Gladiator Review

The scene begins with Commodus leaning over his nephew’s bed looking ominous. His sister walks in and he leans back. The room is in darkness except for a beam of light swinging over his face. This gives us the impression that he has two sides to him, almost bi-polar, and that he could snap at any moment. Commodus then backs up into the darkness so he is engulfed in shadows, this could insinuate that he is fully evil at that moment.

The next scene begins with a close up on his sister pouring him out a drink that looks unhealthy, she calls it a ‘tonic’. Again in this scene even though it is light outside the whole hall is in darkness, except for his sister who has a pure aspect about her. Commodus has times when only his eyes are illuminated, this emphasises the evilness in his eyes. He then turns into the darkness, again being engulfed by the darkness that is within him.