Braveheart is a story of revenge, at first, but it quickly becomes the story of a person who teaches an entire nation to stand up for itself. William Wallace (Gibson) was deeply in love with his wife who he married in secret. After a cruel tragedy, Wallace has no choice but to avenge her death. As he heads down this path, the whole country gets behind him and learns to stand up to the domineering English. He teaches this country that it is better to have died than to continue to live under the rule of people who are torturing and tormenting their country through threats and terror.