The Two Popes

The Two Popes is currently streaming in Australia on Netflix, and in the US on Netflix, and it rewards the patience it asks of you. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. 3,165 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Watch it for Jonathan Pryce — one of the stronger performances out there right now. Available now on Netflix — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

The Two Popes arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The writing in The Two Popes treats its characters as people first, plot devices second. Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict. Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church. Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2019. What elevates The Two Popes is a refusal to let any character off the hook too easily. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, The Two Popes delivers. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Jonathan Pryce carries the material with a performance that rewards close attention. Worth starting sooner rather than later.