As Lucilla, the sister of the villainous Emperor Commodus, Nielsen brought some much-needed subtlety to the swords-and-sandals epic and held her own sharing the screen with Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe.

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AD, never lingers over local colour, but keeps a firm, if not wholly accurate, grip on the conflict at the heart of the drama between General Maximus, who is Caesar's chosen successor, and the emperor's son Commodus, who will not let parricide or incest stand in the way of cementing a dynasty.

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