The Final Scenes of Braveheart

1138 Words3 Pages

The Final Scenes of Braveheart

Film scripts are written in reverse so that everything we see at the

end is led up to in the film itself. Braveheart, directed by its star,

Mel Gibson, is a splendid example of this process.

The last two scenes of the film show the public torture and the

execution of William Wallace and the re-emergence of Scottish power as

Robert the Bruce finally takes on Wallace's cause and leads the Scots

to victory at the battle of Bannockburn. The film is based on

historical fact but the truth has been distorted to make a more

effective film.

The execution sequence opens with a pair of dwarves entertaining the

crowd with a mock execution. Mel Gibson included this scene to

demonstrate to the audience that executions were a means of

entertainment in the past. The crowd found the dwarves entertaining

and laughed. The dwarves were trying to hide the fact that William

Wallace was going to die. They tried to put William across as a

traitor and as an object not a person. William was brought in on a

cross just like Jesus was. They may have done this to show that

William was as important to the Scottish as Jesus. I don't think

William was really brought in on a cross. I think it's just to make

the storyline more interesting.

In the scene before the execution, William is shown in his cell

praying to God and saying "I'm so afraid, give me the strength to die

well." This makes the audience feel hate for the English putting him

through this trauma, just because he fought for his country to be

free. He is then tied to the cross and erected onto a cart. The crowd

who have come to see the execution throw rotten fruit and rubbish at

him while he is taken to the place of his death. This makes the

audience feel bad about the way the English treated him. He looks at

them in shame while the depressing music is played while the clip is

Open Document