The fall of Rome
Apr. 8th, 2007 11:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jducoeurWe finally got around to watching the end of Rome last night, so time for a few thoughts on the series. No real spoilers here, although I'll talk a little about the sweep of the story.
In general, I'm quite impressed. The story does take some liberties with history, especially in the way it weaves our fictional protagonists Pullo and Varenus into the high-level political struggles of the day. On the other hand, it doesn't appear to violate the historical accounts too much: it just embroiders them with the myth of these two hidden but important figures, while tacitly treating some details of the usual accounts as later additions. The result is largely plausible, if sometimes ill-documented. It manages to make the political class of Rome look pretty sordid -- but then, so does Suetonius. Most of the characters are richly drawn, and most of them are allowed some real arc -- albeit necessarily a somewhat sketchy arc, since there are so many characters in this sprawling tale.
The cost of the production is reportedly what killed the show, and that shows up on the screen: it's lavishly done, and feels quite real to my admittedly layman's eye. The acting and direction are both delightful, if sometimes a bit scenery-chewing. The historical research seems good, with lots of fascinating odd details that have spawned a mini-industry of people trying to figure out what the *heck* is going on in the background. (Even the business of breast-feeding Caesar's corpse, which occasioned much head-scratching, seems to be at least somewhat justified by some academic examinations.)
I'm disappointed that it ended, but they chose a good place to stop -- the story comes up to the ascension of Augustus Caesar as the clear winner, which is when the actual history gets a lot quieter for a fair while, without the big famous battles that the first two seasons swirl around. It would have been fun to see what comes next (the series is mostly about everyone's personal lives, so I'm sure it would have made much of the court intrigues), but it would have been different. And the series ends well: while they left plenty of loose threads that could have been picked up if it had been renewed, the second season doesn't end with the sort of cliffhanger that the first does.
And I must say, it's fascinating to see Brutus get treated as practically the hero of the tale. In the entire series, I think he's the only person who comes across as consistently good, noble and well-meaning. (If a tad weak.) Sadly, he's on the wrong side of history, but they clearly made the conscious decision to mess with peoples' expectations by having him as simply an unfortunate man, trying to do the right thing but a little too easily manipulated by the stronger personalities around him.
Overall, great stuff -- I recommend seeing it if you have a chance. Note that you do want to get both seasons, though: they really form a single pretty coherent story, albeit one that sprawls across decades. (Be prepared for occasional jumps of several years between episodes...)
In general, I'm quite impressed. The story does take some liberties with history, especially in the way it weaves our fictional protagonists Pullo and Varenus into the high-level political struggles of the day. On the other hand, it doesn't appear to violate the historical accounts too much: it just embroiders them with the myth of these two hidden but important figures, while tacitly treating some details of the usual accounts as later additions. The result is largely plausible, if sometimes ill-documented. It manages to make the political class of Rome look pretty sordid -- but then, so does Suetonius. Most of the characters are richly drawn, and most of them are allowed some real arc -- albeit necessarily a somewhat sketchy arc, since there are so many characters in this sprawling tale.
The cost of the production is reportedly what killed the show, and that shows up on the screen: it's lavishly done, and feels quite real to my admittedly layman's eye. The acting and direction are both delightful, if sometimes a bit scenery-chewing. The historical research seems good, with lots of fascinating odd details that have spawned a mini-industry of people trying to figure out what the *heck* is going on in the background. (Even the business of breast-feeding Caesar's corpse, which occasioned much head-scratching, seems to be at least somewhat justified by some academic examinations.)
I'm disappointed that it ended, but they chose a good place to stop -- the story comes up to the ascension of Augustus Caesar as the clear winner, which is when the actual history gets a lot quieter for a fair while, without the big famous battles that the first two seasons swirl around. It would have been fun to see what comes next (the series is mostly about everyone's personal lives, so I'm sure it would have made much of the court intrigues), but it would have been different. And the series ends well: while they left plenty of loose threads that could have been picked up if it had been renewed, the second season doesn't end with the sort of cliffhanger that the first does.
And I must say, it's fascinating to see Brutus get treated as practically the hero of the tale. In the entire series, I think he's the only person who comes across as consistently good, noble and well-meaning. (If a tad weak.) Sadly, he's on the wrong side of history, but they clearly made the conscious decision to mess with peoples' expectations by having him as simply an unfortunate man, trying to do the right thing but a little too easily manipulated by the stronger personalities around him.
Overall, great stuff -- I recommend seeing it if you have a chance. Note that you do want to get both seasons, though: they really form a single pretty coherent story, albeit one that sprawls across decades. (Be prepared for occasional jumps of several years between episodes...)
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-08 05:45 pm (UTC)The framing stories of Pullo and Varenus distracted me a bit, as well as some of the other characters, because they didn't age consistently either with the historical amount of time covered or with the other characters in the story. A glaring example of this is the way in which young Octavian aged abruptly, and then Anthony suddenly had children, while Varenus's daughters barely aged at all.
It's still such a superb production that I agree with my lady in that we're very likely to buy the DVD edition of both seasons. This is one worth watching several times.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-08 06:18 pm (UTC)But I'll agree that it was inconsistent. Indeed, it was mainly Pullo that I had problems with -- while his attitudes aged subtly and well over the course of the series, his looks changed *so* little that it was hard to credit over the long span of the story. But it's a minor enough nit that I'm willing to let it go. And some people aged really well in feel, even if not in look: one of the most dramatic differences in the last jump was the way that Attia's attitude shifts to becoming the truly dangerous bitter old woman. No difference in looks, but she's definitely not the same person any more.
And I must say, I was surprised at how much I loved "old" Octavian -- he goes from merely malajusted in the earlier parts of the story to downright unsettling in the later bits. He's not insane in the later-Caesars sense, but the way he's always *calculating* is just a tad creepy...
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-08 07:24 pm (UTC)Polly Walker had definately gained a little weight and had a softer face for the second season (and looked a LOT better, I think). There was some speculation that she was pregnant, but no one was able to confirm or deny.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-12 06:43 pm (UTC)One of my proudest role-playing moments was when I played Cicero and had to defend Brutus for the muder of Caesar. Once my character was assigned the case, the history major in the player took over. I grabbed the two copies of Cicero's essays that I had brought to the con with me (as reference material) and started looking for excerpts about the good of the state. Then I cobbled a new essay together from bit of other ones and made that my arguments before the jury. The other players were impressed and (along with judicious bribary - which was the way the in-game and real-world legal system worked) we won.