Braveheart (1995)

Mel Gibson’s performance in this film is as good as any performance I’ve ever seen. Not only was his performance amazing, but the acting of each and every person in this film was fantastic. David O’Hara’s Stephen was one of the best characters in the film. He was funny, relatable and with the tone of the film being so serious, he managed to add some light-heartedness. With the acting being so good, it was easy to become attached to many of the characters, including Gibson’s William Wallace. By the end of this film, Wallace had essentially cemented himself as one of the most badass characters in the history of film (I’m genuinely confused how Gibson wasn’t nominated for any awards for his acting performance in this film). The battle scenes were choreographed fantastically. The entire film was done very well, but these particular scenes were captivating. Through a little research, it appears that this film is very historically accurate, making it that much more impressive. Even though this film consists of historically accurate themes and events, Randall Wallace and Mel Gibson did an excellent job of making this story original. This film very much falls within the realm of the literary theory “new historicism,” making it even more interesting to me. The events that took place in the film were, in some ways, a result of some historical events, adding another layer to the film. To take historical events and manipulate them in a manner that makes them original and exciting to the general public is truly remarkable. The symbolism, as Wallace is dragged to his death at the end of the film (not just here, but predominantly here), is fantastic. Although the comparison might be subtle, one can certainly see how Wallace is being compared to Jesus, as a savior and a martyr to his people. There are seemingly an infinite number of positive things I could say about this film, as I truly didn’t find any flaws with this production. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0112573/