In 14th Century Europe, a trio of scruffy, starving squires hit the road alone after their knight dies. William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) decides that he'll buck tradition by posing as a nobleman…the only way to compete as a knight. He'll be "Ulrich von Lichtenstein of Gelderland" and, aided by his two buddies Roland (Mark Addy) and flame-haired Wat (Alan Tudyk), he starts winning tournaments and selling the trophies for food.

While on the jousting circuit, the trio befriends writer Chaucer (Paul Bettany) who is wandering the countryside in his birthday suit after gambling and losing literally everything he owns. Chaucer forges nobility papers for William and, acting as herald, announces "Ulrich" with wild gusto before each tournament. As his reputation on the "circuit" grows, William catches the eye of noblewoman Jocelyn (Shannon Sossamon) who thinks he has no style but is fearless. William is smitten and writes love letters to her from "the road".

Wearing spiffy armor made by Kate (Laura Fraser), William beats everyone but evil Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell) who announces that he'll marry Jocelyn when he returns from a pesky war. Rebellious Jocelyn joins William in Paris for the World Championships and their love affair gets started. After a 12-year absence, William visits his father and Adhemar, suspicious of the upstart knight, follows William to the wrong side of the tracks and learns of his true common origins. He tells jousting officials who arrest William for posing as nobility. He's put in the stocks where he endures public ridicule until he's rescued, knighted and wins the love of the people and his fair lady.
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A Knight's Tale tells a simple, predictable story of the triumph of the underdog. It borrows a few key story points from classics like Ben Hur and the Errol Flynn Robin Hood. Overall, the film is a road trip/action/romance that wouldn't get much attention if it weren't for a bold and innovative mixture of the modern and the ancient. Whether it's the choice of 80's rock standards that pepper the score, costumes that combine medieval with punk rock hairdos or "knock downs" and raucous announcers that mimic a WWF smackdown, the film emerges as a disturbing yet interesting hodge podge that is well….entertaining.

Director Brian Helgeland has said that it's not historical convention he is fighting; it's movie convention. Audiences expect this type of film to have an authentic or symphonic score. Well, that didn't make Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves very believable so why not go crazy and present the story in a manner more relatable to younger, modern audiences? Once you get past the initial shock of seeing 14th century peasants wailing to the strains of 80's rock, you can watch talented actors like The Full Monty's Mark Addy, Paul Bettany, who plays future famous writer Geoffrey Chaucer with style and humor and Laura Fraser's lady blacksmith who is understated and believable. Heath Ledger proves he can carry a film and newcomer Shannon Sossamon (who looks like Angelia Jolie's younger sis) is a good choice for the femme fatale.

It's hard to make the repetitive motion of jousting (two guys, two horses and a two big sticks) an action bonanza but Helgeland manages to make each "run" fun and shocking to watch. A lapse in crowd logic bothered me; William is a commoner posing as a noble knight and winning big yet, when he is found out, do the common people root for him and welcome him as one of their own? No, they throw things and boo him until he is knighted…. go figure.

There will be two schools of thought on this film; the purists versus the innovators. If a little pop culture out of its time doesn't bother you, go root for William and the gang as they kick medieval fanny!!

Directed by	Brian Helgeland
Screenplay by	Brian Helgeland
Starring	Heath Ledger as William Thatcher/Ulrich
	Shannyn Sossamon as Jocelyn
	Mark Addy as Roland
	Alan Tudyk as Wat
	Laura Fraser as Kate
	Rufus Sewell as Count Adhemar
	Paul Bettany as Chaucer