'Braveheart': A Heavy Dose of Vicarious Courage

Is bravery really the right word if you're rallying your troops toward certain death? It takes guts to follow another man into battle when the enemy outnumbers you, but perhaps insanity to lead the charge.

William Wallace, a 13th century Scot who fought the English for independence, fills our hearts with vicarious courage as we experience his story told steadily over the 3-hour-long campaign of a movie that is Braveheart.

Slow in pace and lengthy in runtime, had Braveheart been a mini-series, many might not have made it past the first expository episode; which would have been a real shame, for what follows the quiet world-building is an inspirational tale of epic proportion.

Said to have initially turned down the lead role in fear of being 'too old', 38-year-old Mel Gibson carries the film with his portrayal of a canonically younger Wallace; the first of many supposed historical slips that can easily be overlooked.

Having grown up with films like The Patriot, and We Were Soldiers, despite how one may feel about Gibson's personal views, his charisma on screen is undeniable, and his role as Wallace in Braveheart is no exception. William's unwavering valiance forcibly charms all who gaze upon him, including the guerrilla farmers who risk everything to stand by his side in the name of freedom.

As with most violent movies that overflow with carnage, the backdrop of rebellion gives way to a morally ambiguous bunch of 'good guys'.

Although honorable in cause, Wallace ruthlessly enacts vengeance against those who wronged him; a brutal sense of justice that clashes with his overtly christ-like rendition.

Nonetheless, a romanticized vision of war overcomes us as Wallace rallies his allies toward liberation, the bagpipe leitmotif sending a fleet of goosebumps across our skin faster than the sky deadly of arrows that engulfs his army on the battlefield.

A family man, a Don Juan, a saint, and a savage all in one, millions of downtrodden men wander this earth just waiting for a Wallace to come along and give them a cause worth fighting for.

And thus, in some remote village of the Scottish countryside, the story is told of a boy named William who suffered at the hands of his oppressors, manifested a vision of sovereignty and grew into a man that would live as a leader, and die as a legend.

May we all find a little bit of Wallace in our lives and stand up for what we believe to be right, even if it comes at a price.