Gladiator Scene Analysis - Michael Kachanyuk


For my scene analysis I have chosen the scene where Commodus says "I would butcher the whole world, If you would only love me!" to his father before killing him.

The scene is set in a close-up shot with high contrast lighting with the characters filling up the whole frame of the shot. This use of a close-up shot lets us see the emotions of Commodus up close as he weeps in front of his father, showing us the facial expression of Commodus which seems to be a mix of sorrow and frustration. The use of high contrasts leads to the scene being very dark and makes the scene feel more intense to the viewers as they can only see a few features in the bright light. The dark lighting also signifies the turning point in the scene as hatred fills Commodus leading to him killing his father. Both of the characters heads take up the full frame of the shot making the scene more personal between Commodus and Marcus. Commodus is also standing above Marcus in this scene making it look as if Commodus has the power in the scene while his weak father does not. The use of a close-up shot, high contrast lighting, filling the frame with just the two characters, and making Commodus stand above his father creates an intense scene between Commodus and Marcus with deep-rooted emotions, and signifies the turning point of the scene where Commodus will kill his father because of the hatred inside of him.

- Michael Kachanyuk


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