Braveheart

Mel Gibson is something of a pariah in the film world these days. His antics off-screen have ostracized him in much the same way Tom Cruise was shunned until he arrived on the scene again by jumping out the window of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Gibson has tried to overcome his struggles through film as well as evidenced by The Beaver which I have yet to see – although I do plan to check out this strange film about a divorcee who becomes attached to a hand puppet of a beaver.  

                On to the movie at hand. Braveheart is an epic. Its posters tell you so, the name itself is awe-inspiring and the image of Gibson’s face swathed in blue warpaint is nothing short of heroic. This 1995 Gibson is the one I watched today (for the first time) and he carries this lengthy and impressive film on his capable shoulders. It was only when the credits rolled that I discovered he was also the director. Although three hours long, the movie never made me feel the time ticking by. I was not exhausted at the end of this movie but exhilarated.

                Gibson plays William Wallace – an actual historical figure with a legacy steeped in lore. He is said to have led the first Scottish War of Independence against Britain and this movie aims to show how he came to be on this path as well as where he stepped off. Braveheart doesn’t pretend to be historically accurate – it takes its main character and weaves a thrilling and grand story. For this reviewer, that was enough because the story on screen kept me spellbound. Wallace is a Scottish commoner whose father and brother are killed by the English when he is very young. He is taken in by his uncle (Brian Cox in a very small role). When he comes back all grown-up and Mel Gibson-like, Wallace is a warrior and a scholar – a master of many languages, one of them being that of the sword. He marries his childhood sweetheart in secret so as to avoid “prima nocte”, the practice of the resident noble sleeping with the new bride on her wedding night. When circumstances force him to attack an English soldier, Wallace becomes an outlaw and his wife is killed to lure him out.

                From this point, the movie becomes a military exercise with Wallace strategizing and using his much smaller forces to repel the English invaders. King Edward Longshanks (Patrick McGoohan) is out for Wallace’s blood and he uses his considerable cunning and ruthlessness to achieve this. He is most successful at this when he is playing to the greed of Scottish nobles, buying their allegiance with gold and land. McGoohan embodies a sinister villain, one that is cruel and easy to hate, yet intelligent enough not to be cartoonish.

The battle scenes are massive and bloody but the violence serves to demonstrate the barbaric nature of war (then and now) rather than to serve up a heaping of gore for its own sake. In fact, the clashing of armies depicted here were far more realistic and engaging than those in Troy, a film made many years later with similar shots of gigantic armies rushing headlong into battle. Braveheart is technically brilliant in its camerawork and scene composition but the locations lend themselves to this treatment. The sprawling lakes and craggy mountains of Scotland are lovingly photographed and adds an air of authenticity to the proceedings. Beyond being a pretty picture, Gibson populates his world with meaningful characters. Although initially caricatures (the not-so-bright strongman; the fiercely loyal right-hand man), they are given the time to become people you care for. Of course having one of my favorites, Brendan Gleeson, in the mix doesn’t hurt. Gleeson’s father in the movie, Campbell (James Cosmo), has the almost humorous role of being an old man who doesn’t die no matter how he is shot, maimed or otherwise attacked.

                The score of this movie is beautiful as composed by James Horner although you can hear strains of his previous (and future) work as is always the case with Horner. The haunting bagpipe theme played throughout is inspired though. Braveheart is a well-directed and well-acted movie with gorgeous set pieces and scenery. It is more than that however in that it tells a compelling story which can still resonate when watched seventeen years after its release. 

Trailer