Plot

In 13th Century Scotland, Alexander III had died without a son, and after several years of
political unrest in the country, the land is open to an invasion from the south. King Edward
I of England (Patrick McGoohan) also known as Longshanks takes control of Scotland.
William Wallace (Mel Gibson) grows up in this atmosphere of repression and fear and
survives the death of his father and brother. Wallace is taken abroad by his uncle Argyle
(Brian Cox). They travel to Europe and Wallace learns to read, write and speak Latin and
French, as well as to use a sword.
Meanwhile, King Edward's son Prince Edward (Peter Hanly) marries Princesss Isabella of
France (Sophie Marceau), to unite the countries of England and France. However, Edward's
homosexual desires for his advisor Philip means he has no love for her, which causes her to
suffer from emotional pain.
King Edward begins to grant his English nobles privileges in Scotland. One such privilege
is Primae Noctis, the right for the lord to take a newly married Scottish woman into his bed
and spend the wedding night with the bride.
When William Wallace returns home, he falls in love with his childhood sweetheart
Murron MacClannough (Catherine McCormack), and they marry in secret in hopes of
preventing her from spending a night in the bed of the English lord.
The Scots continue to live under the iron fist of Longshanks' cruel laws. Wallace intends on
living as a farmer and avoiding involvement in the ongoing "troubles", but when an English
soldier tries to rape Murron, Wallace fights off several soldiers and the two attempt to flee.
However, the village sheriff William Heselrig captures Murron and publicly executes her
by slitting her throat, proclaiming "an assault on the King's soldiers is the same as an
assault on the King himself." In retribution, Wallace and several villagers slaughter the
English garrison, executing Heselrig in the same manner that he executed Murron.
After this, Wallace is compelled to fight against the English, and in response to Wallace's
exploits, the commoners of Scotland rise in revolt against England. As his legend spreads,
hundreds of Scots from the surrounding clans volunteer to join Wallace's militia.
Wallace leads his army through a series of successful battles against the English, including
the Battle of Stirling Bridge on September 11, 1297, and the Sacking of the City of York.
All the while, Wallace seeks the assistance of young Robert the Bruce (Angus Macfadyen),
son of the leper noble Robert the Elder (Ian Bannen) and the chief contender for the
Scottish crown. However, Robert is dominated by his scheming father, who wishes to
secure the throne of Scotland to his son by bowing down to the English, despite his son's
growing admiration for Wallace and his cause.
Worried by the threat of the rebellion, Longshanks poses to send the French princess
Isabelle to try and negotiate peace with Wallace. Princess Isabelle is the wife of Prince

Edward, the Prince of Wales and Longshanks's oldest son. The King sends her because his
son is a weak-willed man and, not being imposing enough to negotiate, would likely only
encourage Wallace to press his advantage, but she is a strong and intelligent woman.
Longshanks also knows that if Wallace kills her, the French king will declare war on
Wallace in revenge.
Isabelle meets with Wallace, who tries to tell him that Edward will give him gold, land, and
other rights. However, Wallace refuses. She tells Wallace that she understands that he is
doing it for a dead woman. Wallace tells her she was his wife, and they murdered her to
lure him into the fight.
For Wallace to continue fighting, he needs the Scottish nobility on his side, contributing
troops and food. But Wallace has problems convincing the nobility that they have a real
chance to take back the country from the English. The nobles are more interested in their
own welfare, assisted by British privileges and bribes, than the welfare of their subjects.
Eventually, two of these nobles, Lochlan and Mornay, betray Wallace at the bloody Battle
of Falkirk the following year on July 22, 1298 as a new and larger English army invades
Scotland led by Longshanks himself. The Scots lose the battle, and Wallace nearly loses his
life when, in a last desperate act, he furiously breaks ranks and charges toward Longshanks
to kill him personally. He is intercepted by one of the king's lancers, who turns out to be
Robert the Bruce (ordered by his father to support the English), but in an act of remorse
Bruce is able to get Wallace to safety just before the English can capture him.
Over the next seven years, Wallace goes into hiding and wages a protracted guerilla war
against the English. To repay Mornay and Lochlan for their betrayals, Wallace brutally
murders both men.
A trap is set for Wallace to be assassinated, but Wallace is informed of this by Isabella, and
he evades the trap. He then visits Isabella in a shack. He asks her why she helps him, and
she reveals she has been enamored by him. The two make love, impregnating Isabella.
Robert the Bruce contacts Wallace to set up a meeting, where the Bruce intends to declare
his intent to join Wallace and commit troops to the war. Still believing there is some good
in the nobility of his country, Wallace eventually agrees to meet with Robert the Bruce in
Edinburgh. However, Robert's father has conspired with the other nobles to set a trap, and
Wallace is caught and handed over to the English. Learning of his father's treachery, the
younger Robert Bruce disowns his father. Isabelle has her own revenge on the now
terminally ill Longshanks by quietly confessing to him that she is pregnant with Wallace's
child and that she will end Longshank's line and rule following his death.
In London, Wallace is brought before the English magistrates, tried for high treason and
after refusing to confess, sentenced to execution by public torture and beheading at the
Tower of London. Despite being half hanged, racked and disemboweled alive, Wallace
refuses to submit to the king and beg for mercy. Awed by his courage, the Londoners
watching the execution begin to yell for mercy, and the magistrate offers him one final
chance. However, the defiant Wallace instead uses the last of his strength to shout,

"Freedom!" Just as he is about to be beheaded, Wallace sees an image of Murron in the

crowd smiling at him, before the blow is struck.