Braveheart

In the spring of 1995, those of us who were regularly going to the theaters were being bombarded with a film trailer for what was promised to be an epic period piece war drama set in the dark ages of Scotland and England. This film looked like it would be all about big battles, lots of bloodshed, and was directed by and starred 80s and 90s action icon Mel Gibson. The excitement for this film was palpable, and everyone I knew was frothing at the mouth for it to release. 

That excitement was reflected in the box office take, too. Though it wasn’t a grand slam, it was a solid home run, earning back four times its listed budget. It also became one of the rare summer films that held its momentum with the critics and voters going into awards season. The listed nominated films for that year are an interesting lot. Apollo 13 was a fan favorite, though a little vanilla; Sense and Sensibilitywas a Jane Austen costume drama that managed to endear itself to a larger-than-usual audience; Babeshouldn’t have been on that list in the first place; and Il Postino, I have yet to see and have no real opinion on just yet. Braveheart seemed like the obvious choice as the frontrunner for Best Picture. 

The reason behind that is clear: Braveheart is a big-budget historical epic that tells an important part of our world’s history, focusing on the tragic story of William Wallace, a martyr for the Scottish war for freedom. It may not be particularly historically accurate, but it tells a darn fine story with enough action to keep the proceedings lively. It also weaves in enough historical context so that we understand the reasons behind the bloodshed. We also get a strong motivational catalyst for our main character to push him out of the realm of passive observer into the man who sparked the Scots’ overthrow of British rule.

The film opens with a bit of a prologue. It’s 1280 AD and Edward I of England, known as “Longshanks” (Patrick McGoohan), conquers Scotland following the death of the Scots’ king, who left no heir to the throne. A young William Wallace witnesses the aftermath of the execution of several Scottish nobles, then loses his own father and brother in the ensuing battles that attempted to resist the English. 

Years later, Longshanks grants his noblemen land and privileges in Scotland, including jus primae noctis, the right to bed any Scottish woman about to be wed. His son, at this time, is wed to the French princess Isabelle (Sophie Marceau), though he may be more interested in other men than his wife. William Wallace (Mel Gibson) marries his childhood friend, Murron MacClannough (Catherine McCormack), in secret to avoid her rape at the hands of the noblemen, but their affection doesn’t go unnoticed and one of the noblemen tries to take her by force anyway. This leads to a skirmish that ends with her being captured and publicly executed. William returns with the might of his friends and overruns the small British forces, killing them. 

From there, Wallace rallies more and more Scottish men around him as they push back against the English, determined to rid themselves of British rule. This soon expands into the Scots taking the fight onto English soil, capturing some big cities and forcing Longshanks to return and take over from his ineffectual son. Through treachery and deceit, he eventually finds a way to capture Wallace, but even his best efforts to defeat the man’s spirit meet with defiance and a war cry for freedom, reigniting the Scots’ determination to win their emancipation from tyranny at whatever the cost. 

Watching that trailer back in 1995, it would seem like this is a movie about giant epic battles with a lot of rousing speeches and elaborate strategies. That actually isn’t the case. There are a few major battles depicted, but there really isn’t a whole lot of strategy on hand, at least not from the Scots. We only really see strategy on hand from Longshanks, and his amounts to mere bribing the other side to abandon the fight and his willingness to sacrifice his own men for minor advantages. He is depicted as a real cold and uncaring man who doesn’t value the life of anyone. Even toward the end when his health is failing him, he doesn’t get reflective about the life he has led, only whether or not he has broken his adversary. 

That’s a real weakness in this script; it lacks nuance when it comes to Longshanks. It portrays him as a purely evil man who doesn’t even bat an eye when he throws his son’s chief of war, and maybe his lover, out of a high window to his death. There is no love or mercy in this man, not even for his son. There is no humanity in him either, reducing him to a caricature. 

Mel Gibson has proven that he can stage elaborate set-pieces and has an eye for gorgeous outdoor cinematography. His work with John Toll captures the Scottish Highlands so perfectly that, even though much of this film is depicting horrific events in history, the country still looks beautiful and inviting. This resulted in a significant increase in tourism to Scotland as well as rising interest in the country’s history. Tourism to Scotland, and especially to Stirling, more than doubled with many people citing the film as their reason to come there. To this day, it still inspires people to travel there and see the real sites of these historic battles.

Mel Gibson may be a great director, but he is not the best actor. This is perhaps one of his best performances, and it still just feels like Martin Riggs with a Scottish accent. There is nothing about this performance that feels tailored to the time period or setting. It’s not a bad performance, honestly, but Mel is still basically just playing a variation of himself, no different than any other performance of his. As good as this film is, it would have been better had he stayed behind the camera and cast a legitimate Scot in the role. 

Braveheart is an epic in every sense of the word. It’s long, but it never drags like some films pushing the three-hour length. Instead, it tells a compelling story with a lot of characters that, while not the easiest to keep separate, is nowhere near as overstuffed with named characters as Lord of the Rings. There are a lot of characters, but only a few that really matter. The most underserved of these is Robert the Bruce (Angus Macfadyen), who would go on to his own spin-off film a few years later, to poor results. His story is a tragic one as he falls prey to his own poor choices and the bad advice and actions of his ailing father. Right up there is Isabelle, whose primary function is to be a complicated love interest for Wallace despite being married to the King’s son. It’s an underwritten character in a pivotal role. 

With all its flaws, it is still an enjoyable watch. Like most true stories, though, it takes a lot of liberties with the established facts and also gets many period details wrong. If you can overlook these weaknesses, though, there is a good time to be had here. The runtime may be intimidating to some, but it flies by quickly, and the final result is a picture with a charismatic lead on a quest to free his people. This is something we can all get behind. Mel Gibson has since fallen in most people’s esteem, and that can be a stumbling block for some. But if you can separate the actor from the film, this will showcase just why he was such a big deal in the 80s and 90s and why, even with his later scandals, Hollywood isn’t done with him just yet. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: Mel Gibson, Bruce Davey, and Alan Ladd Jr. (won)

Best Director: Mel Gibson (won)

Best Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen: Randall Wallace

Best Cinematography: John Toll (won)

Best Costume Design: Charles Knode

Best Film Editing: Steven Rosenblum

Best Makeup: Peter Frampton, Paul Pattison, and Lois Burwell (won)

Best Original Dramatic Score: James Horner

Best Sound: Andy Nelson, Scott Millan, Anna Behlmer, and Brian Simmons

Best Sound Effects Editing: Lon Bender and Per Hallberg (won)

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Release Date: May 24, 1995

Running Time: 178 Minutes

Rated R

Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, and Catherine McCormack

Directed by: Mel Gibson