Dafoe vs. Cavaziel

As far as his movie's concerned, the climax is the scourging. It's too much, too early; as a result, the actual crucifixion ends up as a kind of anticlimax.

And it's unconvincing--the man has to carry a crossbeam (the entire crucifix is something up to 350 pounds) about a kilometer up a hill, and take at least three hours to die; the way Cavaziel was flayed, he should have died there, and far too quickly.

Those men handling the flagellum, the officer in charge, they have some medical training; they should know when to stop--to save the best for last, so to speak.

I don't buy it.

Incidentally, the contorted position Dafoe assumes, which conforms to the illustrations on that one crucified man archeologists found, it's far more painful than that plain ole Y shape position Cavaziel assumes. He's literally too twisted to breath easily; he can only assume that position comfortably for about ten, fifteen minutes (Scorsese said about a minute and a half). The moments when Dafoe is literally trembling with pain, that wasn't acting.