M artin L uther K ing J r .
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2020 special edition
January 15, 2020
‘The Two Popes,’ a Compelling Drama
o Pinionated
J udge
by
d arleen o rTega
Now that Oscar nominations
have been announced, I am pre-
paring by own list of the best
films of 2019--and as usual, al-
most none of my picks are gar-
nering Oscar recognition. “The
Two Popes” is one of just two
exceptions, with well-deserved
nominations for its two lead per-
formances by Jonathan Pryce (for
best actor) and Anthony Hopkins
(for best supporting actor) and for
its wonderful adapted screenplay
by Anthony McCarten. Although
neither the film itself nor its tal-
ented Brazilian director, Fernan-
do Meirelles are receiving recog-
nition they also deserve, it’s one
of my favorite films of the year.
Writer McCarten has worked
some real magic here, building
a surprisingly engaging story
around a series of necessarily in-
vented conversations between the
current Pope Francis and his im-
mediate predecessor, Pope Bene-
dict XVI, who took the highly un-
usual step of stepping down from
the role in 2013. Nearly every
other pope has served until death;
why did Benedict, a staunch tra-
ditionalist who functioned as a
guardian of conservative values,
make such a dramatically unusu-
al decision, especially with some
likely sense that his polar oppo-
site, Argentine Cardinal Jorge
Mario Bergoglio, might well
succeed him? Because so much
of what happens in the world of
the Vatican is shielded from the
public view, we will never know
for sure--but McCarten has found
in this compelling question the
basis for a worthy investigation
into the state of Catholicism and
how two men of integrity might
well approach questions of faith,
community, and leadership.
It’s rare to find a film that ap-
proaches questions of faith with
such nuance and respect--and
that understands the relevance of
the examination. Those who are
not religious may not immediate-
ly be drawn to this material, but
PhoTo CourTesy n eTFlix
A struggle commences between both tradition and progress as two very different men (Anthony
Perkins and Jonathan Price) confront elements from their pasts in order to find common ground and
forge a future for the Catholic Church in the Oscar- nominated film ‘The Two Popes.’
the filmmakers help you under-
stand why you should care. In a
world so deeply divided on mat-
ters of morality and distribution
of resources, religion has so often
served to deepen those divides,
and these two men have, by all
accounts, staked out opposite
poles. Drawing from abundant
sources reflecting the histories,
habits, and ideas of the two men,
McCarten has imagined--assum-
ing the best of both and according
them appropriate respect--how
they might converse about their
faith, their doubts, and their fun-
damental disagreements. Like the
British royal family, popes are fa-
mous and objects of great scruti-
ny while also being shielded from
public scrutiny in other respects-
-yet, in the tradition of “The
Crown,” McCarten’s imagined
conversations convince us that
his speculations have captured
some of what is more deeply true
about the two leaders, even if the
specific details are invented.
Pryce portrays Cardinal Ber-
goglio/Pope Francis as a person
of ease, humility and compas-
sion. His instinct is to connect,
as he does with the limo driver
sent to retrieve him at the Rome
airport, the gardener at the pope’s
summer estate, the young guard
at the Vatican. His conversations
C onTinued on P age 10