almost the top of its genre

Rating: 8/10 (2 July 2000)

The battle scene in Gladiator presents the dichotomy of the human butchery below and the serenity of the sky above. That image becomes the theme of the film itself. Like all worthy films, Gladiator is a love story. Love being a complex emotion with two faces, it is the character of the cruel and cowardly emperor Commodus that truly stitches this movie together. As Commodus, I found that Joaquin Phoenix gave a performance comparable (if not exceeding) that of no greater a portrayer of cinematic villainy than Christopher Plummer. Plummer, the most noted Iago, Shakespeare's ultimate bad guy, of the 20th Century, also assayed the part of Commodus in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). In that, lesser, film Plummer's Commodus provides the common foe that enables the love connection between Sophia Loren and Steven Boyd to shine. In Gladiator, Phoenix's brooding depiction of a man balanced on the edge of insanity lends his victim the pedestal of greatness, and in turn propels Gladiator above other Ancient Roman era epics, with the exception of Ben-Hur. It is love that sends Commodus over the edge, not love of a woman, but love of himself, when he finds that he can't truly kill his father, the emperor Marcus Aurelius, whose spirit carries on in the person of the betrayed general and eventual gladiator Maximus (Russell Crowe). The battle scene and the scenes of gladiatorial combat are not cheap gore. They underscore the inherent brutality of that place and that time in history. There is blood, but just enough to make the point intended. Another theme in Ancient Roman costume epics has been the birth and fruition of Christianity, most notably in Ben-Hur and The Robe. This is touched into the canvas of Gladiator with a fine brush, as if Seurat had painted the scene, but it never comes forefront, almost thankfully. Like the sky above the battle scene, it is simply there, in the love of Maximus for his absent wife and son. There are some noted actors who contribute to Gladiator: Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius; the late Oliver Reed; and Derek Jacobi (who has had plenty of experience in a toga as the star of the I, Claudius series). Gladiator is a worthwhile and uplifting film, well-acted and well-directed. It does not succeed to the top of its genre, but very nearly so.