Daddy Issues
Commodus’ daddy issues create multidimensionality and purpose to his villain-hood compared to most other villains of the same film genre. His unanswered devotion and yearning for approval fuel his ambitions to gain the love of Rome and his family, respect for his position, and more power that comes with being the emperor. Simultaneously his misunderstanding of the organic development of feelings and disregard for ethics create his villainous attitude. In "300", the main villain simply wanted to take over the Spartans. There was no motivation for this antagonist other than the simple acquisition of land. In Spartacus, the main villain General Marcus Licinius Crassus attempts to force reciprocated love onto others as does Commudus. Still, it remains a singular motivation. He does buy Lydia as revenge for Spartacus but this is his attempt to replicate the relationship that Sparticus had with her thinking he could simply steal it. One could add Nero from Quo Vadis to this list of straightforward elementary villains, however, Nero’s stupidity and shallowness are an intentionally integral part of what separates him from the hero. The intentional and successful character depth in the villain of Gladiator is part of what makes this movie stand out from its counters.
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Commodus had lived his whole life with the understanding that he would be emperor one day. His entire being was driven by the pursuit of his father's approval so he could become the heir to the empire. When Marcus Aurelius informs his son that he is giving his throne to Maximus, it breaks Commodus. Commodus begs his father, who
then takes responsibility for Commodus’ shortcomings. Unfortunately, he still does not overlook Commodus’ character faults and apologizes for his failure as a father. In a shocking plot twist, he kills Marcus Aurelius before the heir can be announced. This kind of turn of events one would expect at the end of the movie. To have this at the beginning grabs the audience's attention and excites them for an amazing story to follow.
Throughout the movie, Commodus projects his unrequited love for his father (his Daddy Issues if you will) onto his sister and nephew. He treats his nephew as a son supporting him while also providing an apprenticeship to the emperor as his heir. As Maximus rises in fame as a Gladiator, Lucius, the nephew, becomes interested in him. The admiration that Lucius and the people of Rome have for Maximus mirrors the reciprocated love that Commodus desires. Again, Commodus gets denied the love he seeks furthering his jealousy of Maximus. The Gladiator is once again in the way of what Commodus believes he worked hard for.
The Daddy issues get worse and creepier with his sister. The movie begins with them seeming to have an already close and normal sibling relationship. She cares for him though she understands his faults. She reciprocates the love he gives her which leads Commodus to distort this relationship and fall in love with her. Around an hour and fifteen minutes into the movie, he attempts to convince Lucilla to “stay the night” with him. She rejects his advance. He then asks for a kiss. When he leans in, she puts her hands around his head to angle his head down. She kisses him on the forehead rather than the lips. He later forces himself on her again by pushing her onto the bed. She is scared and compliant because she knows he murdered Marcus Aurelius and doesn’t want the same fate. He lays there with her and when he realizes the romantic feelings are one-sided, he lets her go. This storyline is so obscure that it captures the audience immediately and makes for some incredibly uncomfortable scenes.
Side Note!
there is a slight Cleopatra reference in this scene when one of the conditions for Lucius staying alive was that Lucilla does not “be noble” and kill herself.
After Commodus learns of Lucilla's plan to overtake him with Maximus, he no longer cares for Lucilla's autonomy. He threatens the life of Lucius, her son, if she disobeys him. He demands of her an heir that is his and “pure blood.” This contributes to the disdain the viewer has towards Commodus and draws them closer to the story to hopefully see him lose.
Thankfully, the audience doesn't have to watch more of Commodus forcing himself on Lucilla because it doesn’t happen. He gets overthrown. Commodus gets so desperate for the love of Rome and Lucius that he stages a Gladiator match against Maximus. Right before the match begins, he stabs Maximus to handicap him right before, so he has an upper hand. He still loses due to Maximus’ superior fighting ability. However, the movie tells us this is going to happen from the beginning. Commodus never gets what he wants because he is never willing to earn it. In the opening scene, he plays with the soldiers fighting like gladiators rather than working with his father to learn the responsibilities of an emperor. He wants the love and respect of the Roman people while trying to absolve the only presumed representation (The Senate) of the people he wants acknowledgment from. Instead of finding a wife through love, he tries to force Lucilla to have his heir. It could be argued that historically, one didn’t need love for a wife, however, the movie presents this as more significant as it is historical fiction.