A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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Positive Messages
very little
Freedom is championed as something necessary to happiness and contentment in life, and is worth dying for. The barbarity of war is shown to be the only solution to the greedy and oppressive policies of the British towards the Scottish.
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Positive Role Models
some
William Wallace emerges as the uncompromising leader of the rebellion in Scotland against the British. He fervently believes in freedom, and is willing to give up his life for it. A legend grows around him, and he becomes the symbol of the rebellion.
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
Torture, hackings, stabbings, throat-slitting, arrows and spears, and rocks deal horrible death and injuries, though quick editing rarely lingers on the gore. Implied rape and attempted rape. Graphic depiction of hanging bodies. A kid punches another kid for fun.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
some
Brief female nudity: breasts. Scottish warriors raise their kilts and expose their rear ends to the British Army before a battle. In a Draconian new policy imposed by the King, British noblemen have the right to kidnap newly married Scottish women and sleep with them.
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Language
some
Occasional profanity, including "f--k," "bitch," "bastard," "ass." Occasional sexual innuendo about prowess and genitalia size.
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
very little
Social drinking, or liquor used as a battlefield anesthetic.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Braveheart is a 1995 movie in which Mel Gibson plays William Wallace, a Scotsman who leads a revolt against the British during the 13th century. This movie has high levels of blood and gore (animal and human), vulgarity, and sexual elements. In battle, characters fight and die with swords, spears, spikes, swords, and molten lead. Rape is used as a method of oppression by the British. Sex scenes between Wallace and his doomed wife and with a consenting princess. There's some nudity in the form of female breasts and male backsides. Expect torture, hackings, stabbings, throat-slitting, and arrows and spears dealing horrible death and injuries. William Wallace is brave and noble but vengeful and absolutely uncompromising. Occasional profanity, including "f--k." There are sexual innuendos concerning prowess and the size of genitalia. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
What's the Story?
The setting is 14th-century Scotland, oppressed by the English King Edward I (Patrick McGoohan), alias Longshanks, who hangs a group of Highlanders trying to negotiate a peace treaty. One of the victim's sons is William Wallace (Mel Gibson). When Longshanks makes it legal for British nobles to sexually abuse Scottish women, Wallace's wife is killed by British soldiers. He rallies other angry Scots and an English-hating Irish brigade and stages a successful guerilla war on the British. Ironically, Wallace's goal of independence for Scotland is thwarted by the region's own aristocrats, a well-treated bunch with investments in England. Betrayed by his high-born countrymen, Wallace assassinates a number of them before he's captured and handed over to the English for public torture and execution. Wallace is unyielding to the end, and his example shames the Scottish prince Robert the Bruce (Angus McFayden) to lead a larger, more successful revolt later in Wallace's name.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how some heroes often fail to get their just recognition and glory during their lifetimes, only painful death. Why do you think this is?
William Wallace apparently did exist, but much of this movie's script has been shown to be historically bogus. How can you find out what really happened?
This movie remains popular. Why do you think it holds so much appeal for so many?
