It’s always problematic when the plot of a historical film relies too heavily on contemporary values for drama and pathos. Although screenwriters should be free to take some dramatic liberties with the past (after all, had it not been for storytellers, Robin Hood and King Arthur would be lost to history), depicting historical events, and people, with a 21st-century perspective often can result in gross inaccuracies.
“Gladiator,” the new film from Ridley Scott (“Blade Runner,” “Alien”) is a case in point. Set in ancient Rome, the film would have us believe, among other things, that a Caesar would apologize to his son for being a bad father and that a gladiator who refused the order to slay an opponent would be treated as a hero and allowed to leave the ring alive. With such embellishments, it is difficult to accept the movie’s reality, a fault that ultimately restricts the viewer from ever becoming more than superficially involved in the story and characters.
As “Gladiator” opens, General Maximus (Russell Crowe) is leading the Roman troops to a brutal victory against the tattered Germanic tribal army. After the battle, Maximus is summoned to the tent of the dying Caesar, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), who asks the general to be the next emperor. The old man is convinced that Maximus is the one to rid Rome of the corruption that has prevented the city from becoming a true republic.
Naturally Marcus’ decision angers his son and supposed successor, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), leading him to kill his father and assume the title of Caesar. Maximus narrowly escapes death himself, but, weakened from wounds incurred during his flight, he soon collapses into a hallucinatory coma. He awakens in a desert slave market, where he is sold to Proximo (Oliver Reed), a grizzled businessman who trains him to be a gladiator. With his military experience and almost superhuman killing ability, Maximus quickly becomes a warrior to be feared.
Meanwhile, back in Rome Commodus is threatening to do away with the Senate once and for all, despite the contrary advice of his sister, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). To distract the public from his political maneuverings, the new Caesar declares a 150-day long festival of gladiatorial games. And who should turn up for the event but a certain ex-general, eager for revenge.
It is easy to see why Crowe leaped at the chance to play Maximus; the role basically allows him to be a Christ figure, a shining example of masculine perfection. How perfect is Maximus? So perfect that his fellow gladiators constantly chant his name. So perfect that he can take out a mace-wielding opponent and four tigers almost without breaking a sweat. So perfect that Lucilla, a strong person in her own right, is reduced to tears in his presence.
As if we weren’t already convinced of Maximus’s godliness, the film’s villain, Commodus, is depicted as a cowardly, and vaguely effeminate, brat who — gasp!
