| Braveheart |
| William Wallace was truly an intriguing character, in �Braveheart�. He possessed most of the normal qualities that a hero usually possesses in films, but was extraordinarily well developed, and had a real soul. There are situations in Braveheart that closely parallel the life of Christ. Their deaths are very similar. Jesus died on a cross, and Wallace died on a cross that wasn�t upright but parallel with the ground. They were both loved and hated by many, and spat on, and abused by their persecutors before their deaths. Jesus died to give life to all that ask for it, and Wallace died to give freedom, and a real life to his fellow Scotsmen. They both knew their deaths were in order, and went through with them as easily as they could (neither of them deserved death). Neither of them wanted to die, but knew it was the right thing to do (One good aspect of �The Last Temptation of Christ�, is it shows Jesus� struggle with knowing he had to die). Not only does �Braveheart� have many Christian parallels but it is also a masterpiece of its genre, with �Gladiator� not even beating it. �Braveheart� is the story of a savage (he calls himself a savage in the film), a lover, a leader, and a strategist. When the young William Wallace (later played by Mel Gibson) comes home one day, he is shocked and disturbed at the disgusting sight of several men hung and dead in a hut. The men were told to come to that location to discuss terms of peace with Edward the Longshanks, but were instead, hung to death. The next day, Wallace�s father sets out with a group of a couple other men to fight the English. When the group returns the next day, Wallace�s father does not return with them. A mournful funeral is held, and at this funeral, the abandoned, young Wallace falls in love (as we find out later) with a girl that gave Wallace a pretty flower, out of respect and comfort to him. He never forgets this. After the funeral, an evil, crotchety old man shows up and tells Wallace that he is his uncle, and he is to live with him for the rest of his days until he can live on his own. When he is old enough (the film skips the days of his youth), he returns to where he lived when his father died, and seeks out the girl that he remembers from so long ago, named Murron (Catherine McCormack). The two get married in secret to avoid the appalling, and extremely perverted policy of prima nocte, instituted by the evil king, Edward the Longshank�s (Patrick McGoohan). Unfortunately, the couple�s love is too obvious, and the English soldiers see this, and try to rape his wife. Fortunately, Wallace saves her before this happens. Things get worse before they get better, and Wallace swears he and his fellow Scotsmen shall have freedom from the English, and fight fiercely for it, and this is exactly what he does the rest of the film. Of course, not all of the film is battle, and the parts that aren�t contain expertly scripted dialog, and blood pumping, extraordinarily moving speeches. When William Wallace meets Edward the Longshank�s daughter, Princess Isabelle and is bribed to stop fighting and surrender, his answer is the following: �Lordship�titles�gold�that I should become Judas?� Princess Isabelle: �Peace is made in such ways.� Wallace: �Slaves are made in such ways!� Great dialog like this is sprinkled throughout the entire movie. Not only does the dialog have a great flare, but the story is also (written by Randall Wallace) completely engaging, and involving. We see all the politically charged confrontations between Longshank�s and his wimpy son, and Robert the Bruce and his father, and how their differing opinions of how to be a leader lead to extreme hate between the two of them. None of the characters in �Braveheart� are written in as boring, flat, or with no substance. I will never know why Mel Gibson wasn�t nominated for best actor, but I shouldn�t be complaining because the film won best picture. Gibson can bring chills to the viewer. He prepared so in depth for playing this character that we can think of absolutely no one else being William Wallace (except maybe Russell Crowe, but in 1995, I surely wouldn�t have thought of him). All of the casts put together bring great presence to the screen, especially, Patrick McGoohan, who brings vileness, and realness to the role of Edward the Longshank�s. He might have been a worthy candidate to play one of Jesus� important persecutors in Gibson�s upcoming film about Jesus, �Passion� (A film that Gibson wants to be filmed entirely in Latin with no subtitles). The interesting photography is beautiful at times, and at others, makes the heart soar, with its majestic arcs around Gibson as he stands on a high mountain overlooking the gorgeous countryside. The battle scenes get the adrenaline rushing so fast, that one may forget he is just sitting in a theatre, and not being attacked by flaming arrows. If you liked �Lawrence of Arabia�s� battles, you�ll love these. Although, some parts are hard to endure, this is done on purpose. Gibson wanted to evoke the devastation of war, and did just that. It�s a very violent film, but it doesn�t make anything look unrealistic. Indeed, many men were impaled on spikes and long spears as Wallace fought the real battles. �Braveheart� is a film that can reach the highest of highs, and touch your emotions like very few films. The ending is not absolutely happy, as Jesus� wasn�t (at least his crucifixion wasn�t), but that�s the way it needs to end, and works more on a higher emotional level because of this. Second Corinthians 3:17 tells us that where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Most of the time, I believe the Lord was on Wallace�s side when he fought his battles, because God never wants rape, and murder, and theft, and that is what the English were doing to Braveheart�s people. There was really no other way to defeat, or stop the English than war. The film brings mostly good ideas and morals, and the mature teenager would be fine watching this film. It�s too way too much of a great thing to be missed by anyone slightly interested in cinema, or even life itself and how precious living a free one is. |
| United States, 1999 U.S. Release Date: 5/24/95 (wide) Running Length: 2:50 MPAA Classification: R (Graphic violence, brief nudity) Cast: Mel Gibson, Patrick McGoohan, Sophie Marceau, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine McCormack, Angus Macfadyen Director: Mel Gibson Producers: Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd Jr., and Bruce Davey Screenplay: Randall Wallace Cinematography: John Toll U.S. Distributor: Paramount Pictures |
| ****stars |