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Gladiator II Should’ve Let Paul Mescal Kiss
The “dream of Rome,” yeah, whatever. The dream of Lucius and Ravi, though!
When Ravi gently cleans a sword slash on Lucius’s arm and offers him opium for the pain, Mescal transforms his character into someone suddenly paying attention to the person in front of him, noticing what they say and engaging with them on their own welcoming terms. He’s at his best when he’s operating in complementary modes of coy, chummy, and bashful and pensive, doleful, and wistful, and he gets the opportunity to play those ranges when Lucius is revealing his dreams and regrets to Ravi. He trusts this doctor with his life and then eventually with his plans to protect Rome from Macrinus, and in their relationship, Mescal is allowed to be proactive in the ways he’s most effective as an actor.
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