The much-awaited HBO debut of the 2016 political drama “The Young Pope,” stars Jude Law as Lenny Belardo, an American archbishop recently pontificated as Pope Pius XIII. Directed by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, “The Young Pope” tells the story of 47-year-old newly elected Pope Pius XIII as he begins his reign as a pope with a singular, authoritarian vision running contrary to the values held by the traditional Catholic establishment.
Paolo Serrentino’s vision is unique and captivating, relying on disjointed close-ups, seamless transitions and high-key lighting to create a surreal, dream-like atmosphere.
Coupling a storyline involving scheming bishops and ambitious holy men, Serrentino creates a show with all of the suspense and cunning of “House of Cards” but with the intellectual surrealism and symbolism of a David Lynch drama.
The first scene of the first episode offers a captivating hook that leaves the viewer immediately involved.
A naked child, blond and only a few years old, climbs over a landscape of dark shadows and ambiguous shapes that, as the camera glides upwards, is revealed to be a pile of infant and toddler corpses growing like a gravel pile in the center of St. Peter’s square.
A man in a white robe and adorned in sequined crosses and sashes climbs from the pile and stands in the open square. The dramatic music ceases its climb, interrupted by a cell phone alarm clock. Pope Pius XIII stirs slowly in his bed.
The Catholic Church certainly lends itself to powerful imagery and Serrentino milks it dry, juxtaposing canted angles of weeping Christ and bloodied crosses with cans of Coca-Cola Zero and the iconic Apple iPhone to create a sense of cinematography that is both playful and deadly serious, historical and palpably modern, like the real Catholic Church of today.
The CGI images leave something to be wanted and were not what one would come to expect from an HBO production.
That being said, Sorrentino’s vision is an intellectual one that makes up for this small critique in large ways.
It is hard not to call upon “House of Cards” again and again, as Jude Law’s portrayal of Pope Pius XIII seems Frank Underwoodian to its core.
Behind the Vatican doors, he is a severe ruler. In the first episode, he makes Mother, an old nun who serves as the Vatican’s head chef, cry as he reprimands her for being kind to him.
Familiar relationships, he says, will not be tolerated. Of course on the balcony over St. Peter’s square, Pope Pius oozes charisma and works the adoring crowd with ease.
The Pope’s history is dark. Abandoned by his parents in his childhood, he was raised by Sister Mary, an American nun, played by Diane Keaton, who eventually becomes the Pope’s personal secretary and most important aide.
It’s hard or maybe impossible to fit a review of a series like “The Young Pope” into one, small article.
Season one is filled with nail-biting suspense and characters that are both frightening and endearing. What more can we ask of our anti-heroes?
“The Young Pope” does not disappoint.
Season two has been confirmed, but no production or release date has been decided, so there is no rush. There is plenty of time to watch season one again and again.
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