Russell Crowe has now left the Hollywood big picture. An observation which, however, in light of recent films such as the Pope’s Exorcist or his appearance at the Sanremo Festival, does not bring with it melancholy or a sense of defeat. The big boy from Wellington blows out 60 candles today and he gives the impression of taking everything much more for fun, of thinking he has already given everything he could give that was “serious” to this profession, which in reality he has always taken much more lightly than one might think. Of the old concept of the “cinematic male”, Russell Ira Crowe was the last symbol, the last exemplar, the one who was capable of collecting the legacy of men like Kird Douglas, Robert Mitchum o Charlton Heston. Divo, then anti-divo, then it was unclear what, armed with a talent and a charisma of illegal tonnage, it marked the transition between 20th century cinema and modern cinema, more frenetic and with less certainties. Despite years, wrinkles, extra pounds, Russell Crowe remains one of the greatest actors of recent decades, an interpreter who moved from colossal al thrillerdal biopic al crime, managing to convince each time, to give us something new, to make us believe in the beauty of cinema. The following is one Top 5 dedicated to her best roles, and if for a couple the choice was obligatory, the others were quite difficult to choose.
Gladiator (2000)
2000 – Dreamworks LLC & Universal Pictures
What we do in life echoes in eternity. What he did Russell Crowe in the role of Maximus Lucius Meridius it will remain forever. Ridley Scott chooses him to be the protagonist of a peplum that no one could have imagined would become one of the most beloved films of all time. Based on the novel “Those Who Are Dying” by Daniel P. Mannix, Gladiator came into Crowe’s hands after the exploit with L.A. Confidential and the Oscar nomination received with Insider – Behind the Truth. Maybe imperfect in terms of balance of the script, Gladiator but it is a true masterpiece visual, of rhythm and energy, much of which comes from Russell Crowe, capable of painting a hero very distant from the Hollywood classic and of the genre, in which the semantic legacy of ancient classicism shines. The film launched him into the firmament of world starsmaking the statuette come into his hand as Best Leading Actor and putting on him a character that has since become one of the most iconic in the history of cinema. Muscular, virile but also cloaked in melancholy and a moving search for inner peace, his Maximus Decimus Meridius create with the Conveniently by an equally epochal Joaquin Phoenix also a unique cinematic metaphor on the concept of leader, of power, with which Ridley Scott he created perhaps his definitive treatise on Nietzsche’s philosophy.
Master & Commander: The Edge of the Sea (2003)
1996-98 AccuSoft Inc., All rights reserved//20th Century Studios
Three years after being in the Colosseum, Russell Crowe follows Peter Weir aboard a ship of His British Majesty, when Europe was dominated by Napoleon and takes us inside the greatest maritime film of all time. Well yes, Master & Commander – Challenge at the edge of the sea it is the perfect combination of vintage colossal and author’s work, a masterpiece in which epic, realism and beauty come together to create a unique journey. Based on the literary saga by Patrick O’BrianWeir’s film stars Crowe as the savvy, charismatic and somewhat intractable man Captain Jack Aubrey, in command of the ship Surprise, which was almost sunk by the more powerful French Acheron, engages in a duel with it around the world. An extraordinary film in every component, it has a simply perfect protagonist in Russell Crowe, assisted by a supporting cast of great caliber, in which the Doctor Maturin of a very good one Paul Bettany, once again his partner in crime. Halfway between adventure film and war drama, it earned Crowe a nomination for the Golden Globeby virtue of a magnetic interpretation for realism and energy. Master & Commander – Challenge at the edge of the sea contains profound analyzes on the concept of duty, honor, virile friendship and responsibility of command, with one of the most accurate historical re-enactments ever seen regarding the life and mentality of the seaman of the time. Perhaps his most successful role ever, his most beautiful and fascinating character.
Train to Yuma (2007)
Lionsgate
In 2007 James Mangold directs That Train to Yuma, remake of one of the most iconic western titles of the 1950s. Christian Bale is Dan Evans, veteran of the Civil war, partially disabled, farmer, father and husband pursued by poverty and failure. When the fearsome outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) is captured and an escort is needed to take him to the 3:10 train from Contention to Yuma Penitentiary, Evans volunteers. The adventure that ensues is one of the greatest western films of the 21st century, halfway between spaghetti and crepuscular, even better than the original by Delmer Daves. Russell Crowe had already played a villain in Virtuality (the first film that got him noticed) but here he reaches absolute heights of lyricism and skill. THEHis Wade is a charming, manipulative rogue, leader of a group of very loyal and bloodthirsty cutthroats, is capable of killing you and offering you a drink with the same smile. Elegant, cynical and astute, he is also courageous, coherent, animated by a streak of rebellion against authority that can only make him likeable. The chemistry between Bale and Crowe is wonderful and allows them both to create a monument to manly friendship that would have made Aldrich and Leone smile. With one of the saddest but also smartest endings of the genre, That Train to Yuma is a film about defeat as well as redemption and allowed Crowe to give us a simply magnificent character.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Universal Pictures//Getty Images
To complete the unrepeatable three-year period for Russell Crowe comes his most difficult and complex roleas well as the most “anti-heroic”. Ron Howard gives us with A Beautiful Mind one of the most beautiful biopics ever choosing as a subject John Forbes Nash jr., among the most influential and important mathematicians of the 20th century, author of some theories that changed our economy. John Nash, however, was forced to fight against schizophrenia all his life and the battle is the heart of a painful film, about a man armed with a divine talent and together cursed by a mind that does not allow him to be free. Crowe won the Golden Globe and earned another Oscar nomination thanks to a dazzling performance, aided by a Jennifer Connelly adorable as his wife Alicia, as usual Paul Bettany like the imaginary friend Charles Herman and a Mephistophelean Ed Harris as a fictional CIA agent. More than a biopic A Beautiful Mind it often becomes a spy story and a detective story, with which we follow Nash almost hoping that his visions are true, that his mind is not the prison from which he must escape. Film also aesthetically of enormous caliber, A Beautiful Mind it is also in its package of films for the general public a melancholy and desperate treatise on diversity from the normwith which Crowe demonstrated his ability to express a complexity and vulnerability antithetical to heroic roles.
Insider – Behind the Truth (1999)
Touchstone Pictures
Together with L.A. Confidentialthis film changed the life and career of Russell Crowe. Net of disappointing takings, Insider – Behind the truth it is one of the best films ever made by Michael Mann, certainly one of the most important civil dramas of the last decades. The New Zealand actor was called to be Jeffrey Wigand, former vice president of research and development at Brown & Williamson who became the “deep throat” who gave rise to the historic ruling that dealt a serious blow to the tobacco industry. Russell Crowe together with Al Pacino (in the role of CBS journalist Lowell Bergman) creates a sensational dyad on the concept of truth as the enemy of modern capitalism, of rectitude as a flaw in modern society. Film focused on the difficult relationship between truth and media, it makes the most of amazing work in subtraction by Crowewho earned his first Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role with a work of enormous sensitivity about a man with a closed, difficult character yet indomitable. Insider – Behind the truth demonstrated to everyone his incredible versatility, his ability to hold his own not only with a monster like Pacino, but also with Christopher Plummerundergoing the first of several physical transformations that made him iconic.
I was born in Padua in 1985, always a great fan of sport, cinema and art. After twelve years as a professional coach and scout in the world of volleyball, I decided to pursue a career as a journalist.
Since 2016 I began to collaborate with various paper and online magazines, as a critic and correspondent at festivals such as Venice, Rome and Trieste Science Fiction.
I published with Viola Editrice “Cinema in the time of terror”, analysis of post-9/11 cinema. For Esquire I cover cinema, television and sport, in particular I am a great fan of football, boxing, volleyball and tennis.
By virtue of this passion I also maintain a personal in-depth page on Facebook, entitled The Winning Moment.
I believe in the weight of words, in irony, in always being true to one’s opinion when writing and in never thinking of being infallible.