My memory track of this movie went like this: thought it was great when it came out, later thought I'd overrated it. Having seen it again I'm back to thinking of this as a great movie. Epic in it's feel, the movie details the attempt of Scotland to gain their independence from England in the late 13th century and early 14th. Mel Gibson plays William Wallace, a Scotish commoner who rallied the people to oppose the English. Out of curiosity, I looked at a couple of histories to get a feel for this period. Churchill suggests that Wallace, not Joan of Arc, is the earliest major figure in history to urge nationalism. Who knew? (Churchill would also feel that this movie treats Edward 'Longshanks' unfairly.) The movie does play fast and loose with the details but it hits the high points fairly enough. And the overall message of 'Freedom!' is strong enough to overcome any such errors.
Gibson plays the lead and als directs this film. This isn't a valentine to himself unlike what some directors have done. The movie is quite bloody and I couldn't help contrasting the battle scenes in Braveheart with the ones in the LOTR movies (which I recently rewatched). The use of real people is more striking than the CGI ones. An axe to the wrist means more when it looks like real damage is being dealt. In contrast to the battles is the camerawork of the scenery. Scotland is just beautiful. And the movie captures that well.
No comments:
Post a Comment