MERCY! ‘TWO POPES’ A MISCHIEVIOUS SALUTE TO TALENTED CINEMA

By Dominique Paul Noth

Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce in 'The Two Popes'

There is a completely concocted moment at the papal conclave in 2005 that wound up choosing Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger as pope when he is in lunch line with then the second most popular candidate, Argentinean Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio who is absently-mindedly whistling “Dancing Queen.” 

Who is that by? asks German musical expert Ratzinger.  “Abba” says Bergoglio, which is also the Aramaic name for Father not just the Swedish pop group, which clearly confuses the future pope.

It is an amusing setup for The Two Popes, an invented look at emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned in 2013 and had a pretty good idea who would succeed him, and the current Pope Francis.  

The first question that needs to be answered is if there is any stinting or shortcoming by Netflix in concocting the sumptuous Vatican settings and international flavors of the story.  Absolutely not.  We can argue forever whether such movies are better seen with a crowd in theaters or absorbed alone at home, as is often case with Netflix.  But the streaming service is making waves for the quality it brings to offerings, nowhere clearer than here with both Anthony Hopkins as Benedict nominated for Oscar best supporting actor and Jonathan Pryce, my personal choice for best actor for the dry honesty, smallest hints of humor and immediacy in his portrayal of Francis.

(If anyone thinks the decisions of the Vatican can be mysterious and manipulative, consider the Oscar best supporting actor category and how it is trying to maneuver the voters.  There they are parking big names like Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Tom Hanks along with Hopkins!)

The second question: Is this just a dry theological debate for Catholics?  Not at all. It may be invented, except for moments when actual statements or encyclicals are paraphrased as if emerging in dialog, and it certainly assumes a relationship that current events may not support, such as Benedict now,  when some interpret the retired pope as  attacking Francis for his views on priestly celibacy. 

But in the heartfelt challenges, when (in the film) Benedict brings Francis back to Rome to explore stepping aside, Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles raises noticeable issues of the roads to God and to power. Plus he allows moments back in time to reveal Francis’ conflicts with celibate life (perhaps making a dry point by not doing so much background for Ratzinger).

With and without subtitles, the movie drives seamlessly through multiple languages, with time to make a joke about Benedict being most comfortable in Latin. It’s an ideological representation, far from history, but aside from the buddy movie criticism from critics, it does delve deep and honestly into many issues we wish the two men would discuss!

Based on his own play (nominated for Oscar adapted screenplay), Anthony McCarten has provided amusingly intellectual dialog and the genuine emotions as well as issues the two men faced. Pedophilia and bank finances are indeed explored. He does not hide how Ratzinger was accused of being a Nazi, much to the distress of Francis’ search for pastoral humility, not does he dodge (in fact makes a centerpiece) the guilt Francis felt as leader of the Jesuits playing footsie with an Argentine strongman regime. 

In fact, these conflicts strengthen the sense of humility among pomp that two popes had to debate (though probably not so openly) in what remains a remarkable dual argument about the church’s future. In real life, it does seem that Benedict has grown healthier and more open since stepping aside and that Francis has found a more formidable voice of leadership --- both realities that fit this manufactured exchange.

The movie more weakly suggests that soccer brings the men together, but “The Two Popes” lives and breathes on the moments of humanity the actors find under the robes and formal prayers, with Pryce particularly natural in how he achieves that outcome. A meander in the garden speaks volumes.

Other recent film reviews with Oscar nominations added:

JoJo Rabbit 
Oscar nominated as best picture, supporting actress (Scarlet Johansson), adapted screenplay, production design, film editing and costume design.

Little Women 
Oscar nominated as best picture, best actress (Saoirse Ronan), best supporting actress (Florence Pugh), adapted screenplay, costume design, music.

1917 
Oscar nominated as best picture, director, original screenplay, production design, sound mixing, sound editing, cinematography, music.

Dark Waters, The Report and Just Mercy.  (The last treated as a 2020 release.)

About the author: Noth has been  a professional journalist since the 1960s, first as national, international and local news copy editor at The Milwaukee Journal, then as an editor for its original Green Sheet, also  for almost two decades the paper’s film and drama critic. He became the newspaper’s senior feature editor. He was tapped by the publishers of the combining Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for special projects and as first online news producer before voluntarily departing in the mid-1990s to run online news seminars and write on public affairs. From 2002 to 2013 he ran the Milwaukee Labor Press as editor. It served as the Midwest’s largest home-delivered labor newspaper, with archives at milwaukeelabor.org.  In that role he won top awards yearly until the paper stopped publishing in 2013. His investigative pieces and extensive commentaries are now published by several news outlets as well as his DomsDomain dual culture and politics outlets.  A member of the American Theatre Critics Association at its inception, he also reviews theater for Urban Milwaukee.