By Nicole Ackman
“Braveheart” was released in cinemas across America 25 years ago on May 24, 1995. The film received mostly positive reviews and made millions of dollars, eventually going on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, amongst others. The three-hour-long epic set the stage for other epics to follow and is remembered fondly by many who have nostalgia for cinema of the 1990s. The film even led to increased tourism in Scotland as moviegoers wanted to visit the places they had seen in the film. But how does “Braveheart” hold up 25 years later, as a film and as a Best Picture winner? I was only a year old when the film was released and made it this far in life without seeing it, so I decided to look at it with fresh eyes and explore its legacy. “Braveheart” tells the tale of William Wallace and how he led a Scottish army against King Edward I of England in the First War of Scottish Independence in the late-13th century, or at least it claims to. Most critics liked the film, though even then, many people pointed out the total lack of historical accuracy. Roger Ebert gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it “an action epic with the spirit of the Hollywood swordplay classics and the grungy ferocity of ‘The Road Warrior.’” There were, of course, detractors including Richard Schickel of “Time Magazine”. But the film made over $210 million worldwide and was the 13th highest-grossing film of 1995. While the battle scenes are incredibly impressive, the rest of “Braveheart” left something to be desired on my first watch. Mel Gibson’s terrible Scottish accent has been much maligned since the film’s release and it lives up to its terrible reputation. (In the film, the king remarks, “The trouble with Scotland is that it’s full of Scots.” Perhaps the trouble with “Braveheart” is that it isn’t.) The film has pacing issues and can even seem boring in between the battle sequences. Its treatment of its female characters is fairly abysmal and the King’s son, the future Edward II, is portrayed as effeminate and hinted at being gay with seemingly negative connotations. The score and the scenery (of the Irish countryside shot by Oscar winner John Toll) are great and Gibson’s performance is serviceable, with his execution scene being genuinely moving. The battle scenes are epic, having a feat of scale and Gibson certainly can come up with lots of creative ways for people to die. However, the film almost feels like it was made in the 1960s rather than the 1990s in how melodramatic it is. Overall, it just wasn’t the level of film that I would expect from a fairly recent Best Picture winner. “Braveheart” has a reputation in the history community for its utter lack of historical accuracy. As a film critic with an undergraduate degree in history, I try not to be too pretentious about historical accuracy, but “Braveheart” is one of the worst films I’ve ever seen on that front. As historian Sharon L. Krossa put it, “The events aren't accurate, the dates aren't accurate, the characters aren't accurate, the names aren't accurate, the clothes aren't accurate – in short, just about nothing is accurate.” To begin with, the term “Braveheart” has been used as a name for Robert the Bruce, not William Wallace as it’s applied to in the film. Many historians have pointed out the historical inaccuracies in the costuming: Scottish soldiers at this time wouldn’t have worn kilts or painted their faces. Other historical inaccuracies are sprinkled throughout essentially every scene. Wallace wasn’t a peasant, but rather a member of the gentry, and the English had only invaded Scotland a year before Wallace’s rebellion, rather than during Wallace’s youth as is shown in the film. Princess Isabella of France certainly didn’t have an affair with Wallace, particularly as she was only a few years old during the time of his rebellion. (My favorite inaccuracy is the lack of a bridge in the Battle of Stirling Bridge.) Certainly, many films take liberties with history in their portrayals of events and people, but when a movie is so far off, it raises a question of why they bothered naming their fictional characters after real people at all. The largest blight on the legacy of “Braveheart” might be director and lead actor Mel Gibson’s fall from grace due to anti-Semitic comments, an arrest on DUI charges, and allegations of domestic violence. Gibson has a history of homophobic, sexist, and racist comments. In 2004, the Anti-Defamation League spoke out against the portrayal of Jewish people in “The Passion of the Christ”. Two years later, anti-Semitic comments he made while being pulled over for speeding and drinking under the influence surfaced. In 2010, he was accused of domestic violence by his partner which led to his agency dropping him, actors pulling out of films with him, and his cameo in “The Hangover Part II” being canceled. He was forced out of Hollywood for several years, though he has made a comeback and even was nominated for Best Director at the Oscars in 2017 for “Hacksaw Ridge”. More recently, the trailer for his upcoming film, “Force of Nature,” was called “tone-deaf” by many as it portrays white people fighting against a gang of Latino men during a hurricane in Puerto Rico. Despite Gibson’s return to Hollywood, many haven’t forgotten the reasons why he left. While Gibson has made a comeback, his reputation may never be what it once was, and Gibson is at the epicenter of “Braveheart,” as both its director and its star. It’s hard to separate the film from him, and for those who haven’t forgotten the reasons for his departure from Hollywood, it can color the whole movie different 25 years later. Perhaps the worst thing to happen to “Braveheart,” in terms of its legacy, was its Best Picture win. It wasn’t originally considered a strong contender until Mel Gibson won the Golden Globe for Best Director. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (now called Best Original Screenplay), Best Costume Design, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score, while it won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director (for Gibson), Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. This success has turned some cinema fans against it. In 2005, “Empire” readers voted it the worst film to have won Best Picture. Personally, watching “Braveheart” and knowing it won Best Picture makes it seem like an even weaker film because I had higher standards for it than I would for an average 1990s big-budget movie. “Braveheart” has become the boilerplate for a historical epic and has inspired many others. Some like “Gladiator” (2000) were successful, while others like “Outlaw King” (2018) and even the "sequel" “Robert the Bruce” (2019) failed to capture the same audience. But for many, love for “Braveheart” remains. This June, a commemorative Blu-ray will be released to celebrate the film’s anniversary. Does “Braveheart” still hold up for the audience who went to see it upon its release in 1995? It’s possible. Does it hold up for an audience seeing it with fresh eyes and will it be considered one of the better Best Picture winners of the 1990s? My answer: absolutely not. How do you feel about "Braveheart?" Has your opinion of it changed over the years? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our Twitter account. You can follow Nicole and hear more of her thoughts on Film and the Oscars on Twitter at @nicoleackman16
Comments
|
BEST PICTURE Nomadland (15) - AWFJ, BOFCA, BSFC, CFCA, CIC, GOTHAM, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFJA, NDFS, NSFC, SFBAFCC, StLFCA, TIFF, VENICE Promising Young Woman (4) - COFCA, MCFCA, SCA, SDFCS First Cow (2) - FFCC, NYFCC Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (3) - BFCC, CIC, PFCC Minari (2) - NCFCA, OFCC The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (2) - DFCS, HFCS Another Round - EFA Da 5 Bloods - CIC Small Axe - LAFCA BEST DIRECTOR Chloé Zhao (22) - AWFJ, BOFCA, BFCC, BSFC, CFCA, COFCA, DFCS, FFCC, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFJA, LAFCA, MSFCA, NCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, NYFCC, OFCC, PFCC, SDFCS, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Spike Lee (2) - CIC, HFCS Regina King - BFCC Darius Marder - SCA Andrew Patterson - GOTHAM Thomas Vinterberg - EFA BEST ACTRESS Frances McDormand (12) - AWFJ, BOFCA, CFCA, FFCC, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFJA, NCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, OFCC, SFBAFCC Carey Mulligan (7) - COFCA, DFCS, HFCS, LAFCA, MCFCA, SCA, SDFCS, StLFCA Viola Davis (3) - BFCC, CIC, PFCC Sidney Flanigan (2) - BSFC, NYFCC Paula Beer - EFA Nicole Beharie - GOTHAM BEST ACTOR Chadwick Boseman (9) - AWFJ, BFCC, CFCA, CIC, DFCS, LAFCA, MSFCA, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Riz Ahmed (8) - COFCA, GOTHAM, GWNYFCA, HFCS, NDFS, OFCC, SCA, SDFCS Delroy Lindo (7) - BOFCA, HFCS, IFJA, NCFCA, NSFC, NYFCC, PFCC Anthony Hopkins (2) - BSFC, FFCC Mads Mikkelsen - EFA BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Youn Yuh-jung (13) - AWFJ, BFCC, BSFC, COFCA, GWNYFCA, LAFCA, MCFCA, NCFCA, OFCC, SCA, SDFCS, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Maria Bakalaova (10) - BOFCA, CFCA, CIC, FFCC, HFCS, IFJA, MCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, NYFCC Ellen Burstyn - DFCS Olivia Cooke - HFCS Amanda Seyfried - PFCC BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Paul Raci (13) - BOFCA, BSFC, CFCA, COFCA, FFCC, GWNYFCA, HFCS, NSFC, OFCC, SCA, SDFCS, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Sacha Baron Cohen (4) - DFCS, MCFCA, NCFCA, NDFS Leslie Odom Jr. (4) - AWFJ, BFCC, HFCS, IFJA Chadwick Boseman (3) - CIC, NYFCC, PFCC Glynn Turman - LAFCA BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Nomadland (8) - AWFJ, CFCA, COFCA, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFJA, NCFCA, OFCC I'm Thinking Of Ending Things (4) - BOFCA, BSFC, FFCC, StLFCA First Cow (3) - DFCS, PFCC, SFBAFCC The Father (2) - SCA, SDFCS Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2) - BFCC, CIC BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Promising Young Woman (8) - AWFJ, CIC, COFCA, HFCS, LAFCA, NDFS, OFCC, StLFCA Minari (5) - BFCC, FFCC, NCFCA, SDFCS, SFBAFCC Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always (5) - CFCA, GWNYFCA, IFJA, NSFC, NYFCC The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (4) - CIC, DFCS, HFCS, MCFCA Another Round - EFA The Forty-Year-Old-Version - GOTHAM Fourteen - GOTHAM BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Nomadland (15) - AWFJ, BOFCA, BSFC, CFCA, CIC, COFCA, GWNYFCA, HFCS, MCFCA, NCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, PFCC, SDFCS, StLFCA Mank (3) - FFCC, OFCC, SCA Small Axe (2) - LAFCA, NYFCC Tenet (2) - BFCC, HFCS First Cow - SFBAFCC Hidden Away - EFA BEST COSTUME DESIGN Emma. (2) - CFCA, SDFCS Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2) - CIC, HFCS Hidden Away - EFA BEST FILM EDITING Nomadland (6) - AWFJ, BOFCA, GWNYFCA, NDFS, SFBAFCC, StLFCA The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (4) - CIC, COFCA, HFCS, MCFCA I'm Thinking Of Ending Things (2) - BSFC, CFCA The Invisible Man (2) - MCFCA, SDFCS The Father - LAFCA Once More Unto The Breach - EFA BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING The Endless Trench - EFA Mank - HFCS Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - CIC BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Soul (13) - BOFCA, CFCA, CIC, COFCA, DFCS, FFCC, GWNYFCA, HFCS, LAFCA, NCFCA, OFCC, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Tenet (3) - IFJA, MCFCA, SCA Mank (2) - HFCS, NDFS Berlin Alexanderplatz - EFA Minari - BSFC BEST ORIGINAL SONG One Night In Miami (5) - CIC, DFCS, HFCS, HFCS, MCFCA Over The Moon - NDFS BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Mank (9) - CFCA, CIC, FFCC, HFCS, LAFCA, MCFCA, NDFS, SDFCS, StLFCA First Cow - SFBAFCC The Personal History Of David Copperfield - EFA BEST SOUND Little Girl - EFA Sound Of Metal - HFCS BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Tenet (6) - DFCS, HFCS, HFCS, NCFCA, SDFCS, StLFCA The Invisible Man (2) - CFCA, CIC The Platform - EFA Possessor - FFCC BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Soul (15) - AWFJ, BFCC, CCA, CIC, DFCS, FFCC, HFCS, IFJA, MSFCA, NCFCA, NDFS, OFCC, PFCC, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Wolfwalkers (7) - BOFCA, CFCA, COFCA, GWNYFCA, LAFCA, NYFCC, SDFCS Josep - EFA The Wolf House - BSFC BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM Another Round (8) - AWFJ, CFCA, EFA, IFJA, MCFCA, NCFCA, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Minari (3) - COFCA, DFCS, GWNYFCA Bacurau (2) - BOFCA, NYFCC The Life Ahead (2) - HFCS, SDFCS And Then We Danced - NDFS A Sun - HFCS Beanpole - LAFCA Collective - NSFC His House - CIC Identifying Features - GOTHAM Jumbo - PFCC La Llorona - BSFC Los Fuertes - FFCC Martin Eden - OFCC Night Of The Kings - BFCC BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Time (7) - BFCC, GOTHAM, GWNYFCA, LAFCA, NYFCC, PFCC, SDFCS Dick Johnson Is Dead (5) - CCA, CFCA, COFCA, IFJA, NCFCA Collective (4) - BSFC, EFA, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Boys State (3) - CIC, DFCS, OFCC All In: The Fight For Democracy (2) - AWFJ, NDFS The Painter And The Thief (2) - AWFJ, BOFCA Beastie Boys Story - HFCS Crip Camp - IDA My Octopus Teacher - HFCS The Social Dilemma - MCFCA A Thousand Cuts - GOTHAM You Don't Nomi - FFCC AuthorsNicole Ackman Archives
January 2021
Categories
All
|