Acting blew me away.

Rating: 10/10 (7 June 2000)

Having just seen "The Insider" a couple of weeks ago, I was already impressed with Russell Crowe. This film shows his versatility. And maybe it was just the role, but he reminded me of a young Richard Burton.
Connie Nielson was excellent also; I had never heard of her before.
The one who really awed me though was Joaquin Phoenix. From the movie reviews I was expecting the standard, pure evil bad guy, but this nuanced, complex performance made me feel the inner torture of this character and helped explain how he came to be who he is. I didn't like him, but I couldn't hate him.
Even if you don't care for bloody fighting scenes this movie is worth seeing if you love top-notch acting. I will be surprised if we don't hear about "Gladiator" again at Oscar time.