My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: Gladiator, 2000

I can't believe that I have never written about this film before. It's GLADIATOR! The best movie ever! Okay, maybe ever is an overstatement. But I've seen this so many times, I could probably do a one woman stage production of it. Is that something people would pay to see you think? I mean, I've bored everyone I know with it, I've watched it in Spanish, had multiple posters, I've got the really expensive DVD with the trivia track on it. This movie is great because it delivers what it promises. It's simple, but it's not stupid. This is a movie about a guy who wants revenge, that's what it says it is, that's what happens.



Okay, so in case you were on Mars or something for the early part of the 2000s, this film stars Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a general of the Roman army on the eve of victory against German savages. If you know anything about the history of Rome, you can pretty much guess that they win. On the scene arrives Commodus played by Joaquin Phoenix and Lucilla played by Connie Nielsen. At this time I would like to point out that Connie Nielsen has been paid money to make out with Russell Crowe and Christopher Meloni and this just seems unjust to me. Also in this film is Richard Harris as the emperor, Oliver Reed as the owner of Maximus' gladiator dorm or whatever and Djimon Hounsou as Maximus' co-gladiator. Okay, so Commodus kills his dad, Dumbledore, then he sets out to kill Maximus, has Maximus' family killed and generally pisses him off. Maximus is grieved by the loss of his wife and son and has to find a reason to live, namely to kill Commodus. So, he becomes a Gladiator in the hopes that one day he's good enough to get in front of Commodus so he can shank him. Hey, we all need goals. It goes like this:



One of the best things about this film is the performance that Russell Crowe gives and not just because he worked himself into being Gladiator-shape after having just done The Insider, which you should watch. Anyway, it's the layers he gives his characters, lots of people do action hero out for revenge on man who murdered his family, but with him you get the genuine loss and longing and a man struggling with his own destiny. I also love the chemistry between he and Lucilla.



Joaquin Phoenix is an exceptional baddie, again giving his character some pathos, not just a cartoon villain. See this would be the difference between this film and that crap Spartacus on Starz: NUANCE, CHARACTERIZATION, A REMOTELY BELIEVABLE PLOT LINE. Just don't even try to watch that as a substitute for Rome, you will end up feeling more deprived than when you began. Anyway, Ridley Scott did an excellent job with this, not that you need me to tell you that. I love the different visual styles for each location, the fight scenes are incredible and I do love the ending even though it makes me cry. Although, I am pretty convinced Maximus should have survived that shanking because it sort of looks like Commodus hit kidney. I've had this debate with people about forty times, I realize it would ruin the ending if he lived, but it looks like kidney. If it was his lung, he would have been passed out before the end of that scene. Also, the Hans Zimmer score with accompaniment on vocals by Lisa Gerrard is fantastic.

And now your Gladiator complaints. Which I will ignore. Also accepting your Maximus shanking wound comments.

Best Picture 2001: A Beautiful Mind

For this post, I am asking a question that I am somewhat afraid to know the answer to? Was A Beautiful Mind the best movie to come out in 2001? Keep in mind the competition was pretty stiff. Gosford Park, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Moulin Rouge! (Which actually has that exclamation mark at the end of the title)



A Beautiful Mind if you don't know by now is the story of mathematician John Nash and his battle with schizophrenia. Nash is played by Russell Crowe who completely managed to transform himself from Gladiator the year before. And he toured with his band the same year, which is another story that you are not interested in. Josh Lucas plays a mathematics rival of Nash's, Jennifer Connelly as his wife and also Christopher Plummer as a psychiatrist. It also costars Paul Bettany as a friend of Nash's from Princeton and Ed Harris as a mysterious government agent who wants Nash's math skills to fight the Russians. Now, SPOILER ALERT, those last two characters along with a little girl, Marcee, who's meant to be Bettany's niece are not real, which is a brilliant turn of events that Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman manage to pull off. This is done so well that the first time I saw the movie, I was halfway through when I asked, "When is he going to go crazy?" Nash's character is always a little bit off, driven by a quest for mathematical innovation so you never really suspect anything when he does something strange. You're taken in by the delusions so much that later when Nash realizes it's not real, you're in as much disbelief as he is. Howard always establishes the delusions with a clue: you always hear them speak before you see them. This isn't just a dramatic device, but also a reference to the fact that schizophrenics don't actually see their delusions, but they hear them, but this is a movie so you need something on film. There's a clue that I didn't catch until the second time I saw the film. Marcee runs circles through a flock of pigeons and the pigeons don't move. It sounds obvious, but if you're not looking for it, you won't even notice it or think about the birds. This is the type of film that will make your head hurt if you think about it too much, which is a great and a wonderful thing and I love this movie.



That said, was it the Best of 2001? Let's look at the competition. Lord of The Rings. Okay, it's not really my thing and I don't get why if the freaking Elves are so wonderful we all have to walk to Mordor and I don't like how the guy from the Matrix is their leader. Whatever, it's an accomplishment and I can appreciate that. I'll call it a contender. Gosford Park is amazing Oscar bait with its intricate plotting and the delicious dialogue. In The Bedroom, I've never heard anyone try to make a case for it. If you would like to make a case for it, that is what the comments are for. Then we have Moulin Rouge! directed by Baz Luhrman starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.



Now, how do you see that and not want to throw some Oscars at it? This movie singlehandedly revived the movie musical and brought us Chicago, Hairspray, Dreamgirls and Nine. I'm also going to credit it with Glee because I don't think that show would exist without this precedent. I get that the story is a little conventional. Boy meets prostitute, boy and prostitute fall in love, are almost torn apart by creepy rich guy, but love perseveres, prostitute dies of tuberculosis and boy goes off to fight the dark side. That last bit may not have actually happened. But remember it also gave us the timeless adage: "Never fall in love with a woman who sells herself. It always ends bad."



The magic of A Beautiful Mind can only happen once. If you know the trick with Nash, you can't be fooled again. The magic of Moulin Rouge! can happen again and again, you're always sucked back into the characters and I get verklempt watching the finale. In fact, knowing what happens may well increase the emotions involved.



Has anyone else ever wondered what the audience in the theater is thinking at the end of Moulin Rouge? Like, "Why did the male lead just change actors? Not complaining, the new guy's hot." or "Is that bald guy with the gun in the play?" Or even, "Wasn't this place a brothel last month?"

So, any thoughts? Moulin Rouge or A Beautiful Mind? Or have I totally gotten it wrong and you would like to pull a Kanye for Lord of The Rings?