In Gladiator, there is a very tumultuous relationship between Commodus and his sister, Lucilla. Commodus wants an incestuous relationship which Lucilla does not want at all. She stays with her brother because he is the emperor and she has no other choice. Lucilla finally makes a move to save her son and herself from the emperor. She sides with Maximus, whom she believes can defeat Commodus and restore Rome to the glorious empire it was before Commodus' reign. In this scene, Lucilla is dealing with the aftermath of her and Maximus' plot to overtake the emperor. Commodus discovers the plot through his spies. He practically holds Lucilla prisoner by threatening the life of her son. In this scene, Commodus is going to execute Maximus himself by fighting him in the Colosseum. Lucilla is emotionally drained as we can see in this photo. Lucilla has been consistently shown with clean makeup and hair but here, her hair is disheveled and her makeup is done darker as to show that she has been crying. Her clothes are not as put together as they usually are. While the changes are quite subtle, they make Lucilla's emotional state obvious to the audience. The audience immediately feels empathy towards her as she is in an abusive household and cannot get out due to being the emperor's sister and the mother of the heir. This scene shows the audience what Lucilla's emotional state has been since her brother became emperor. It is a culmination of all the emotions that Lucilla has felt in one moment.
It is very evident that the physical state of Lucilla is intentionally degraded throughout her quarrles with Commodus, good observation. I noticed that while she is mourning the death of Maximus after the battle (with Commodus dead too) she looks as if she has makeup again. Also, when we are shown Maximus' dying point of view of Lucilla she looks very angelic.
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