by Laurence Barber
In the wake of House of Cards' success, it seems networks have all been clamouring to make shows about other worlds that are full of their own political intrigue. Netflix itself has the Gerard Depardieu-starring Marseille, which French critics savaged and everyone else mostly ignored, and the upcoming The Crown. In other ways, shows like Mr. Robot and UnReal seem partially derivative of this trend despite updating and resituating it. Now, in a joint production, Sky, Canal+ and HBO have teamed up to produce the latest project from Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino: The Young Pope...
Sorrentino's Youth failed to capitalise on the momentum of The Great Beauty, which won Best Foreign Language Film back in 2014. Though it had its moments, Jane Fonda most prominent among them, Youth felt at best like an English-language remix of The Great Beauty. The Young Pope immediately feels different, however, charting the rise of a maverick American Cardinal to the position of Pope. A contemporary miniseries set within the walls of The Vatican is an immediate attention-grabber; that it stars Jude Law and Diane Keaton, of all people, which only adds to the excitement.
Let's break down the newly released trailer
Yes
- Jude Law is one of those endlessly charismatic actors who doesn't seem to work enough with directors who know how to use him. This seems like a major vehicle the likes of which he just hasn't had in recent years aside from, perhaps, the submarine thriller Black Sea and valuable supporting turns in films like Spy and Anna Karenina.
- Diane Keaton is playing a nun named Sister Mary for the second(!) time in her career. The previous time was in a Showtime TV movie called Sister Mary Explains It All directed by Marshall Brickman. It's exciting to finally get Keaton in a regular TV role after HBO passed on Tilda back in 2011, a comedy which was inspired by Nikki Finke, former Deadline editor and subject of one of the great 30 Rock one-liners (“I hate to say, ‘Toldja!’…because it reminds me of my one night stand with Nikki Finke.”)
- Sorrentino's glossy style doesn't work for a lot of people, but it seems like he's at his best depicting a certain Italian opulence entirely at odds with the reality of the world outside of it. This trailer makes this show look gorgeous, and the subject matter will surely allow Sorrentino to indulge his usual flights of fancy.
- The seamy underbelly of The Vatican plays out quite publicly these days, so if nothing else the controversy this is destined to create - and perhaps the conversation it could kickstart - will be fun.
- Co-stars James Cromwell, who is always fun to watch, and Javier Cámara, who played Benigno in Talk To Her.
No
- Conceptually, this seems a little self-serious - almost like Bad Santa, except it's Bad Pope. The worst case scenario for this is how sanctimonious it could be about its own blasphemy. People like Ricky Gervais and Richard Dawkins have proven how tiresome it can be when someone never shuts up about how bad religion is, so if "religion is bad" turns out to be the central thrust of this, we could have a problem.
- The trailer is full of vaguaries, with Law's character Lenny Belardo, alias Pius XIII, declaring himself to be both "God" and "everything". Subtlety isn't Sorrentino's strong suit.
Maybe So
- Like House of Cards, this could turn out to be relatively toothless about its setting which would leave us with a stylish drama. But these days a show needs more on its mind to stand out and Pius XIII's threat to deliver "revolution" means this could be a too simplistic revenge tale.
- Perhaps by nature of the setting it shouldn't be surprising that the cast list is dude heavy, but there's not much diversity here. Beyond Keaton there's co-star Ludivine Sagnier, who you'll know from Alfonso Cuaron's segment of Paris je t'aime and Swimming Pool, Cecile De France and Nadee Kammellaweera in terms of roles for women but none appear to show up much in the trailer. Is this a sign that this show will mainly be men behaving badly?
- Does the shadow of The Borgias loom large over this? Not that it was ever very present in the zeitgeist, but if audiences didn't really take to that will they bother with this?
- What the heck is going on in that shot where Law is kneeling in front of a row of trucks?
I think I'm a tentative YES on this one; early reviews from Venice have been very positive even from Sorrentino naysayers. It sounds like Sorrentino has been given relatively free reign to do what he does, so hopefully he can deliver. It premieres on October 21 on Sky Atlantic in Italy, October 27 in the UK, but Deadline is saying it won't air on HBO until February 2017. Which seems crazy in this day and age.
Will The Young Pope get a season pass on your DVR or will you turn a blind eye to God's (Jude) Law?