A film about death... *SPOILERS*

Rating: Null/10 (18 May 2000)

*WARNING* SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW*
Some of the reviews I've read here just miss the point altogether.

A short while ago I watched this film for the first time, and came away feeling reasonably entertained. I was not entirely inspired, short of a minor hankering to skim through my old history books, but I didn't think too much about the film following that. Just the other day I was asked to come along and watch it again, with a friend who is very much interested in Roman history. He agreed to pay half my ticket, so I figured what the hey...
It was upon my second viewing that it became clear to me this film was a lot more than just about the story we see on the surface. The story is not about revenge, the story is not about Rome, the story is not about Commodus or Aurelius, or the Roman empire. Rather the story is about death. From the opening swells of the score, we see the idealised final moments of Maximus' life, as he brushes his hands over the wheat field, walking to join his wife and son in death. Then the story begins, showing Maximus at one of his most private moments, dreaming of this ideal moment. Ultimately, the film is to be closed by the same sequence, which then closes the circle, immersing Maximus in his own private heaven. The constant usage of the supernatural imagery in the film ensure the theme is reinforced regularly throughout the remainder of Maximus' life. Upon discovering the death of his family, he loses his will to live, but his responsibilities in life constantly thwart his will to die. Maximus has things to do (in this case to avenge his ruler and family) before he dies.
I'll go out on a limb here, but : I believe many modern western audiences would find Maximus a hero. But few in the audience can quite understand why they do so, after all, he is a walking meat grinder who kills mercilessly, right? I venture they do so because he is the personification of every single member in the audience's wish : an ultimate desire to ensure they can make amends/tie up loose ends before passing into the afterlife, whatever they might (or might not) conceive it to be. Maximus does this, and quite literally drops dead the moment he fulfills his responsibilities to his self and his dead master in life.
Put in this context, Ridley Scott's directorial decisions made perfect sense to me. The use of Lisa Gerrard's haunting, almost spiritual vocals in the soundtrack were spot on. Also worth noting was a device specific to this film : Used as reminder of Maximus' desire to join his loved ones in the afterlife, the shot/sequence of him sliding along the ground with eyes closed was interrupted when his business in life was incomplete, but unimpeded when he was at peace. Then there were the little things - when Maximus was to be put to the death by sword, he pleads for a soldier's death, a "clean" death. The discussions about death with his Numidian slave friend, and finally the last conversation he has with Commodus before they fight to the death, where he quotes Aurelius' about smiling back at death.
Technically? The story we see on the surface employed a tremendous amount of creative license. To the people faulting the film for this creative license, I say go watch the discovery channel if you want a documentary. This film rather was using devices applied on a day to day basis by sci-fi writers, without the cries of historical inaccuracy either. It's quite obvious to even the most naive of viewers (?) that Ridley Scott was telling a fictional tale set against the backdrop of historical truth, rather like "Titanic" did to seemingly far fewer complaints. This is a pretty common device in storytelling, and to people who have problems with that, I can only say learn to tell the difference between a story and a true story.
The script for this film was sufficiently well performed not to draw too much complaint, and the special effects if a bit comic book were used sparingly and only to create a sense of place quite effectively. I have heard people commenting about being disappointed or unimpressed by the fight sequences. I personally cringed, but to those who found them tame, I point them with a grin to Maximus' remarks after killing several people in the arena "What is the matter, are you not entertained? Is this not what you paid to see?". Indeed the film was also making rather pointed references to us, the viewers in that respect.
A warm, if a tad brutal treatment of notions of "the perfect/clean death". 6/10.