Great Scene: “Braveheart”

For an actor, there is nothing better than a great death scene — and in the annals of notable dying scenes in the last few decades, the execution of William Wallace (Mel Gibson) in Braveheart (1995) is one of the most memorable ones. Here is an excerpt of Wallace’s very last moments of life, as scripted by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Randall Wallace:

In the SCORE, AMAZING GRACE, wailed on bagpipes, carries through
all that happens now… Ties hand and foot, Wallace is
strangling. The Magistrate watches coldly; even when the
executioner gives him a look that says they’re about to go too
far, he prolongs the moment; then the Magistrate nods and the
executioner cuts the rope. Wallace slams to the platform; the
Magistrate leans to him.

MAGISTRATE
Pleasant, yes? Rise to your knees, kiss the royal emblem on my
cloak, and you will feel no more.

With great effort, Wallace rises to his knees. The Magistrate
assumes a formal posture and offers the cloak. Wallace struggles
all the way to his feet.

MAGISTRATE
Very well then. Rack him.

The executioners slam Wallace onto his back on the table, spread
his arms and legs, and tie each to a crank. Goaded by the crowd,
they pull the ropes taut. They crowd grows quiet enough to hear
the groaning of Wallace’s limbs. Hamish and Stephen feel it in
their own bodies.

MAGISTRATE
Wonderful, isn’t it, that a man remains conscious through such
pain. Enough?

Wallace shakes his head. The executioners cut off his clothes,
take hot irons from a fire box. The crowd grows silent; we see
them, not Wallace, as the irons are touched to his body, but we
hear the burning of flesh. Then the Magistrate signals; Wallace
wants to say something.

WALLACE
That…will..clear your sinuses.

Everyone hears; Hamish smiles, even through his tears. Rebuffed,
the Magistrate nods to the executioners, who lift the terrible
instruments of dissection.

We are spared seeing the cutting: we are ON WALLACE’S FACE as the
disembowelment begins. The Magistrate leans in beside him.

MAGISTRATE
It can all end. Right now! Bliss. Peace. Just say it. Cry
out. “Mercy!” yes? …Yes?

The crowd can’t hear the magistrate but they know the procedure,
and they goad Wallace, chanting…

CROWD
Mer-cy! Mer-cy! Mer-cy!

Wallace’s eyes roll to the magistrate, who signals QUIET!

MAGISTRATE
(booming)
The prisoner wishes to say a word!

SILENCE. Hamish and Stephen weep, whisper, pray…

HAMISH AND STEPHEN
Mercy, William… Say Mercy…

Wallace’s eyes flutter, and clear. He fights through the pain,
struggles for one last deep breath, and screams…

WALLACE
FREEEEE-DOMMMMMM!

The shout RINGS through the town. Hamish hears it. The Princess
hears it, at her open window, and touches her tummy, just showing
the first signs of her pregnancy. Longshanks and his son seem to
hear; the cry STILL ECHOES as if the wind could carry it through
the ends of Scotland; and Robert the Bruce, on the walls of his
castle, looks up sharply, as if he has heard…

IN THE LONDON SQUARE

the crowd has never seen courage like this; even English
strangers begin to weep. The angry, defeated magistrate gives a
signal. They cut the ropes, drag Wallace over and put his head
on the block. The executioner lifts his huge axe — and Wallace
looks toward the crowd.

THE CROWD, WALLACE’S POV

He sees Hamish, eyes brimming, face glowing…

SLOW MOTION — THE AXE

begins to drop.

WALLACE’S POV

In the last half-moment of his life, when he has already stepped
into the world beyond this one, he glimpses someone standing at
Hamish’s shoulder. She is beautiful, smiling, serene.

She is Marion.

CUT TO BLACK

Here’s the actual movie scene and it’s worth comparing to the script for a number of reasons. First, note how many intercuts the editors used, jumping from Wallace’s execution to the crowd reactions to the king’s death bed to Princess Isabelle (Sophie Marceau) — only the crowd indicated in the script. But one thing that did definitely have its origin in the screenplay is what Wallace ‘sees’ in his very last seconds of life: A vision of Marion, his young wife who was slaughtered years ago, now ‘alive’ and smiling at Wallace. Marion is further symbolized in the bloodied cloth — from her dress — Wallace clutches in his hands, then finally releases as he is beheaded (implied but not shown). It’s not only a clever way to provide a ‘positive’ spin to this sad moment, but also drives the viewer deeper into the story’s emotional core, reminding us the quite personal reasons why Wallace became so caught up in events as he did.

http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=U54CG

[Originally posted December 26, 2008]

Comment Archive