Just ignore everything but Guenevere. And the other pretty things.
Actually, First Knight is a pretty decent movie, if you like this sort of thing, aside from the incredibly silly casting of Lancelot. Not brilliant, but not awful either. The movie, that is. Really, I’m not sure if it’s the writing of Lancelot's character, or just the fact that I don’t like Richard Gere. I mean, I don’t remember who was big in 1995, but surely there was someone around more dashing and likable, or at least less smug and smarmy. But in the first half of the movie, it’s like they’re going out of their way to make him unlikable, and only tolerable when he’s being devoted to Guenevere. He does improve in the second half, though. Also, he has quality emo hair. Or 90s hair. I’m not sure there’s a difference. I may have a thing for emo hair.
Going into the movie, I basically remembered:
-That I loved loved loved Guenevere, and that this had been the first time I encountered something that that not only featured her prominently (I’d encountered a couple other things that were sympathetic to her, but she wasn’t really there) but also attempted her POV.
-That it was an Abducted Guenevere plot, and while it used the medieval versions, it was more de Troyes than Mallory. And, well, I prefer de Troyes to Mallory.
-That Melwas/Meleagant was the villain, and most forget he even ever existed.
-It was very very pretty. (But then, aren’t most historical movies?)
The movie is at it’s best when it’s focusing more on the Courtly Love aspect (or at least as close as modern cinema gets to the medieval ideal of Courtly Love) and less on the “Our Love is Forbidden! Forbidden! So Forbidden that she told him to get lost a lot and he didn’t listen!” (Lancelot in the first half falls into the “You like me! You know you do! Admit it!” mold, hence my not liking him.*) But the plot as presented is a kind of plot that I tend to be susceptible to, though exclusively in quasi-fantasy medieval settings.
But mostly, Guenevere. I knew that Julia Ormond was basically my definitive Guenevere and that, between this and Sabrina, I had a huge crush on her in the 90s, but rewatching it, I realized that she was basically my definitive Lady, in that any time I encounter historical or fantasy fiction with a Lady character, this is what I expect. Lately, I’ve realized that while I like many of the traits associated with “tomboys” in fiction-strong-willed to the point of stubbornness and even bullheadedness, always speaks their mind exactly, not afraid to get dirty/tear her clothes if the situation calls for it, etc, but particularly the stubbornness and forthright speech-are all traits that I like, but I tend to get frustrated by “rascally tomboys.” Or rather, not by the tomboys themselves, but by the narratives acting like these personality traits are just a phase she’s going through that she’ll outgrow, as opposed to her actual personality. Anyway, Guenevere here has many of the personality traits typically associated with tomboys, while beings 100% a Lady. (I’ve started rereading Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain books and a lot of the same is true of Eilonwy, though she and Guenevere are completely different characters. I‘m not sure when I first read the Prydain and Westmark books, but I know I was very young at the time.)
But really, Guenevere:
*You know, I think the only Lancelot I’ve actually liked in these movies I’ve been watching is the one in Knights of the Round Table.
ETA: BTW, i think my favorite bit may be when Lancelot is all "Here, let me tell you about the manpain that is why I am basically a vagrant swordsman." and her response is "You poor thing, that is an awful experience. But you really should do something productive with your manpain." Actually, no. My favorite bit is when she outsmarts an attacker and throws him out of a moving carriage.