I have to say I'm super happy with how it turned out! The colors, the clothes, the tiny subtle details that nobody will ever notice 😂 I also tried to make a little bit of Art Nouveau with this frame and it was really fun to do!
Quick Historical fact: From what I understand, ancient authors referred to the "turned thumb" during the games, but without ever specifying in which direction (since, back then, it was obvious to everyone). Because of that, it's a bit tricky to figure out exactly which gesture meant what.
Some say the thumbs down ordered a specific kind of execution, while others think it was a sign to lower weapons, with the thumb representing the sword (but there's also this thing about tucking the thumb inside the hand to say "Alright, let's stop that shit", so basically, it's a total mess). Anyway, voilà ✨
✨ Some close ups (and spoilers...?) ✨
I really wanted Geta to have his thumb turned down, since he's the one deciding who dies and who lives. I also wanted to establish a kind of connection with the blood pouring out of his glass to Caracalla's dagger. A subtle reminder of the moment Geta throws his glass content to his brother's face.
The blood on Geta's neck and the dropping blood from Caracalla's hidden ear is a reference to their fates in the movie.
it actually makes me so sad and angry when people deny their fave blorbo could possibly be a sadist like whats wrong with sadism did sadism do something problematic
the best thing that ever could’ve happened was giving a Ryan Gosling character an older and mean boyfriend like fuckkk yesssss i am so hard right now please throw that loser male wife around for me Healy
That first clip was the moment Bruno became my favorite character. Joaquin Phoenix’ raw display of guilt, self-disgust and shame in his role as Bruno Weiss is so attractive to me that it’s almost arousing. I swear I have a good reason and that I’m not just some emotional sadist. Also, further down, I’ll share a quote from a research paper that suggests that this (finding shame expressions displayed by men attractive) is common for women and very unoriginal of me.
I love all three clips and the way that guilt flickers so visibly in his eyes. I repeated the first clip with a tighter crop to emphasize that revealing shine along his lower lash line from tears threatening to spill.
The raised upper lip + deepening of the nasolabial folds + subtle nose wrinkling combo in that second clip is such a typical disgust display (Ekman et al., 2002; Ekman, 2007). I get the impression that he’s not just disgusted by what they’re saying to her. The disgust also seems self-directed because he knows he is the one who put her in this situation. Especially because it’s immediately followed by the recognizable shame expression - which is that downward head tilt and downward eye gaze (Tracy et al., 2009). There’s something almost masochistic about the way it clearly hurts him to look at her - and what he has done to her - yet during most cuts to him in this scene, besides this clip, his gaze is completely fixed on her.
In the third clip, when he turns to the side and looks over at Ewa after sealing her fate, I’m obsessed with how he clenches his jaw hard enough for the edge of his masseter muscle to be visible!!! While a jaw clench generally is associated with anger, a rapid jaw clench like this can reflect emotional states that are difficult to suppress (Hopf et al., 2026). I find the tension from his attempt at keeping his composure and staying in control of his emotions absolutely electric. He’s fighting so hard. And he’s losing.
Those deep furrows and that pained look on his forehead and brows. The visible muscle strain. The audible inhale (last second). The burdened gaze and that telltale sheen in his eyes. Ahhh! Expressions of guilt and shame are extremely attractive to me. I, in turn, felt guilty when I realized this. I shouldn’t indirectly wish negative emotions on anyone.
But when I was a child, I was at the mercy of someone who was most likely a psychopath (and I don’t throw this word around lightly). To me, its opposite is not a harmless, perfectly gentle human. It’s someone capable of remorse. Someone who is sensitive enough to be tortured by their own guilt. If you’ve ever been confronted with true evil and have searched their eyes for an ounce of compassion and found nothing but cold indifference, then there’s something wildly attractive and comforting about someone who can be visibly remorseful. It signals the existence of a conscience, emotional depth and self-awareness to me. It makes me more likely to feel safe with him. It’s the container that allows dominance and otherwise intimidating traits to be appealing.
Like always, I felt the urge to research if I finally had an original experience. (I did not.) I came across something interesting that I wanted to share with the class: “In all samples, shame-displaying men were equally or more attractive than men displaying neutral, happy, and, in Study 1, pride expressions. [...] Shame’s communication of trustworthiness and group commitment may be what accounts for its relative attractiveness in men. [...] When shown by men, the expression [shame] appears to be particularly attractive to younger women.” (Tracy & Beall, 2011, p. 1386)
Remember that James Gray (The Immigrant Director) quote I shared the other day? Gray recalling a conversation with Joaquin on his acting choices as Bruno:
I said “Oh, that’s good. I like that you channeled that character’s self-loathing.”
He [Joaquin] said, “Yeah, I hate myself.”
I said, “Yeah, yeah, the character’s…”
And he said, “No, I hate myself. I hate myself.”
Considering how heartbreakingly believable his performance is here, it doesn’t surprise me at all. I believe it. I’m convinced he was telling the truth. And as a consequence, I find Bruno Weiss insanely attractive. His guilt is what makes him (and his darkness) so magnetic.
I actually attempted a Facial Action Coding analysis of the three clips, but when I was done it seemed a bit too much like “undiagnosed autism”-behavior of me. So I’ll spare you xD However, it does have me convinced that Joaquin either uses the Facial Action Coding System as a resource himself (some actors and animators do) and/or his self-loathing while immersed in his role as Bruno really was genuine.
Ekman, P., Friesen, W. V., & Hager, J. C. (2002). Facial action coding system: Manual and investigator's guide. Research Nexus.
Ekman, P. (2007). Emotions revealed: Recognizing faces and feelings to improve communication and emotional life (2nd ed.). Henry Holt and Company.
Hopf, A. G. M., Buchheim, A., Hopf, M., & Eilert, D. W. (2026). A Psychological Guide to Lower Face Botulinum Toxin Injections: Baseline Emotional Functions of Facial Expressions. Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 25(4).
Tracy, J. L., Robins, R. W., & Schriber, R. A. (2009). Development of a FACS-verified set of basic and self-conscious emotion expressions. Emotion, 9(4), 554–559.
Tracy J. L., Beall A. T., (2011). Happy guys finish last: The impact of emotion expressions on sexual attraction. Emotion, 11, 1379–1387.
I'm obsessed with how he hides his depth underneath an "Anal Secretary" cover.
I always read while doing my zone 2 cardio. I swear I am THIS close to printing a copy of that Anal Secretary cover and wrapping my books of choice in it to see if anyone at my gym catches this reference.
Bratty porn shop cashier not taking it seriously x older hardened detective with a family that feels overwhelming guilt at the thoughts he has about said bratty porn shop cashier
Cat!Gladiator characters (or warrior cats... picking out their warrior name is like the number 1 thing I do when I like a character. If anyone is interested...👀)
the way Maximus gasps "in sympathy" as Commodus starts to gasp for air is so patronising and then Maximus really drives in the blade and I'm just -----
the way Commodus looks at Maximus' lips and his eyes and how his eyes widen
