Braveheart movie review & film summary (1995) | Roger Ebert (2024)

Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" is a full-throated,red-blooded battle epic about William Wallace, the legendary Scots warrior wholed his nation into battle against the English in the years around 1300. It'san ambitious film, big on simple emotions like love, patriotism and treachery,and avoids the travelogue style of so many historical swashbucklers: Itslocations look green, wet, vast, muddy and rugged.

Notmuch is known about Wallace, known as Braveheart, except that according to anold epic poem, he unified the clans of Scotland and won famous battles againstthe English before being captured, tortured and executed as a traitor.

Wallace'sdying cry, as his body was stretched on the rack, was "freedom!" Thatisn't exactly based on fact (the concept of personal freedom was a concept notmuch celebrated in 1300), but it doesn't stop Gibson from making it his dyingcry. It fits in with the whole glorious sweep of "Braveheart," whichis an action epic with the spirit of the Hollywood swordplay classics and thegrungy ferocity of "The Road Warrior." What people are going toremember from the film are the battle scenes, which are frequent, bloody andviolent. Just from a technical point of view, "Braveheart" does abrilliant job of massing men and horses for large-scale warfare on film. Gibsondeploys what look like thousands of men on horseback, as well as foot soldiers,archers and dirty tricks specialists, and yet his battle sequences don't turninto confusing crowd scenes: We understand the strategy, and we enjoy thetactics even while we're doubting some of them (did 14th century Scots reallyset battlefields aflame?).

Gibsonis not filming history here, but myth. William Wallace may have been a realperson, but "Braveheart" owes more to Prince Valiant, Rob Roy and MadMax. Once we understand that this is not a solemn historical reconstruction(and that happens pretty fast), we accept dialogue that might otherwise have anuncannily modern tone, as when Braveheart issues his victory ultimatum to theEnglish: "Scotland's terms are that your commander present himself infront of our army, put his head between his legs and kiss his - - -." Uh,huh.

Inthe film, Wallace's chief antagonist is King Edward I ("Longshanks"),played by Patrick McGoohan with sly cunning; he is constantly giving hisrealpolitik interpretation of events, and that's all the more amusing sincehe's usually guessing wrong.

Edward'sson, the Prince of Wales (Peter Hanly), is an effete fop who marries a Frenchwoman only for political reasons. "I may have to conceive the childmyself!" Longshanks says, and indeed, under the medieval concept of primanocte, or "first night," nobles were allowed a first chance to sleepwith the wives of their lessers.

ThePrincess, played by the French actress Sophie Marceau, does not much admire herhusband, who spends most of his time hanging about moon-eyed with his bestfriend (until the king, in a fit of impatience, hurls the friend out the castlewindow).

Edward,smarting from defeats, dispatches the Princess to offer his terms toBraveheart, but soon she's spilling all the state secrets, "because of theway you look at me." The Princess is the second love in Wallace's life;the first, his childhood sweetheart Murron (Catherine McCormack), marries himin secret (so the local English lord won't claim his rights). The two spendtheir wedding night outdoors, and the backlit shot as they embrace gainssomething, I think, from the frost on their breaths.

Thesecharacters come from hardened stock. (When Wallace has a reunion with hischildhood pal Hamish, they hurl rocks at each other for entertainment; later,when a Scotsman has his wound cauterized, all he says is, "That'll wakeyou up in the morning, boy!") It is sometimes seen as an egotisticalgesture when actors direct themselves, especially in heroic epics costing (sothey say) $53 million. The truth is, given this material, I do not know thatanyone could have directed it better. Gibson marshals his armies of extras, hisstunt men and his special effects, and creates a fictional world that isentertaining, and thrilling.

Andas Braveheart, Gibson plays his role with flamboyance, and cuts it with slyhumor. He is an amazing battlefield strategist, inventing new strategies andweapons, outsmarting the English at every turn, leading his men into battlewith his face painted blue, like a football fan. There is a scene where he isso pumped up with the scent of battle that his nostrils flare; not many actorscould get away with that, but Gibson can.