BRAVEHEART is set in Scotland in the 1200s. It tells the true
story of William Wallace who was a famous commoner who led his people
in a rebellion against the English. The movie is of epic proportions,
length and grandeur. We learn the entire history of William Wallace
from the age of 8 until his death.
Mel Gibson, in what I found to be his best role ever, plays the
grown up Wallace. Gibson directs the movie as well. The story is full
of fascinating history of which I knew little. I have a good English
history background but was surprised at what little early Scottish
history I knew. Wallace wants to live in peace and ignore the English
atrocities he has witnessed, but circumstances force his hand, and he
declares war on the English. His battle cry is freedom and many poor
people follow him in his quest. The story itself is quite compelling,
and the script is excellent.
The political intrigue among the Scottish nobles makes you wonder
whose side they are on. As the story unfolds, you come to realize that
they are only interested in enriching themselves and do not care about
their own people. They constantly counsel Wallace to compromise his
ideas in order to achieve some lesser, but more practical solution.
His vision is a singular one of freedom for his people. I found myself
thinking of Gary Cooper in THE FOUNTAINHEAD and the similarity between
his role and that of Gibson's. All of the leaders who were the
"wisest" urged constant compromise on their rising young stars in both
movies.
Actually, the movie most like BRAVEHEART is GETTYSBURG for both
had huge and realistic battle scenes with wave after wave of humans
charging each other and dying. Of course, many people will compare
BRAVEHEART with ROB ROY. They are both about old Scottish heroes, and
in my book, BRAVEHEART wins hands down. Finally, you may find yourself
thinking of the Judas story from the Bible except here the movie has a
plethora of Judases.
One example of the quality of the script is that the writer
manages to introduce a very funny character without it seeming like
merely a plot device, which of course it is. This character is a mad
Irishman who steals every scene he is in with his dialog. I laughed
out loud many times. Although there was little humor in this serious
tale, there was just enough to keep me from ever tiring even though I
had to stay seated for three hours.
Too often period pieces seem like merely exercises in style. I
found QUEEN MARGOT to be one such movie. Here the wonderful costumes
and set decoration feel totally authentic but in a natural way. I felt
like I was actually in the thirteenth century where people's faces were
frequently dirty and in general personal hygiene was minimal. When
they made their kills in battle or in revenge, I could sense how close
they were to animals then. The blood would splat on their faces, and
they could just as easy have been wolves.
I have been to Scotland many times and it is gorgeous. In a low
key but quite impressive way, the cinematography makes one feel the
beauty and the isolation of countryside. The music with the recurring
and haunting melody of the lone Scottish bagpipe sets a sad and yet
serene tone and mood.
BRAVEHEART runs a long, but well worth it, 2:52. I would not want
it shorten. It is rated R, but NC-17 would be more appropriate. It is
THE goriest movie I have ever seen and that too I would not change
because it allows one to vicariously live through what actual battles
in that period would be like. Please be warned that you will see
almost every part of the human body being chopped off or stabbed in one
scene or another. Imagine any physical horror, and there is probably a
scene of it in BRAVEHEART. Nevertheless, there was not one scene where
I thought the violence was gratuitous. I would let older teenagers see
the movie, but would be careful with impressionable younger ones. I
give BRAVEHEART a strong recommendation and award it *** 1/2. Don't
miss it.
Copyright © 1995 Steve Rhodes