Gladiator Page #3

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Maximus moves through the tent, offering a word of comfort

here and there. All the wounded are delighted to see him.

He goes to an older soldier, GALLUS, who has one wooden

hand. His other hand is bandaged.

MAXIMUS:

What, Gallus, losing your other

hand?

GALLUS:

Aye, General, they're going to make

a bronze one for it. Long fingers

this time.

MAXIMUS:

And the women of your village will

crave your touch even more.

GALLUS:

Ah, then you know the women of my

village.

Maximus smiles and moves on.

He stops at a young soldier, VALERIUS, whose head has been

shaved. A hole has been bored into his skull to relieve

the pressure on his brain. The young soldier is dying.

MAXIMUS:

What's your name, son?

VALERIUS:

Valerius, General.

MAXIMUS:

The name suits you.

VALERIUS:

Why am I dying?

A beat. Maximus sits by his cot. He takes Valerius'

hand.

MAXIMUS:

You're dying because you love Rome,

as I do.

VALERIUS:

I've never been to Rome.

MAXIMUS:

Neither have I. Rome for us lives

here...

(he touches his

heart)

... it's a thing inside us that came

from our ancestors and that we give

to our children.

VALERIUS:

It must be glorious, Rome. I've

only seen pictures. Is it a

glorious place?

A beat.

MAXIMUS:

Yes, it's a glorious place.

VALERIUS:

It must be.

He smiles. And he is dead.

Maximus sits for a moment. He gently closes Valerius'

eyes. And Maximus finds that he is weeping.

He is not ashamed of the tears.

INT. MESS TENT - NIGHT

An immediate swirl of noise. The grand mess tent is

crowded with soldiers. They are still filthy with caked-

on mud and blood. Wounds are bandaged and tankards are

raised in celebration of the victory.

Marcus sits in a central position and receives visitors.

Currently two Senators, FALCO and GAIUS, are bowing before

him.

FALCO:

Hail, Marcus Aurelius.

MARCUS:

Stand up, Senators. That unfamiliar

posture doesn't suit you.

GAIUS:

We live in supplication to your

glory.

MARCUS:

All the while conspiring with that

fat man in Rome. How is the old

monster?

GAIUS:

Senator Gracchus is hale, sire.

MARCUS:

Still damning me to the four winds?

GAIUS:

Still eager for your triumphant

return to Rome, Caesar.

MARCUS:

I would have silenced him decades

ago -- but I just like him too much.

Meanwhile, Maximus stands with his lieutenants, Titus and

Quintus. A wound on Maximus' arm has been bound.

MAXIMUS:

(to Titus)

If you want to stay on, I support

you. So do the men. I'll ask the

Emperor to appoint you in my place.

TITUS:

It won't be the Felix Regiment

without you.

MAXIMUS:

I'll return after a season at home.

Maybe two.

QUINTUS:

That means after three or four more

babies.

TITUS:

And you'll be too fat from Vibia's

cooking to get on your horse by

then.

MAXIMUS:

Should the Gods so bless me. I

would be thankful.

Commodus perambulates up to them.

COMMODUS:

Hail, warriors. My congratulations.

TITUS AND QUINTUS

(bowing)

Highness.

COMMODUS:

(to Maximus)

My old friend, my father tells me

you're returning to Spain?

MAXIMUS:

Yes.

COMMODUS:

A pity. I'll need men like you in

my army...

An awkward glance between the soldiers. This sort of talk

is offensively premature.

COMMODUS:

There are larger division that might

appeal to you. Even the Praetorian

Guard. You've never been to Rome.

Imagine arriving as head of the

Praetorians! They have really

splendid uniforms.

MAXIMUS:

(cold)

I'm going home.

Senators Gaius and Falco join them.

GAIUS:

(to Maximus)

... And why not apply for entry to

the Senate?

FALCO:

A war hero with a handsome face and

a strong heart could go far.

COMMODUS:

General Maximus, may I present

Senators Gaius and Falco. Beware of

this Gaius, he'll pour a honeyed

potion in your ear and you'll wake

up one day and all you'll say is

"Republic, Republic, Republic..."

Laughter.

FALCO:

Have you never considered Rome?

MAXIMUS:

No.

COMMODUS:

You've had my ear since we were

children. You could be a valuable

ally in the Senate.

GAIUS:

Are you a believer in Republicanism?

COMMODUS:

(laughs)

There -- I warned you.

MAXIMUS:

I'm a soldier, not a politician.

Meanwhile, a dark eye is studying the men through a hidden

slit in the tent wall. The eye is particularly drawn to

Maximus.

GAIUS:

If your heart lies with the people,

I would back you for the Senate.

I'm sure Gracchus would as well.

COMMODUS:

Not a word about that sodomite

bastard.

GAIUS:

(smiles to Maximus)

The august Senator Gracchus has been

rather a gadfly on the flesh of the

imperial family.

FALCO:

He's a damned provocateur.

GAIUS:

He lives under the antiquated

assumption that the Senate should

represent the people with vigor.

COMMODUS:

I won't tolerate it. His incessant

criticism exhausts me. The man can

speak for five hours without taking

a breath.

GAIUS:

He serves Rome best when he serves

it with honesty.

COMMODUS:

(sharply)

Enough... Maximus, I would like to

inspect the Felix Regiment at dawn.

Please arrange it.

MAXIMUS:

I can't do that.

COMMODUS:

Excuse me?

MAXIMUS:

My men have been fighting for five

solid days. They're too busy dying

to go on dress parade.

A beat. Commodus' eyes flash fire at this public rebuke.

He very quickly gets control.

COMMODUS:

(smiles)

Of course, how foolish of me. Some

other time...

He notes his father being helped out of the tent by

several body slaves.

COMMODUS:

Caesar retires early tonight.

INT. TENT CORRIDOR - NIGHT

Marcus is helped out of the mess tent into a tent corridor

attached.

He sees his daughter Lucilla in the corridor, spying in

through the slit in the tent wall. He watches her,

smiles.

MARCUS:

If only you had been born a man...

She turns to him. He leaves his body slaves and goes to

her.

LUCILLA:

Father.

MARCUS:

What a Caesar you would have made.

LUCILLA:

You're right.

MARCUS:

I think you would have been strong.

I wonder if you would have been

just?

LUCILLA:

I would have been what you taught me

to be.

A beat. They stare at each other. He finally smiles.

MARCUS:

Well, pretend to be my loving

daughter tonight and walk with me to

my chamber.

She smiles and takes his arm. They slowly walk down the

tent corridor as:

MARCUS:

This is a pleasant fiction, isn't

it?

They disappear into darkness.

EXT. TENT CITY - DAWN

Maximus is slogging through the mud and snow that blankets

the Rome camp. He stops to observe an unusual sight.

Commodus is stripped almost naked, his chiseled body

covered in a fine sheen of sweat. He and his six

CENTURION BODY GUARDS are going through their daily

ritual. They defy the sub-zero temperatures and hack at

small trees with swords.

It is an eerie, zen-like workout. Commodus' intense

concentration is unnerving.

Maximus watches for a moment then moves on. He approaches

a large network of tents. He enters.

INT. MARCUS' TENT - DAY

Maximus enters Marcus' darkened tent. Flickering braziers

provide the only light in the enormous Imperial tent.

Heavy beams support the canopy and they creak like the

timbers of a ship as the tent sways slightly in the wind.

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