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Gladiator

2000

Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" (2000) represents a new generation of toga movies form those famous in the 1960's. After some iconic films like “Cleopatra” (1963) and “Spartacus” (1960), the industry of Roman movies died off since other films didn’t compare and inevitably failed. There was a several-decade gap in which this genre wasn’t touched, but “Gladiator” was a revival of toga movies for a fresh audience who hadn’t experienced anything like it. Also, filmmaking had significantly improved in the time between the last popular Roman films, and a better movie was built on the foundation of the old-style movies of the 1960’s. The villain of this movie is the cruelest and most developed evil of the genre, and Joaquin Phoenix’s performance makes the character deeply hated by the audience. The costumes are crafted to further emphasize characters, as the women are desexualized and maternal, Commodus is flashy, and most soldiers are color-coded as good and bad. Religion is, for the first time, not pushed on the audience, or made a huge factor in the plot or a character’s life. “Gladiator” was a revamp of the toga movie genre, and a large reason that younger generations have ever watched films like it.

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Fashionistas of Rome

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Commodus

The main antagonist in this film, Commodus, is definitely the worst among villains of toga movies. He has so many layers to his trauma that should make the audience feel remorse, but he’s just utterly hate-able.

To begin, there’s a recurring theme in the genre that antagonists are sexually deviant in some way. This is absolutely present in Commodus, who is extremely sexually interested in his sister Lucilla. That’s right, incest is his cup of tea. He repeatedly tries to assault her, trying to get her to kiss him and even stroking her breasts as she sits in fear. At one point in the film when he discovers she has been working against him, he ties her to a chair and says, “Lucius will stay with me now and if his mother so much as looks at me in a manner that displeases me, he will die. And if she decides to be noble and take her own life, he will die. And, as for you, [looking at Lucilla] you will love me as I have loved you. You will provide me with an heir of pure blood so that Commodus and his progeny will rule for 1,000 years. Am I not merciful? [He gets close to her face and tries to kiss her but Lucilla turns away. Commodus grabs her by the jaw and turns her face towards him screaming] AM I NOT MERCIFUL? [Tears slowly come down Lucilla's face],” as found in the script on Gladiator (2000) transcript - Screenplays for You (sfy.ru). Lucius is her young son whom she takes care of by herself after her husband’s passing. This makes Commodus’ infatuation of her even more bitter, as maternal figures are rarely sexualized in these films. Lucilla cannot harshly refuse these advances, as she must play nice to allow her son to one day rule, but it’s evident that she lives in constant fear around him.

On a darker note, Commodus also has intense daddy issues. His character is obviously not right in the head, but he was next in line for the throne since his father Marcus Aurelius, the current emperor, was growing older. Emperor Aurelius decided that he was too corrupted by politics, as well as a little psychotic, and entrusted the future of Rome to General Maximus Meridius–Commodus’ friend since childhood, and someone not of royal descent. When this is found out, it’s revealed all the prince has ever wanted was to be loved by his father. It’s honestly heartbreaking to hear Commodus say, “I searched the faces of the gods for ways to please you, to make you proud.... One kind word, one full hug while you pressed me to your chest and held me tight, would have been like the sun on my heart for a thousand years.... What is it in me you hate so much? All I ever wanted was to live up to you, Caesar, Father…I would have butchered the whole world if you would have only loved me!” He then hugs his father crying, and squeezes so hard he asphyxiates him to death. Crushed by the knowledge that the one thing he worked for all his life–and was promised to him–was taken away by the word of his father, he enacted in a swarm of anger and grief. This was the catalyst event for most of the film’s plot, as he becomes emperor and uses his time to try and undo his father’s work and kill Maximus. It’s his idea of revenge on his father for loving Maximus more than him, and never living up to his standards. However, Commodus is always filled with confusing and mixed emotions about his dad, as he later cries to a carving of his father’s head, then proceeds to attack it with his sword. He’s a very complicated character, with an even more complicated relationship with his father, giving him lots of complexity as a villain.

Commodus is envious of Maximus, which is tragic considering they’ve been close since childhood, and makes their betrayal of each other sink even deeper into viewers’ hearts. His father was the cause of their pitt against each other, calling Maximus the son he never had and giving the role of emperor to him out of distrust for his own son. Therefore, when he stole back the emperor position by killing his father, his next mission was to kill Maximus. On this route we see one of the most horrendous things ordered by Commodus–the beating, raping, and hanging of Maximus’ family, and the destruction of their farm. Commodus rules recklessly on the adrenaline of killing (or thinking he killed) two important people in his life, selling grain reserves to pay for endless games and trying to dismantle the Senate because he’s against the republic that his father wanted and Maximus would’ve made happen. However, when he learns Maximus is alive and discovers that the people love him, envy strikes him again. Commodus wants to be loved and respected as an emperor–not always having to bribe people for their support. He also wants the love of his sister, Lucilla, who is in love with Maximus. Maximus has everything he wants in his life, and Commodus is driven further towards insanity when he can’t simply murder him, as he’s now a public treasure and he still yearns to be liked as emperor. Eventually, his anger and arrogance overpower his “mercy” and he challenges Maximus to a fight. He even cheats by stabbing Maximus before the fight begins, yet he still remains defeated and slain by his long-time friend. Yearning for a life where people loved and appreciated him, his jealousy of Maximus and the drive to be better than him got him killed–a tragic ending to a tragic friendship.

Commodus was definitely the most evil antagonist of the genre at the time of "Gladiator"'s release. He’s malicious in general, but also has immense amounts of anger and jealousy pent up in his mind, creating an impulsive ruler who is power hungry and creepy. He wants his sister to be in love with him, can’t decide if he worships or hates his father (who he killed), craves control and attention, and wants to be the protagonist so badly he becomes the antagonist. After all the trauma the audience witnesses, it’s understandable to a certain degree that he would be a little crazy, but his character adds more and more layers of disgusting throughout the movie that ensures no empathy is felt for him.

Costumes

The wardrobe decisions in this movie helped form the characters on the screen in a more understandable way to the audience. Although it wasn’t completely historically accurate, films rarely are, and the fashion of different social classes and genders reinforces certain traits.

Despite there being very few women in “Gladiator”, it’s the first toga movie to not overtly sexualize them through their wardrobe. There are no sexy dancers or prostitutes, and there’s not even a speck of nudity. Lucilla, who’s the main female character, is always shown modestly. This could be for several reasons, the first being that she’s a mother. Having a son on screen that’s around 10 years old, the audience could view her differently for showing excessive cleavage or leg. Maternal figures have historically been obscured from sexualization in film, but previous films in the genre haven’t followed this ideal, like “Cleopatra” or “Spartacus”. “Gladiator” restoring this societal standard to these movies may have given audiences a certain level of ease that had been missing for decades. Another reason for her wardrobe modesty could be tied to her actual character and her living situation. She fears Commodus, as he wants to be with her sexually, yet as a royal family member she lives in the estate with him. Lucilla wants to discourage his troubling behavior and dressing more modestly could be a way of aiding that. If she desexualizes herself, maybe he’ll be less aggressive or even less often lustful. The costumes for Lucilla are always gorgeous and translate as an elegant symbol of her wealth, even putting decorative makeup on her forehead and eyebrows. However, knowing there could be a deeper reason for the way she dresses makes her character even more heartbreaking and strong.

Commodus’ wardrobe speaks volumes about his arrogance, entitlement, and need for attention. Yes he’s emperor, so he should be dressed lavishly, but even in the privacy of his estate he wears flashy cloaks and crowns. Comparatively, his father wore a casual and comfortable looking robe in the scene he was shown in privacy. Besides this, he almost always wears purple, as it’s the color of royalty. On the one notable occasion that he didn’t, he was wearing white from head to toe in the spirit of showmanship and cockiness. This was, of course, when he declared he would duel Maximus (wearing all black) in the gladiator ring. Wearing all white highlights that he views himself as the hero of the story even though the audience is very aware he’s the villain. Traditionally, this genre dressed the good guy in light colors or gave him white horses, and the bad guy sported dark colors. The costume designers’ decision to flip this agenda emphasizes Commodus’ obsession with being loved and his derangement in thinking that killing the people's hero will make him a protagonist. Also, his character chose to wear all white to a fight, showing arrogance in thinking his clothes wouldn’t get a speck of dirt on them and he would easily kill Maximus, even cheating by stabbing him before the fight to ensure his ease in victory. His clothing truly accentuated his psychopathy and his twisted hero perspective.

The costume designers of “Gladiator” may not have had the history of Roman fashion perfected, but they told the stories of their characters through fabric nonetheless. Characterization through wardrobe helped set this movie on top in its genre, as previous films dressed to appeal to audiences instead of to meaning. Costumes created deeper layers to the actions, reasonings, and arcs of characters in the movie.

Religion

“Gladiator” differs from other Roman films in the way that religion isn’t shoved into the forefront of the plot. Whether it’s Romans vs. Christians or demonizing other religions as pagan, the genre has a pattern of using faith as a main means of unity or separation. But in this film, religion is finally in the background and is decently ambiguous towards a general spirituality.

One of the most compelling scenes about religion is when Maximus is cutting into his SPQR tattoo. SPQR means “Senatus PopulusQue Romanus”, or “Senate and the People of Rome”, being a symbol of the importance of Rome to Maximus as a citizen and gladiator. After he’s been on the run, saw his family killed, and was sold into slavery, he takes a blade to this tattoo illustrating his Roman loyalty. Juba, another slave from Nubia, asks him if that represents his gods, and after some reflection Maximus answers yes. Juba then asks if that would upset his gods to be cutting into their symbol, to which he seems smug to reply with a yes. In this bit, Maximus realizes that he’s devoted his entire life to Rome and in return was thrown out and had everything taken from him. He had been worshiping and defending Rome like it was his god, and wanted to take personal revenge on his faith’s betrayal. Although it’s not truly a religion, writers used it metaphorically as one because Maximus was raised to think of Rome as above all. It’s also important to point out that even though he and Juba are obviously from different parts of the world with different ideologies, neither of them tried to convert the other to their beliefs or prove the other wrong. Typically in these movies, the moment someone realizes there’s a difference in thought, a superiority and savior complex arises as they try to teach the other the “right way”. “Gladiator” reinvented these movies to rid of that clash, and instead has these characters asking questions about each others’ faiths with no backlash.

No specific religion is actually identified in the movie, rather a general spirituality is expressed among several characters. For example, several times in the film Maximus prays to his wife and son who have passed, along with possibly other ancestors. He uses two figurine carvings of his family surrounded by candles to form a sort of shrine. He kneels in front this altar and speaks to his wife and son, asking for advice in his awful times through slavery. Many religions practice speaking to lost loved ones and ancestors, meaning that his belief system is left up for interpretation. Also, Maximus gets visions of his passed family in a wheat field, appearing like a heaven-adjacent afterlife. It has some differences from a stereotypical image of heaven, the most obvious being that when the entrance is shown, it’s no pearly gate or generally eye-appealing door. Instead, this afterlife is blocked by a decaying stone wall. This was most likely an attempt to separate the image of heaven from viewers’ minds, as Romans hated Christianity. It could also stand as a visual representation of the moment Maximus actually passes away, since in his death scene, the moment he opens a door in this wall is the moment he dies. This furthers the idea of an ambiguous religion, as most afterlife representations would not include an ugly wall blocking their paradise. Once Maximus dies, he’s presented with his wife and son in the wheat field he saw in his visions, tying together his character as a farmer who did everything for his family instead of any kind of warrior. The audience is reminded by this personal paradise that Maximus never wanted to fight, or even be a general for the Roman army. It ties back to the beginning of the movie when he declares that he is finally done fighting and has waited years to return home.

“Gladiator” finally gives the toga movie genre a film that doesn’t force religion, or uses it as a way for characters to divide against each other. By keeping a general spirituality throughout the film, audiences could be more comfortable watching the movie and could focus on other aspects of the writing. Religion is included in better ways than films before it, being a factor in its new-generation success.