#9: Commodus

“Am I Not Merciful?”

Gladiator got a lot of recognition for its time.  The film was exciting, emotional, and dazzling to look at…yet it’s one of the few Best Picture winners whose characters aren’t much celebrated.  With good reason.  For all of the film’s wonder, even fans concede that the story is straightforward and predictable.  It’s the classic hero’s journey.

But while the hero might lack some dimension, the villain does not — the scheming Emperor Commodus (only crowned Emperor once he’s dispatched his father).

And by ‘dimension,’ I don’t mean the creepy fascination he has with his sister.  I mean that his standard bad-guy scheming and abject cruelty seems to be motivated by something unspoken: inadequacy.  From the beginning, he knows he’s a disappointment to just about everyone.  He’s can’t measure up to his father.  He’s despised by the senate — and his subjects don’t care much for him either.

Oh how he tries to be loved…to no avail.  It just isn’t in him.  And like a petulant child, he reacts badly.  He’s the unpopular kid at school who’s desperate to be the popular jock…no matter the moral cost.