Braveheart Page #2

HIS NIGHTMARE:

In the blue-grays of his dream, William stands at the door

of the barn, gazing at the hanged knights. We WHIP PAN to

their faces, garish, horrible... Then one of the heads moves

and its eyes open! William wants to run, but he can't get

his body to respond... and the hanging nobleman, his bloated

tongue still bursting through his lips, moans...

GHOUL:

Will--iam...!

WILLIAM tears himself from sleep; looking around, swallowing

back his tears and panic.

IN THE KITCHEN:

A dozen strong, tough farmers have huddled. Red-headed

CAMPBELL, scarred and missing fingers, is stirred up, while

his friend MacCLANNOUGH is reluctant.

CAMPBELL:

Wallace is right! We fight 'em!

MACCLANNOUGH:

Every nobleman who had any will to

fight was at that meeting.

MALCOLM WALLACE:

So it's up to us! We show them we

won't lie down to be their slaves!

MACCLANNOUGH:

We can't beat an army, not with the

fifty farmers we can raise!

MALCOLM WALLACE:

We don't have to beat 'em, just fight

'em. To show 'em we're not dogs, but

men.

Young Wallace has snuck down and is eavesdropping from the

stairs. He sees his father drip his finger into a jug of

whiskey and use the wet finger to draw on the tabletop.

MALCOLM WALLACE:

They have a camp here. We attack

them at sunset tomorrow. Give us all

night to run home.

EXT. WALLACE FARM - DAY

Malcolm and John have saddled horses; they are checking the

short swords they've tucked into grain sacks when William

comes out of the barn with his own horse.

MALCOLM:

William, you're staying here.

WILLIAM:

I can fight.

These words from his youngest son make Malcolm pause, and

kneel, to look into William's eyes.

MALCOLM:

Aye. But it's our wits that make us

men. I love ya, boy. You stay.

Malcolm and John mount their horses and ride away, leaving

William looking forlorn. They wave; he waves back.

EXT SCOTTISH HILLS, NEAR THE WALLACE FARM - DAY

It's strangely quiet, until William and his friend HAMISH

CAMPBELL, a red-headed like his father, race up the hillside

and duck in among a grove of trees. Breathless, gasping,

they press their backs to the tree bark. William peers around

a tree, then shrinks back and whispers...

WILLIAM:

They're coming!

HAMISH:

How many?

WILLIAM:

Three, maybe more!

HAMISH:

Armed?

WILLIAM:

They're English soldiers, ain't they?

HAMISH:

With your father and brother gone,

they'll kill us and burn the farm!

WILLIAM:

It's up to us, Hamish!

Hamish leans forward for a look, but William pulls him back.

WILLIAM:

Not yet! Here he comes, be ready!

They wait; heavy FOOTSTEPS. Then from around the edge of the

grove three enormous, ugly hogs appear. The boys hurling

rotten eggs. The eggs slap the snouts of the pigs, who scatter

as the boys charge, howling. We PULL BACK... as the sun goes

down on their play.

EXT. THE WALLACE HOUSE - SUNDOWN

The boys walk toward the house, beneath a lavender sky.

HAMISH:

Wanna stay with me tonight?

WILLIAM:

I wanna have supper waitin'.

HAMISH:

We'll get those English pigs tomorrow.

WILLIAM:

Aye, we'll get 'em.

EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT

William's face appears at the window, looking toward

THE DISTANT HILLS

of trees and heather, where there is no sign of life.

INT. THE HOUSE - NIGHT

William has cooked stew in a pot, and now spoons up two

steaming bowls full and sets them out on the table. But he

is only hoping. He looks out the window again; he is still

all alone. So he leaves a candle burning on the table beside

the stew, and moves up the stairs.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - DAWN

The house is silent, fog rolling around it in the dawn.

INT. FARMHOUSE - DAWN

William has been awake all night, afraid to sleep. He rises,

and in QUICK CUTS: he dresses; he moves down the hall, stops

at the door of his father's bedroom and sees the undisturbed

bed. He moves on, passing the door of his brother's room,

also unrumpled.

IN THE KITCHEN:

He finds the two cold bowls of stew, beside the exhausted

candle. He spoons up his own cold porridge, and eats alone.

EXT. HOUSE - DAY

William is in the barn loft, shoveling corn down to feed the

hogs, while he glimpses something coming.

THE BOY'S POV

An ox cart is coming down the curving lane. Its driver is

Campbell, with MacClannough walking behind it. The farmers

glance up at William, their faces grim...

From his perch in the loft, William sees that the neighbors

have brought:
the bodies of his father and brother. The cart

stops; Campbell, with a bandage around his left hand where

more of his fingers are now missing, studies the back of the

ox, as if it could tell him how to break such news. The butt

of the ox seems to tell him to be matter-of-fact.

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