The Man Behind the Knight

Author(s): Chris Moffitt
Location: North Carolina

“The Man Behind the Knight"

Directed by Spike Jonze
Written by Charlie Kaufman
Music by James Horner
Comedy

Principal Cast:

Kelsey Grammer- Michael Frazen
Kate Winslett- Dulcinea
Steve Buscemi- Sammy
Tom Wilkinson- Dr. William Mandeville
Emmy Rossum- Jennifer Frazen

Tagline: “This is the story of a man who lived his dream and became a knight"

Synopsis: Michael Frazen is a rich and famous author who once dominated the social scene of New York City. However, since he was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic who now resides in an institution, his life has become based on one thing- his books. Frazen’s favorite book is Don Quixote and after reading it over and over again he has decided that this book must be about him. One day, he like Don Quixote receives a meeting from the lovely lady, Dulcinea who tells him that he is a knight and that he must now preserve her honor and become a knight. He escapes the institution and turns a trashcan into armor and steals a sword from a museum in the city. While walking in Central Park, Frazen who now calls himself Don Quixote finds a homeless man named Sammy living on a bench and tells him that he must become his squire. Sammy remembers Frazen’s face from the newspapers and believes that he has money and will give him some so he follows Frazen on his journey through New York City, as he becomes a knight. While in the institution, Dr. Mandeville and Frazen’s niece discover that he is gone and plan to try and catch him before he does anything crazy. Frazen’s niece, Jennifer decides that the escape is the perfect excuse to try and have all of her uncle’s books eliminated and destroyed. As Frazen and Sammy go on a journey throughout the city, Frazen begins to understand what it is to live a dream even if you don’t know that it is a dream.

What the press would say:

“The Man Behind the Knight” is one of those truly remarkable films that is amazing in every sense of the world. It has an amazing cast that includes great performances by Kelsey Grammer, Kate Winslett, and Steve Buscemi. It is written with the sharp tongue and sharp mind of Charlie Kaufman who truly shows the great theme of idealism. And it has phenomenal camera work, which brings forth the ideal of a true adventure. The relationship between Kelsey Grammer’s Michael Frazen and Steve Buscemi’s wise but uneducated Sammy is one of the great parts of the film showing a true friendship, which grows as the story goes on. However, the centerpiece of the film is the relationship between Frazen and Dulcinea and the dream sequences that these two characters experience. Frazen learns the most about himself through these scenes and like Kaufman has done in most of his films he uses these scenes to show how reality is bended and contorted and convinces the audience that these scenes can be real.

Nominations:
Best Picture
Best Director- Spike Jonze
Best Adapted Screenplay- Charlie Kaufman
Best Actor- Kelsey Grammer
Best Supporting Actress- Kate Winslett
Best Supporting Actor- Steve Buscemi
Best Original Score- James Horner
Best Film Editing
Best Sound Editing
Best Cinematography