Inimitably ‘Rome’

(Published March 23, 2008, PDI-Entertainment)

By Oliver M. Pulumbarit
Contributor

Political turmoil has rarely been portrayed engrossingly in television dramas, and the gripping HBO series “Rome,” which ended in 2007, is among those few that did. In this interpretation of events leading to Rome’s transformation into an empire, almost every character is shown to be capable of unimaginable cruelty, given the proper impetus. It doesn’t fail to shock every time that happens.

In the original DVD set compiling the final ten episodes--“Rome: The Complete Second Season”--gory imagery and sexual situations that didn’t make it in its cable run are intact. In these closing chapters, some key figures go through hellish times, while Mark Antony and Cleopatra (James Purefoy and Lyndsey Marshal) find happiness during the calm before their eventual storm.

Interwoven with the complex political situation of centuries past are the disturbing and sometimes, beautiful relationships that feel contemporarily familiar. While many current-day soaps or telenovelas resort to hollow, over-the-top story stunts to keep the drama alive, “Rome” doesn’t pull its punches whenever it’s required to shake things up. As a result, you don’t feel complacent for any of the characters, as nobody’s really safe. Those in feuds, for instance, suffer terribly--often violently--for every misstep, exposing a very different human dimension with the era’s cultural mores and enigmas.

Created by John Milius, William MacDonald and Bruno Heller, the unflinching and vividly designed weekly series has won various Emmys. Also making the period drama unique is its cast of characters, many of whom are schemers and double-dealers. Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds), the consummate politician and a charismatic strategist, did unexpectedly shocking deeds when he was alive. The circumstances leading to his assassination were richly painted. One of his many assassins, Brutus (Tobias Menzies), was prodded to take part in that crime by his mother, Servilia (Lindsay Duncan), Caesar’s spurned and bitter mistress. Servilia’s open enmity with Caesar’s niece, Atia of the Julii (deliciously portrayed by Polly Walker), also escalates this season.

Atia is a ruthless predator, however, and is the most duplicitous and enchantingly elegant character among the lot. All the others are lesser evils compared to her. It’s edifying to see her lose control, especially when her arrogant son Octavian (Max Pirkis) becomes manipulative and cunningly takes steps to challenge her erstwhile soldier lover Mark Antony. “Rome” succeeds in intertwining these twisted family dynamics with its ongoing power struggle theme.

Season two isn’t as smooth as it should’ve been. Compressing years into so few episodes tends to leave out crucial nuances. It’s also hard to suspend disbelief over the adult Octavian, Simon Woods, who doesn’t resemble Pirkis at all. He’s an excellent actor, but it’s hard to believe it’s the same person, especially when everyone else looks the same.

Still, those are the only drawbacks, and all the main characters’ tales progress memorably. Centurions that have been instrumental to outcomes of some political upheavals, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo (Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson), originally the uneasily paired good-cop bad cop of the series, become loyal brothers in the course of several disheartening ordeals. Their non-nobility perspectives differently lend "Rome" accessibility and heart. Seeing them picking up the pieces of their destroyed lives is just as engrossing as seeing them contribute to the fate of Rome.