Gladiator Maximus and Lucilla backstory?

Submitted by Confident_Lock_2032 t3_11c9tmd in movies

I have a question, did lucilla choose Lucius Verus over Maximus in the past or was she forced to do so?Maximus was telling her you have the talent to survive and Lucilla mentioned she hurt Maximus a lot more than he did to her. If this is Lucilla's choice and not family pressure, it means that Lucilla's feelings for Maximus are not strong. Maximus is talking about Lucilla's lie. Did Lucilla hide that she was engaged or did she trick Maximus . If Lucilla chose Verus consciously, it means she doesn't love Maximus.

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Mnemosense t1_ja2fw8w wrote

I don't think there's any way to hide an engagement, that kind of thing is public knowledge.

It was probably a simple case of them being lovers when they were young, and then she was chosen to marry a dude for political reasons.

Neither Max nor Lucilla had a say in the matter. In fact their relationship was likely secret (Max is far below Lucilla on the ladder of power), and the Emperor found out about it via spies, but because he's so chill he didn't have Max tortured to death for sleeping with his betters.

The line about survival is just Max being bitter and ironic I think. He'd also be aware that as a woman her choices would be limited, powerful though she is.

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lostpatrol t1_ja2je9b wrote

Replying to Mnemosense (#2,019,548)

Maximus was probably a provincial nobility in Spain. He was far too young to be a general of the whole northern army if he worked himself up from a soldier. He also moved casually enough among the senators, civilians and leaders that he would have been upper class for a long time, if not since birth.

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DarkEngineX t1_ja2o4ze wrote

I always interpreted it like Maximus is the ultimate straight arrow. Lucilla is still a politician born into politics. They aren't compatible people although they might have had an interest in each other growing up. I interpreted it like Lucilla did what she could to survive. She's not evil like Commodus but she's not a hero like Maximus.

You can get glimpses of their clash of thinking throughout the film when they butt heads with each other. Maximus is all about doing what he believes is just and right, and Lucilla just wants to protect her child.

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Confident_Lock_2032 OP t1_ja2r1np wrote

Replying to DarkEngineX (#2,020,775)

>I always interpreted it like Maximus is the ultimate straight arrow. Lucilla is still a politician born into politics. They aren't compatible people although they might have had an interest in each other growing up. I interpreted it like Lucilla did what she could to survive. She's not evil like Commodus but she's not a hero like Maximus.

So did this affect luccila's choice of who she would marry? Is maximus' allusion to this?

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