The film ‘Braveheart’, that was directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who also played the lead, is about the Scottish hero William Wallace who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward of England.Before we started watching ‘Braveheart’ we knew that it was about the First War of Scottish Independence, and that it was based on facts. Therefore we thought that the film would be similar to a documentary in many ways, and that it wouldn’t be a very spectacular film.
However, these expectations didn’t turn out to be correct. The film was very exciting and spectacular, not at all like a documentary.We also knew that Mel Gibson played the lead; we had seen a few of his movies already and thought that he was a great actor. So we expected him to act very well, and make his character, William Wallace, come to life. He didn’t disappoint us.
His acting was supreme, he made us sympathise William Wallace.William Wallace has gone through a lot in his life already when he asked Murron to come horse riding with him. He witnessed the treachery of Longshanks and both his father and brother were killed while he was still very young. He was educated by his uncle, who didn’t only teach him how to fight, but what to fight for. William and Murron fall in love, and they marry in secret, to avoid that Murron is raped by an English Lord because of ‘ius primae noctis’ (the right of the first night). When an English soldier tries to rape Murron, William fights several soldiers and they try to flee.
William succeeds, but without him knowing, Murron was captured and killed by the English soldiers and the sheriff. To avenge Murron’s Death he and some of the villagers kill the English garrison and the sheriff. This is how the revolution starts. William gathers more and more Scottish to help him fight the English and he becomes a legend.The main character in the film is William Wallace, who is played by Mel Gibson. He is a Scottish knight who fought for the Scottish people.
He fell in love with Murron, who is played by Catherine McCormack. William is a very charismatic person, and because of that he was able to convince many to fight with him for his ultimate dream: freedom. William would rather die than live supressed, he expresses this by saying: “If I swear allegiance to him, then I am dead already”. Murron was William’s childhood sweetheart, and when they were older they married.
Murron was a very strong woman, when an English soldier attempted to rape her she bit him, and she fought to stop him.Another important character was King Edward Longshanks, who is played by Patrick McGoohan. He was the King of England from 1272 until his death in 1307. He was a violent and unforgiving man. He was not only mean to many of his subjects, but also to his son.
When he was mad at his son, he threw the man who was most likely the son’s lover out the window, which of course killed the man. It was a very cruel act, which defines his character.One of the scenes that we particularly enjoyed, and that really impressed us, is the one in which William has a dream about Murron. She tells him that an important guest is arriving.
The way the camera is used makes the scene look very mysterious. William doesn’t want to wake up because he wants to stay with Murron. You could see the sadness on his face and in his eyes, this really moved us. The emotion that is showing on William’s face makes the scene so special.The film ‘Braveheart’ is an inspiring and moving film that tells an accurate story about the life and legend of William Wallace, also known as Braveheart.
If you can handle the sight of many men and horse being either hurt severely or killed, we definitely recommend this film. It’s a very entertaining film that we enjoyed watching, and we’re sure you will too.
