The Young Pope

Viewed by Larry Gleeson. Writer/director Paolo Sorrentino unleashed a pilot of the first two episodes of a new, fictional, ten-part series titled, "The Young Pope," at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival.

Jude Law plays the central character, Lenny Belardo, aka Pius XIII, the first American Pope in history. Young and charming, his election seems to be the result of a simple yet effective media strategy on the part of the College of Cardinals. But appearances can be deceptive. Above all, in the place and among the people who have chosen the great mystery of God as the compass guiding their existence. That place is the Vatican and those people are the leaders of the Church. And Pius XIII proves to be the most mysterious and contradictory of them all. Shrewd and naïve, ironical and pedantic, primeval and cutting-edge, doubting and resolute, melancholy and ruthless, Pius XIII tries to cross the endless river of human solitude to find a God he can give to mankind. And to himself.

Sorrentino is bound to shock the sensibilities of some of his Catholic viewers with the imagery in the opening sequence. He opens with a baby in a dimly lit St. Peter's Square crawling over a sea of other babies until we see a man emerge from beneath the pile. A cut is made to Lenny awakening from a sleep and donning the attire of a Catholic Pope. As Lenny leaves his dressing area Sorrentino makes effective use of slow motion as he shows Lenny gracing the Vatican personnel with his presence. He glides across screen from left to right with non-diagetic music to the admiration and respect of the on-lookers until sitting upon his papal chair. He embodies a pious pose while envisioning a lovely topless blonde sitting in a green pasture as he presumably, as a young boy, looks on. He comes to and makes his way to the Papal Balcony where a deafening roar is heard from a rain-soaked crowd waiting to hear his Holiness. The rain stops, the clouds clear and the sun shines forth and again the crowd roars. Lenny as Pius XIII begins a most dynamic and appropriate speech on how he serves God and how he serves the audience before switching it up telling the audience to indulge in forbidden pleasures and desires including masturbation, gay marriage and a free and liberated lifestyle. At this point, his Secretary of State tells Pius he is not the Pope, that the Secretary of State is Pope and that Pius XIII is excommunicated. A cut is made to Lenny awakening from a sleep. From here Sorrentino takes the viewer on a wild ride as he delves into the psychological state of the young pope through moments of Belardo's introspection and through his interactions with his subordinates.

Cinematographer Luca Bigazzi creates a plethora of luscious visuals throughout the seamless shown. Laura Rosenthal and Annamaria Sambucco have complied a stellar cast. The cast does look the parts with thanks to the work of Carlo Poggioli and Luca Canfora. The musical score by Lele Marchitelli keeps pace with the action. The production design is exquisite and is handled by Ludovica Ferrario. The editing is seamless. Cristiano Travaglioli is credited with editing.

All in all, the Young Pope proved to be highly entertaining. Law brings style and swagger to the role of Lenny. Silvio Orlando brings to life the machinations and cajoling of Secretary of State, Cardinal Voiello and Cecele De France adds nicely to the film's rich cinematography in close ups as the Vatican Marketer Sofia Dubois. Last and certainly not least, Diane Keaton solidly depicts Sister Mary adding a much needed grounding presence as Sorrentino is not pulling any punches with his attempts for humor. Nevertheless, it is a delightful production with interesting dialogue and a dark, ominous and foreboding first Papal Speech.

My recommendation is don't miss a chance to see 'The Young Pope.' Go for it! God willing...

The Young Pope is a joint Sky, HBO, CANAL+ production and will be broadcast on Sky Atlantic in 5 countries: in Italy from October 21st, in UK, Germany, Ireland and Austria from late October, and in France on CANAL+ from late October.

It was everything I was hoping for, great set, awesome cast. Lots of swish vocabulary being delivered and not overdone. My thoughts after 30 minutes were "This is going to be Boardwalk Empire in the Vatican" and more. That's not to say that this is like anything done before, more, totally hasn't been done before, and instead of the huge music scores and frowning gown clergy, you get an unpredictable drama, plenty of humour and some wonderfully shot scenes - None of which distract. Jude Law plays the Pope like your father plays the villain when you have a friend over - His vindictive nature is apparent and has you rubbing your hands for the next time the Pope wants to single somebody out... He suffers no fools... Watch it folks, it's fantastic!

Wow, don't think i ever been that impressed by the first two episodes of a TV series. The story line doesn't sound that innovative: young, unknown American cardinal becomes pope surprisingly but instead of being a puppet for the powerful cardinals in the background, he is trying to take the vatican over completely. Now this could be just another vatican drama or another over the top comedy about the church...but its something very different. Jude Laws portrayal of the young pope is certainly one of the better acting performances I've seen in a while. he is cold, stoic but also full of rage and passionate about his convictions and most important: you cant figure him out. one minute you think he is a complete jerk or insane, next you believe that he is a saint. the cinematography and music is excellent. some of the mass scenes could have been shot better but thats nit picking.

I am utterly in love with this series. From the gorgeous soundtrack, to the depth and humour of the dialogues, the sharp exposure of human nature and the intricacies of belief and devotion, this series in an absolute joy. This comment is from someone whose last favorite series was BBC's Merlin. I rarely watch TV and follow series; it really has to be something special to grab my attention and keep it for a long time. This is truly special. I am devouring it, fully embodying the sinner in me. I confess to the deadly sins of gluttony - because I am never satisfied and I always want more of it - and lust, because Jude Law is oh my God so sexy and hot, in body, mind, and soul, and a brilliant, brilliant actor; I was happy to know he also produces it. And why not sloth too, since I don't mind spending several hours in a row watching it and I don't feel a slight bit of guilt because of it. Oops, here goes for pride. I am totally free of greed though, for I wish everyone watch this and drink of this divine juice. Amazing, and I hope there will be no more seasons, otherwise it will lose its substance and depth. Good things come in small packets. Thank you for this gem and congratulations for the genius collaboration behind it.

I was among many others who rushed to compare Paolo Sorrentino's Vatican drama The Young Pope to Beau Willimon's political masterpiece House of Cards after watching the first couple of episodes of the former. Obviously, I was wrong. Despite the unmistakable similarities between the enigmatic newly-elected young American pope Lenny Belardo, a.k.a. Pius XIII, and the evil mastermind statesman Frank Underwood, both shows aim at two completely distinctive targets, and although it is true that institutional religion and politics share so much in common in terms of manipulation and intrigue, Willimon and Belardo evidently play different tunes to approach such thorny issues.

Once you get past the third episode, you will realize that Belardo is nothing like Underwood. He might be the most diabolical pope you would see on screen but his vulnerability brings the human back into his character and makes it contradictory, yet more believable. A mixture of kindness and cruelty, faith and doubt, innocent childhood and bitter adulthood, finely portrayed by Jude Law in a role that will later be marked in his career as the departure from Hollywood's 'pretty boy' branding and an ensuing history of fumbling and the beginning of more mature choices and performances.

The entire series is based on this kind of alluring contradiction. I'm not Catholic, not even Christian, but I honestly cannot see how this show can be offensive to anyone. Sorrentino's take on religion and the system of belief in general is very far from liberal or conservative absolutism; he uses his renowned magical aestheticism to create a space for all voices to converse – a space where religion and art collide in a supernova of beauty on every possible level. Unlike Willimon who wages a war against the political system to reveal its inherent ugliness, Sorrentino gently takes us to the heart of conservative dogma to show that religion is a personal story whose contradictory nature must be nurtured and celebrated. In the very first scene, our young pope, Lenny Belardo, struggles to crawl out of a heap of sleeping babies.

It is a story about finding maturity in faith.

The eccentric, brilliant mix of intellectual aestheticism and tongue-in-cheek comedy of The Young Pope is only made better by the almost perfect casting. Silvio Orlando particularly stands out as the football fanatic, Secretary of State Cardinal Voiello who even though represents the Pope's nemesis, is undoubtingly the most comic character in the series. Cheeky contradiction invades all aspects of Sorrentino's drama: narrative juxtaposition, cinematography, music… etc. Imagine listening to "I'm Sexy and I Know It" in the background of a sequence where the Vatican's most esteemed authority gets dressed for the Cardinals' address.

Not to mention that Sorrentino's frames are a source of pleasure in their own right, I have truly enjoyed watching every minute of The Young Pope. Emotional, witty, beautiful, funny, original… the show has all elements I need to keep me anxiously waiting for a second season. Don't be long, Mr. Sorrentino!