February 7, 2025

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

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Paul Mescal: The New Masculine

Paramount Pictures

“Are you not entertained?!” The line that Russell Crowe famously delivered twenty-four years ago in 's box office behemoth . A moment in cinema that shall echo in eternity and one that almost single-handedly skyrocketed Crowe to superstardom. It's easy now for many to look back on the first instalment as the sort of film that does little more than feed into the tropes of the sword-and-sandal epic; blood, sweat, muscles, and just guys being dudes. With leading the charge, however, has the potential to say something much more interesting about than its predecessor.

It's understandable why many would look back at the first Gladiator movie and consider it passé. Released at a time when questions on masculinity were rarely asked and scarcely answered, it was sold almost entirely on the promise of the ultimate male fantasy. Since it's release, though, views on masculinity have shifted drastically. Following the Me Too movement and its subsequent inspection of toxic masculinity, questions about what it means to be a man have become much more commonplace. Nevertheless, the long and painful conversations that ensued has led to a crisis in masculinity, particularly among young men. The result is a divide among males, with softboi masculinity at one end of the spectrum and the likes of Andrew Tate on the other, a division which is reflected in the male representation we are currently seeing on screen.

Traditionally, male roles and movies targeted towards men have been encapsulated through one word; spectacle. Whether it be through conflict or the male body, spectacle has been used to sell masculinity for decades. Through societal and cinematic expectations, the belief was that male stars had to be strong above all else; physically capable, emotionally restrained, and assertive. This form of male representation persists to this very day. Just as 20th-century Hollywood had its idols in the form of Sean Connery, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, contemporary cinema has given us Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel. The numbers don't lie either. Take a look at the highest-grossing films of all time and these stars are scattered throughout, whether it be through the Avengers, Jurassic World or the Fast & Furious franchise.

Equally so, the 2020's has played host to a rise in on-screen examinations of men. This rise can be seen as a reflection of the times and the result of decades of progress in gender politics, ultimately leading to a more diverse and much less single-minded view of what it means to be a man in cinema. We are seeing leading men of all shapes and sizes and stories of repression, men's mental health and male sexual assault are being told now more than ever.

The problem with these differing portrayals of masculinity is that the two never converge. That is until Paul Mescal debuted on our screens only four short years ago. Starring as bookish jock Connell in BBC's Normal People, Mescal's introduction as the character is incredibly subdued. He doesn't dominate the screen or the conversation, he speaks quietly and without confidence, and his gaze wanders with fear, yet his presence grabs our attention. This outcome is a direct result of years of traditional masculinity being presented on screen. We see Connell, with his Hollywood good looks and a physique sculpted from years of playing Gaelic football, yet he fails to match the expectations set by the leading men that preceded him. He is neither dominant nor assertive nor seems to be in control of anyone else or his emotions. We are drawn to him because, physically, he presents everything cinema has taught us to expect from a man, yet Connell defies these expectations at every turn. This defying of gender expectations is a recurring theme throughout Mescal's work and is exactly what makes him the perfect man to lead the charge, not only for Gladiator II but for the future of male representation on screen. 

BBC

As a form of spectacle, conflict is one of the images that first springs to mind when we think of traditional “male genres.” Not sex appeal, not muscles, conflict. It's cops and robbers, cowboys and outlaws, world war dramas and the Rocky movies. Mescal does bring a conflict to the roles he plays but it is neither external nor shown through violence. Instead, it is internal. Emotion as a form of spectacle. 

Specifically, the conflict that the actor continuously portrays is that of traditional masculinity versus the new. The expectations of men versus the restrictions they bring. Or, as the Irish actor put it himself in an interview with GQ: “people who want to be something so much but don't have the instrument to play that kind of .”

Perhaps the greatest display of this is his turn as Calum in Aftersun. Describing his character in an interview with Screen Daily, Mescal stated “Calum doesn't really know what's going on with him. He's sitting there on his holiday with Sophie. He's acutely aware that he should be happy, but he's not.” Throughout the picture we see Calum dealing with the weight of being a father, an adult, and a man. One scene in particular encapsulates this internal battle that Calum is going through. In the scene, Calum and his daughter are in two separate rooms, yet both are visible to the audience. After accidentally cutting himself he continues on a conversation with his child. Blood trickles down his arm as Calum grimaces, all the while pretending that everything is okay. A perfect visual that exhibits the pain some men are going through and how conditioned they are to never talk about it.

Much like Calum, many of the performer's characters suffer from a variety of repressed emotions; anxiety (Normal People), anger (Foe), loneliness and sexuality (All of Us Strangers) and depression (Aftersun). All of the above are not only topical but incredibly relatable for many today. We are now at a point where men are being encouraged to talk about their feelings now more than ever and it has become clear that most men find the image of Paul Mescal crying in Aftersun far more relatable than any image of Russell Crowe fighting in the Colosseum ever could be.

Mubi

This rise of a much more positive and diverse masculinity means that roles like these, and performers like Mescal, are slowly but surely becoming commonplace. Jeremy Allen White is another great example of a performer whose physique misleads expectations of the type of roles he would take, and shows like The Bear and films like The Iron Claw are wonderful explorations of masculinity. Not only does Mescal feel like the first of a new breed to use their bodies to elevate roles that speak about modern masculinity, but, with an Olivier and a BAFTA already under his belt, as well as Oscar and Emmy nominations, he also might just be the best. 

As the leading man of Gladiator II, Mescal has the opportunity to take his representation of masculinity to new heights. From the trailer alone the movie is sure to be full of everything you'd expect from a Gladiator sequel; blood, sweat, and one hell of a spectacle. With notions of masculinity having changed over the last twenty-four years, and with Mescal leading the charge, however, the latest from Ridley Scott could say so much more. Just as the first instalment took the sword-and-sandal tradition from old Hollywood and combined it with the new to appeal to a much wider audience, the sequel could do the same by fusing expectations of traditional masculinity with the new masculine representation that Paul Mescal brings to the big screen.

For every man who purchased a ticket to see Gladiator twenty-four years ago, each received their own on-screen surrogate in Crowe's protagonist. For as long as the picture lasted, he provided muscles, sex appeal and power, which the viewer could project onto themselves. With Mescal at the helm for the sequel, perhaps they might also gain an appreciation for showing vulnerability, weakness and emotion.

Whether Gladiator II will deliver this pathos remains to be seen. What is certain is the blockbuster's ability to turn Paul Mescal into a household name. Earlier this year, in an interview with The Times, Mescal expressed a hope for his roles to start a conversation about men and masculinity. He wants us to ask if men are OK. Regardless of Gladiator II's approach to the subject, it is clear that Paul Mescal is about to gain a much bigger platform to allow his work to start that very conversation, providing a much healthier representation for male viewers for years to come.