More than a Roman character, Catalina reminded me of "Howard Roark" from The Fountainhead. It's been at least a decade since I last read it, but I thought the movie was quite influenced by that book.
I've only seen the posters, an early trailer, and a few paragraphs about it here and there, but I've been surprised this comparison hasn't come up more often. Looking at the poster and the plot synopsis, it's all I can think of.