Beautiful locations, brilliant actors are working for Netflix's Vatican drama The Two Popes. The writing, on the other hand, leaves more to be desired.
Pope Francis was not convinced with the direction the church has been headed and wanted to resign when he was a cardinal. He met Pope Benedict XVI to share his intentions but the pope had his own plans of abdicating the papacy. This movie is a dialogue between the two on the lush grounds of Vatican state. This also mentions the Vati-leaks, the possible reason for Pope Benedict XVI to resign.
It looks beautiful. The locations feature aerial shots of the Vatican, the pristinely reconstructed Sistine Chapel, and Pope's summer residence. All these are lush and soothing to the eyes. There are few shots from Argentina showing the background of Pope Francis. These elevate the contrast between the nature of Christianity from various parts of the world. I remembered visiting a small local church in Puducherry. All these churches look so alike yet feel so very different. The long aerial shots are great, but the meat of the film is the dialogue and that's where cinematography becomes unnecessarily overzealous. Shots don't remain steady to retain focus on the words but waver as if the cameraman feels bored by their conversation.
For a movie central to a dialogue between the two characters, the writing lacked the flair. Barring a couple of exchanges, there is rarely a lot to hold on to apart from cliches. There are some good lines like,
“Confession cleans the sinner's soul, it doesn't help the victim. Our whole church is in need of forgiveness. Where is our humility? Sin is a wound, not a stain. It needs to be treated, healed. Forgiveness is not enough.”
But they are far and few. I wanted it to be a cherishable thought exchange, or at least I expected that from two old guys ruminating over their lives and of the church, but despite having enough screen time for such exchanges, I did not get enough of thoughts.
The movie is worth watching for the acting. The casting by Nina Gold is phenomenal. Look at both the popes and their reel counterparts. The similarities are spot on. After seeing deeply human expressions from Jonathan Pryce, I wonder who else could have captured Pope Francis's essence so well. He is the star here. The quivering tone of regret, the self-loathing over the acts of the past and the anger at the institution for its acts is fluent and natural. Anthony Hopkins plays the other one, Pope Benedict XVI and comes out strong as ever. The steadfastness of his personality is well matched by Pryce's softness. Both have brilliant screen presence and have respect for the other's character. Seeing them together on-screen was a definite pleasure.
Recommended for both Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins and some pristine shots of St. Peter's Square and Castel Gandolfo.
Review by SolBlockedParent2021-05-15T08:13:26Z
Beautiful locations, brilliant actors are working for Netflix's Vatican drama The Two Popes. The writing, on the other hand, leaves more to be desired.
Pope Francis was not convinced with the direction the church has been headed and wanted to resign when he was a cardinal. He met Pope Benedict XVI to share his intentions but the pope had his own plans of abdicating the papacy. This movie is a dialogue between the two on the lush grounds of Vatican state. This also mentions the Vati-leaks, the possible reason for Pope Benedict XVI to resign.
It looks beautiful. The locations feature aerial shots of the Vatican, the pristinely reconstructed Sistine Chapel, and Pope's summer residence. All these are lush and soothing to the eyes. There are few shots from Argentina showing the background of Pope Francis. These elevate the contrast between the nature of Christianity from various parts of the world. I remembered visiting a small local church in Puducherry. All these churches look so alike yet feel so very different. The long aerial shots are great, but the meat of the film is the dialogue and that's where cinematography becomes unnecessarily overzealous. Shots don't remain steady to retain focus on the words but waver as if the cameraman feels bored by their conversation.
For a movie central to a dialogue between the two characters, the writing lacked the flair. Barring a couple of exchanges, there is rarely a lot to hold on to apart from cliches. There are some good lines like,
But they are far and few. I wanted it to be a cherishable thought exchange, or at least I expected that from two old guys ruminating over their lives and of the church, but despite having enough screen time for such exchanges, I did not get enough of thoughts.
The movie is worth watching for the acting. The casting by Nina Gold is phenomenal. Look at both the popes and their reel counterparts. The similarities are spot on. After seeing deeply human expressions from Jonathan Pryce, I wonder who else could have captured Pope Francis's essence so well. He is the star here. The quivering tone of regret, the self-loathing over the acts of the past and the anger at the institution for its acts is fluent and natural. Anthony Hopkins plays the other one, Pope Benedict XVI and comes out strong as ever. The steadfastness of his personality is well matched by Pryce's softness. Both have brilliant screen presence and have respect for the other's character. Seeing them together on-screen was a definite pleasure.
Recommended for both Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins and some pristine shots of St. Peter's Square and Castel Gandolfo.