It's clear throughout Braveheart that it is very much Mel Gibson's baby. Gibson's typically Australian antagonism towards the English, continued in 2000's The Patriot, is given plenty of airing here. Taking on the unenviable task of both starring in and directing (for the first time) this monstrous, "they don't make 'em like this any more" three-hour epic, Gibson's lion-maned William Wallace dominates the film. The actor's Scottish accent may have been the subject of some ridicule since, but Gibson nails the essential charisma and physicality demanded by the part; you can understand why men would follow him into battle, and factor that the leading men in some subsequent historical pictures such as Alexander and Kingdom of Heaven have struggled to emulate. In the light of his subsequent directorial effort The Passion of the Christ, precursors in Gibson's direction can be identified, and indeed, the theme of heroic, selfless sacrifice is central to both, even if it takes up more of the running time in The Passion. (Wallace is even attached to a crucifix for the climactic torture sequence.)
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