Seeing "Nope" placed me in a similar frame of mind where I found myself after taking in "Gladiator" for the first time. I remember it more than 22 years later because of the exchange I had with the people I'd joined to watch Russell Crowe's contribution to the swords and sandals genre.
It struck me as the essential feel-your-oats movie made for a society that believes it's the King of the Mountain, at the height of its powers. When I said as much, my friends thought I was talking about Rome. No, I clarified, I was referring to us, the U.S., I remember one of them rolling her eyes. "Why can't it just be a movie with you?" she said.
