Introduction
Everybody has seen Braveheart (1995) or at least heard of it. An iconic movie with Mel Gibson portraying William Wallace – a charismatic and cunning leader of the Scottish rebels, provides great entertainment value even 23 years after being first released into movie theaters across the world. It was truly ahead of its time, having not only scored over 210 million dollars in the box office, but also winning five academy awards: for the best picture, director, cinematography, makeup, and sound editing (“Braveheart – Awards”). With such a stunning and impressive list of features, it can truly be considered an all-time classic. Despite being considered old by modern standards of cinema and having certain flaws and loops in the storyline and historical accuracy, Braveheart can easily be considered one of the best movies of all time, enjoyable even by the modern standards of cinema in 2018.
Story Synopsis
The movie follows the tale of William Wallace – a freedom fighter who rose to liberate Scotland from the rule of King Edward “Longshanks” following the death of the king of Scotland, who died without leaving an heir. The motivations of Wallace, as well as his supporters, are just and noble. King Edward was a cruel king, who offended not only the Scottish people but their noblemen as well by granting lands to his lords and enabling various offensive laws and regulations, such as the “First Night” privilege, where the ruler of a fief would be granted the right to bed any bride before the wedding (“Braveheart”). Wallace joins the rebellion after the English soldiers execute his wife for resisting their attempts to rape her.
Braveheart is built around sequences of battles with scheming and politics in between. While William Wallace rules the battle scenes, Longshanks dominates the stage with his Machiavellian view of the world, dry wit, and refined cruelty. He would stop at nothing to defeat Wallace, especially after the battle of Stirling, which results in the British army being crushed, and the city of York burned to the ground. Only the treachery of Lochlan, Mornay, and later Robert the Bruce help defeat Wallace (“Braveheart”).
He goes out like a true freedom fighter. Even during his last scenes, when he is drawn and quartered, he shouts out “Freedom!” which became an iconic line of the movie, sowing fear in the English and creating a long-standing memory in Robert’s son, who was later inspired by the memory of William Wallace to betray the English and conquer freedom for its people (“Braveheart”).
The Good
One of the strongest points in Braveheart is the battle scenes. The majority of moviegoers did not go to watch the movie because they were interested in the intricate and elaborate politics of 13th-century Scotland. No, they came to watch the movie to see Mel Gibson fight giant battles and swinging that two-handed sword. Braveheart delivers just what the posters and trailers promised – gritty medieval large-scale battles, involving foot soldiers, archers, and cavalry. Mel Gibson did a great job at portraying battles and combining different types of soldiers together in a way that does not make armies look like incoherent mobs.
The movie plays on contrasts between two fighting forces. The English are uniform, disciplined, organized. They love an open-field battle, where their superior archers and cavalry can win the day. They are well-equipped, as all of their soldiers possess armor and helmets. The English can hold the line and fight in groups. This draws parallels between themselves and the Roman Empire, which fought in a similar manner (Knighton). They are the masters of conventional tactics. However, when their perfect battle order is broken, they become easy prey for the Scots, who thrive in chaos, where their individual valor can shine.
The Scottish freedom fighters are the complete opposite of the English – they are a rag-tag bunch of misfits that rely on unconventional tactics in order to get the upper hand. Some of these tactics include ambushes, night raids, setting the battlefield on fire, and rising spears before the charging cavalry at the very last moment, making a spear-and-shield line before horses and their riders could break off the assault (Ebert). The Scots may not be the best-equipped army, but they are fighting for freedom of their land, to protect their children and families from abuse at the hands of the English. The contrast in tactics, equipment, fighting styles, and motivations is obvious, and it makes one root for the underdog, to the very end.
The performance of Patrick McGoohan is considered to be one of the strongest in the show. He portrays King Edward as a sly, cunning, and uncompromising individual, who seeks only to preserve Scotland under his rule, despite any consequences (Ebert). He is interested in the land, not the people, and is ready to wage war in order to keep it. McGoohan also has the best-written dialogues and one-liners, some of which are known even by those who have never seen the movie. One of such iconic lines he says during the battle of Falkirk, where he orders his archers to rain arrows upon his and Wallace’s men. When objected to by one of his aides, he states coldly: “We have reserves” (Gibson).
Mel Gibson’s portrayal of William Wallace is what attracted many viewers to see the movie. He did a good job of presenting himself as the leader of the Free Scots, being both brave, cunning, and witty (Ebert). His humor is coarse and borderline rude, but it is often set out to point at the idiocy and stupidity of the English, who is the antagonist throughout the movie. His tall posture and physical agility make up for entertaining fighting sequences, as he wields the sword as if he was born with it. His performance is a little bit hammy as well, which adds humor and charm to the picture.
The cinematography in Braveheart is top-notch, being ahead of its time. Not only did it show during battles, able to incorporate various soldiers and create the feeling of the large-scale battle, but also during interactions between characters. The choice of scenery was excellent, as it presented England as a foggy, dark, and muddy battlefield, fitting for gory battles and cruel medieval lords. It lacks the polish and charm of romanticized knightly novels. One of the best sequences in the movie is when King Edward’s son is waiting to face his father after the defeat at Stirling. As the shot moves between his face and the door, with steps becoming louder and louder, one can almost feel the tension building up.
The music was masterfully used in order to build up the mood for the scenes. The director uses not only the presence but also the lack of sound in order to emphasize the importance of the situation. In all important dialogues, the music is absent, to highlight every word being told. At the same time, battles and sequences feature various tunes composed akin to battle chants, with drums, trumpets, and other instruments that are meant to emphasize the sounds of clashing weapons and dying men.
These points, combined together, make Braveheart great. They create a seamless picture, where the high-octane action is mixed with interesting, meaningful, tragic, and sometimes funny interactions between the cast, thus making sure the audience does not grow tired of watching and keeps them glued to the screen.
The Bad
Mel Gibson’s accent is considered to be atrocious not only by native Scots but also even by the audience that does not speak Scottish. One of the axioms of movie production states that an accent in an actor should be either perfect or not used at all (Berglund 26). Regretfully, Mel Gibson was not aware of such a rule. It makes some of his lines very painful to listen to unless one happened to watch a version dubbed in a foreign language, where the accent was wisely left out.
Some critics point out the repetitiveness of fighting scenes. While the battles themselves were great, individual combat feels repetitive after a while. The redshirts fighting main characters barely put up a fight, and the formations disassemble into fighting pairings right after the initial clash (Ebert). The final battle is especially guilty of this, as both armies break formation and just run into one another. It is understandable that such a move is made in order to showcase the heroes’ prowess in combat, but also beats the point of having formations in the first place.
Lastly, Braveheart is going to disappoint certain fans of historical movies who went to the theaters looking for an accurate representation of the Scottish rebellion of the 13th century. Mel Gibson’s movie represents a myth, not a documentary. There is very little accuracy with the original story. The armor worn by the majority of the soldiers is useless and historically inaccurate, the battle tactics are simplified, and the characters do not speak in old English in order to help with the immersion (Knighton).
These are the most prominent issues the movie has. Although they have the potential to dissuade some viewers, one must remember that no movie is perfect. The balance between the good and the bad is what counts.
Conclusion
Braveheart is considered a classic for a reason. It is a very strong picture with an enthralling yet easy-to-follow storyline, good actors, lovable characters, great battles, and gritty action scenes, which make up for a good medieval saga. The camerawork and the visuals were way ahead of their time, which makes the movie watchable even 23 years after it was shot. If you never watched Braveheart, but enjoy medieval-themed action-packed epic, then this movie is a must-see. On the other hand, if you are a hardcore history lover, who cannot overlook artistic choices in costumes, dialogue, and storytelling, and who are bothered by inaccurate portrayals of English and Scottish history, this movie is likely not for you. Still, for the majority of the viewers, Braveheart is, and always will be an excellent piece of entertainment.
Works Cited
Berglund, Hanna. Stereotypes of British Accents in Movies: A Speech Analysis of Character Types in Movies with British Accents. 2017, Web.
“Braveheart.”Awesome Film, Web.
“Braveheart – Awards.”IMDb, Web.
Ebert, Roger. “Braveheart.”Roger Ebert.com, 1995, Web.
Gibson, Mel, director. Braveheart. Icon Productions, 1995.
Knighton, Andrew. “The Many Historical Facts the Movie ‘Braveheart’ got Wrong … And One it got Right.”War History Online. 2017, Web.