In order to avoid bias when choosing movies to review every week, I have decided that over the next ten weeks I will review the films that won the Academy Award for Best Picture in their respective years from 2000-2009. I felt that if I picked the movies myself, I would only pick ones that I loved or hated so keeping it in the 00s will hopefully deter that!
I will also evaluate each movie using the Bechdel test which if you don’t know is a test to see how well movies (or more appropriately, the writers) treat female characters. The test has only three criteria: 1) The movie must have two (named) women 2) Who talk to each other 3) About something other than a man. Seems simple right? That’s what I thought too, but you would be very surprised. The portrayal of women and roles written for women in media today is something that is important to me so I wanted to explore it.
pictured: Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus and Russell Crowe as Maximus in Gladiator
Best Picture Winner 2000: Gladiator
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen
Other Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Russell Crowe), Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, Best Costume Design
Summary: When a loyal Roman general is betrayed by a jealous new emperor who kills his family and reduces him to slavery, he must fight his way back by way of rising through the ranks as a gladiator.
Russell Crowe brings life to the central character, Maximus in Gladiator. The film is undoubtedly a thrill ride with electrifying battle sequences, aesthetically pleasing costumes, and a compelling plot, but it’s really Crowe’s portrayal as the quietly terrifying, vengeful gladiator that keeps the audience captivated throughout the entire
Russell Crowe in Gladiator
film. Speaking as someone who does not particularly enjoy gratuitous violence or drawn out action sequences, Gladiator manages to build the story around the necessary action scenes, something that many movies fail to get just right.
Visually, the costumes and effects are just stunning to look at. The costumes bring so much vibrance to the characters and the outstanding effects make what could have easily been embarrassingly bad gladiatorial sequences come alive. This combination makes the audience feel the desperation, the anger, and the vengefulness of the characters throughout.
The most underrated component of the film would definitely be Joaquin Phoenix’s role as Commodus, the hateful, envious son of the emperor, who kills his father and sets out to destroy Maximus when he realizes the celebrated general has been named successor to the empire. Although he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor that year, losing to Benencio del Toro in Traffic, Phoenix’s portrayal of a corrupt ruler is absolutely evil and merciless like a good villain should be. His underlying feeling of quiet ferocity makes it all the better during scenes where the inner madness comes out.
The one area that could have used some more critical thought on the cutting room floor was the development of Connie Nielsen’s character, Lucilla, as Commodus’s more right-minded sister with a soft spot for Maximus. As the only female character, it is obvious she is unnecessary to the story and only thrown in there as something pretty to look at and to offset the male dominated screen time. (sorry Connie Nielsen, it’s not your fault, the writers are completely to blame) Of course this disproportion and underdevelopment is unfortunately typical of the movie genre, but that doesn’t make it excusable. Needless to say this film does not pass the Bechdel test by any stretch of the imagination, rating 0/3.
Overall, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator is an achievement in multiple ways and true, good entertainment. My rating is 3.5/5 stars. There were women in ancient Rome, writers, there’s no excuse to have only one in your 2 1/2 hour long movie.
TRIVIA: Jack Gleeson, who plays the evil King Joffrey on HBO’s Game of Thrones, has stated that he based his portrayal of the horrible boy king on Joaquin Phoenix’s ruthless performance as Commodus.
