Gladiator--This is Russell Crowe

I knew Russell Crowe first from " A Beautiful Mind". I watched it three times to fully appreciate how fatally attractive he is. I know he is handsome at first sight, although it did take me a long time before I accepted that "Jennifer Connelly is a beauty."


Then I watched " Cinderella Man". Russell does not simply act. He is virtually talking with his eyes. There's something characteristic about the way he speaks, although I don't think I can really describe it. His pronuciation sounds casual, but always brings the character out of him. When I watch him in a movie, I never feel it's Russell Crowe playing. I'd say "this character is so like Russell Crowe". He owns every character he plays. They are different, yet similar in some fundemental ways.


He starred in "Proof of Life" with Meg Ryan. I love the movie, especially the last scene, when he told Meg softly," You've got a plane to catch". His eyes was enough to reveal his inner and restrained passion for Meg, not to mention how uniquely his voice emphasized the emotion. But in real life they didn't get together. Although Meg Ryan abandoned her family for Russell, things didn't really work out.


The Gladiator got him his Oscar Best Actor Award. Maximus, once a general in Rome and appointed by Caesar Marcus Aurelius as his successor, was persecuted by Caesar Commodus Aurelius--son of Marcus Aurelius, his wife and son burned and nailed. Later he became a slave and then a gladiator, who made his way to Colosseum and killed the new emperor there.


An epic of a hero, a real commander, whose charisma, even after having become a slave, never faded. It was an impressive scene when he commanded the other gladiators and defeated the people in gold armours ( I didn't really get what they were). He acted as if he was back on battleground again. It made no difference whether he was a slave or a general, as he always was a hero. Strength and honor were what he represented. Wisdom, justice, fortitude, temperance, he owned them all. It was never easy to be a hero, however. A hero's life was full of blood and struggle, when all Maximus ever wanted was just family and love.

In the end, when he finally closed his eyes, he returned to his beloved family, in the afterlife.


The supporting characters are also great. On that night when Maximus attempted to escape, Proximo, who hated Caesar Marcus Aurelius for keeping him away from the Colosseum, decided to sacrifice himself to help Maximus. He had always thought himself as shadow and dust. But the determination he had shown proved himself a hero,too. All other gladiators fought hard against the army which was coming for Maximus. Cicero, the faithful follower, and Maximus's army, were all so loyal to Maximus that they could overthrow their new commmander at any time just at Maximus's order. What are these people then? Heroes, with strengh and honor! They proved to the audience that Rome was, afterall, not a empire of mobs (although it did strike me when all the audience cheered as people were being killed. They saw killing as a form of entertainment.) They were the very reason why Rome grew so strong (I hope i've made less historical errors than grammatical errors)


I don't love him less because he got fat. I love him because he is Russell Crowe.