Scottish farmer William Wallace (Mel Gibson) is naturally miffed when the English King Edward (Patrick McGoohan) oppresses his people, kills his father and brother in battle, and the English soldier murder his wife (Catherine McCormack). So he assembles a huge number of clans and allies to rebel against the English oppressors. And has an affair with Isabella of France (Sophie Marceau) apparently.
Here’s a film that could potentially be the sole motivator for the Scottish independence referendum. In this rugged, fog-filtered world, every English person is a snarling, moustache-twirling, tie-the-heroine-to-the-railway-tracks villain. Granted, the English don’t behave well historically, but this film, like many '90s period dramas, reduces history to such an easy divide between good and bad that it comes across as ridiculous.
But also, it comes across as fabulously entertaining. I know Braveheart is lambasted frequently for being an undeserving winner, and to be fair it did beat Apollo 13 and Sense and Sensibility. But it does manage to fill up its near-three hours with an enormous amount of rousing battle scenes, murders, affairs, injustices and vengeances. The idea of Isabella of France (the future Queen of England) being able to sneak away from her many, many servants to have a covert affair with a Scottish rebel living in the wild, and apparently become the mother of his children and therefore the mother of all later English royals, is not only preposterous, we know it’s just not true. But without plot elements this ludicrous, this film would be the sort of dry, lifeless drone that is more associated with the '80s (i.e. Out of Africa). If you like Game of Thrones, then just wait till you get a load of this.
The battle scenes are extremely exciting- they’re shot coherently so that I understood what was going on, and they even build and climax like miniature stories in themselves. Gibson, who won Best Director for this, manages to capture the violence, terror and also the adrenaline of these scenes and I remember wishing that I could go back in time just to watch a real one (not to partake of course).
I also didn’t think Gibson was all that bad as Wallace. He’s fun and lively, he has great hair and arms that he uses to their greatest potential, and his accent is far from terrible. And Patrick McGoohan is having a great time as that dastardly king- he even rolls his R’s like a pantomime villain. Unfortunately, Sophie Marceau gets little to do other than wear beautiful dresses and do the single-tear cry every now and then, so suffice to say this film is not doing much for the representation of women in cinema.
The third and final hour of the film takes something of a nosedive, which is a let-down after the magnificent pace and action of the first two. The film climaxes with its second battle-scene, and then transforms into a series of epilogues that we didn’t really need (Wallace’s eventual execution, his impregnation of Isabella of France, Robert Bruce betraying him then un-betraying him for obscure and uninteresting reasons). This section could have been easily chopped down, although I think it was fashionable to extend period dramas beyond 2.5 hours at the time, regardless of their quality.
So, to briefly conclude. Is Braveheart Oscar-worthy? Lord, no. Would I watch it again? Probably not. Was I entertained? Hell, yes. This is an example of how rousing, rambunctious story-telling can surpass the need for historical accuracy. If you want to learn more about the real Wallace, read Wikipedia instead.
Highlight
The battle scenes are worth watching on their own - particularly the second one in which King Edward’s nefarious schemes are revealed with excellent relish.
Lowlight
Wallace’s execution did not need the length of time it is given. Bearing in mind he got hung, drawn and quartered, the scene is surprisingly lacking in punch.
Mark
8/10
This is a hilarious film. The problem is that most of the comedy isn’t probably intended. For instance, when William Wallace (Gibson) is being choked by a rope, he does a very odd bit of acting that comes across like a strange impression of a frog. This impression had both me and our viewing guest Natalie in peals of laughter.
In another scene, the villainous English king throws his son’s male lover out of the window. This is also so overblown that it becomes hilarious. The writer of the film was apparently bemused as to why this scene got some of the biggest laughs of the night from cinema audiences. I, however, am not. This film is bizarre. William Wallace is the only character in the whole film to wear a vest (presumably to flash his biceps), the fighting soldiers’ woad war paint is applied as if they’re off to the football, and don’t get me started on how the Princess sneakily shags Wallace and then gets pregnant. If this film wanted to be taken seriously, then it would actually be suggesting that the entire line of Kings after Edward II through to Richard III were all descended from William Wallace. It’s fictional, but boy is it ambitious.
This film is ridiculous. It’s entertaining, but it’s distracting in how utterly mental it is. The bravado of the writing in eschewing pretty much every historical fact in the name of dramatic license is breathtaking. Suddenly Robert the Bruce’s dad is a traitorous leper, while Robert’s own betrayal of Wallace is the catalyst for Wallace’s own capture. None of this is in anyway true. And while I’ve defended some dramatic licence recently in the name of good theatre (Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book), this film really pushes my patience.
This aside, there’s a lot of battle scenes that are well done but battle scenes just aren’t my thing. Our guest Natalie also pointed out that it fails so miserably at the Bechdel Test that not only are there no scenes with two women discussing anything other than men, there’s actually barely a scene with two women in it. The ‘main’ woman exists merely for Mel Gibson to fawn over, while the Princess’s handmaiden makes bizarrely placed references to sexual acts. I left this film a tad bemused.
Final sum up: Entertaining? Yes. Is Mel Gibson hot? Fairly. Is this in any way Oscar worthy? Not in the slightest. Thank God Emma Thompson got the Oscar for Best Screenplay, because Sense and Sensibility was robbed.
Highlight
The sheer audacity of the writer in ignoring almost every historical fact was somehow delightful.
Lowlight
The last hour of the film does drag, and Mel Gibson’s death scene is so overdone that it becomes very very funny.
Mark
5/10
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