‘Truthy’ fiction about Argentine Cardinal Bergoglio (the future Pope Francis) going to The Vatican to offer a letter of resignation to Pope Benedict (the former Cardinal Ratzinger) and finding he’s not alone in contemplating retirement. With pitch-perfect casting in Jonathan Pryce’s Francis & Anthony Hopkins’ Benedict, the film plays like a ‘two-hander’ stage play opened up via multiple prologues & flashbacks to fill us in and expand on scripter Anthony McCarten’s main interest of the largely intellectual religious argument between conservative & progressive wings of the Catholic Church. Yet, so cunningly stitched together, not only in its nonlinear construction (with special attention to Bergoglio’s compromising position during Argentina’s Military Regime), but also in director Fernando Meirelles’ digital and soundstage reproduction of Vatican City, it’s easy to overpraise the film. Good as it is, the narrative does lose focus at midpoint. But just when you think they’ve run out of topics, a series of confessions between current and future Popes pulls the story back on track. And with only two or three little slips where McCarten sinks into easy identification tropes: enjoying take-out pizza; pop culture lessons; a World Cup soccer game. Fortunately, not overstaying their welcome or deep-sixing the film’s main concerns on different attitudes in church doctrine & priorties. And what an acting lesson from two old pros!
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: Except for John Huston’s acting turn as a wily Boston prelate, Otto Preminger’s THE CARDINAL/’63 is warmed-over melodrama. But worth a look if only for its magnificent Saul Bass designed credit sequence as Cardinal Tom Tryon walks up a series of Vatican stairways. Here, the real thing; and mesmerizing. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2012/02/cardinal-1963.html
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