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The Two Popes Film Review: A Cinematic Sleeping Pill

12/12/2019

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Picture
Recently, I attended the Singapore International Film Festival and secured a press pass which allowed me to see five films for free. One of these films was "The Two Popes", a film that not only bored me to death but almost put me to sleep. It's based on the true story of Pope Benedict and Pope Francis with the majority of the film taking place over the weekend that the two popes spend together. What follows are long and drawn out conversations, unneeded flashbacks and humour that would make you roll your eyes but make you 48-year-old uncle laugh until it hurts.
 
My main issue with the film is just how mediocre it is, there was almost nothing on a creative level that stood out to me. The lighting and color grading is bland and in-expressive, and this ruins what potentially could be a great visual aesthetic. Everything looked so flat and uninspired and only makes the experience even more tiresome. The film is only two hours but it felt like I was in the cinema for a month due to its incredibly messy pacing. If the film were to remove the 20-minute flashback sequence as well as a couple of pointless conversations that essentially repeat what was said two scenes, the film would flow much better and would be much tighter. The overall direction from Fernando Meirelles is nothing unique with everything feeling very lifeless and artificial which is incredibly ironic when you consider Mierelles also directed the extremely energetic "City Of God" which some claim is one of the best pieces of realist cinema.

The script, in my opinion, is also fairly mediocre, every joke felt the same and the message and social commentary lacked any nuance or subtlety, everything is extremely in your face and obvious. However, the film isn't all terrible both Jonathon Pryce and Anthony Hopkins do a great job and they have great chemistry with each other. Pryce, in particular, is excellent and I do feel he is deserving of a nomination. In addition to this, the set design was really good and the only other aspect that felt real. Sadly, this is where my praise ends. 

Overall "The Two Popes" is an incredibly boring film that honestly put me to sleep, while it's not the worst film I've seen all year and nothing about it is insultingly bad, as a whole, the film is just so mediocre and average that I was very close to napping in the seat. Sadly, I can see this film doing well in awards season as this is the type of Oscar bait I can see the old award voters, as well as 50-70-year-olds worldwide, eating this mediocre mess up.

Rating: 2.5/5
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    Shivam Pota

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  • Home
  • About Us
  • Literature
    • Book Reviews >
      • Stolen Away
      • Hunger Games
      • A Tale of Magic
      • The Red Pyramid
      • Keeper of the Lost Cities
  • Entertainment
    • Why Funny Girl Should Be The Movie Of This Generation
    • TikTok
    • Among Us Tips & Tricks
    • Among Us
    • LOONA’s 12:00 album review
    • Behind the Scenes
    • Boycott Mulan
    • Were the F.R.I.E.N.D.S really friends?
    • Halloween Myths
    • Dune Review
    • Top 3 Musicals for Teens
    • That's What You Missed On Glee
    • IPL
    • Champions League 2021
    • Colour Out Of Space Film Review
    • Uncut Gems Film Review
    • Little Women Review
    • Why Amber is the unsung hero of Sofia the First
    • The Two Popes Film Review: A Cinematic Sleeping Pill
    • Why I’m Not Watching Trailers Anymore
    • The Last Black Man In San Francisco: The Best Film Of 2019 That Nobody Is Talking About
  • Current Affairs
    • POLITICS >
      • Wake up, Boris Johnson
      • First Presidential Debate
      • Brexit: The Political Decision We Can’t Ignore
      • President-Elect Biden
      • US Elections 2020: When will we actually know the results of the election?
      • The US Election
      • Donald Trump's COVID-19 Diagnosis
      • Who Will Replace RBG?
  • Things To Do
    • Vintage Shopping In Singapore
    • Get Your Golf Fix
    • Top 5 Things To Do At MacRitchie Reservoir
    • An Ode to the Humble Stew
    • Drones. Why I love the world from above.
  • Editorial
    • Covid-19 Vaccine
    • Samsung Digital Cockpit
    • Riot or Protest?
    • Robot Baristas
    • Feminism and Men’s Rights
    • Why Don't We Speak About Our Mental Health
    • Anastasia Pagonis
    • Penicillin: The Discovery that Changed the World of Medicine
    • Do Video Games Cause Violence
    • Stairs: Would we be better off without them?
    • Women Who Shaped The World >
      • Bethany Hamilton
      • Harriet Tubman
      • Susan B. Anthony
      • Uncovered >
        • McJobs: Uncovered
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        • Chinese New Year
        • Poverty
        • Laziness
        • Inequality
    • Apple TV 4K
    • Contortion: An Introduction
    • Lessons From Covid
    • The Animal Hair Cut Craze
    • Know Your French Fries
    • Why 'OK, Boomer' Is Not The 'N-Word of Ageism'
  • Environment
    • The 6th Mass Extinction
    • Climate Countdown
    • I'm Dreaming Of A Green Christmas
    • What Busy People Need To Know About >
      • Flights to Nowhere
      • Australian Bushfires
      • Hurricane Dorian
      • Greta Thunberg
      • Melting Ice
  • Creative
    • Creative Writing >
      • One Last Breath
      • The Remote's Escape
      • The Remote's Back
      • The Clock: Part 2
      • The Secret Life of Potatoes (Part 2)
    • Comics - Seniors >
      • Seniors: Issue 1
      • Seniors: Issue 2
      • Seniors: Issue 3
      • Seniors: Issue 4
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      • The Cherry Twins: Issue 1
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      • Miss Understood: Issue 1
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      • Masquerade Ball: Issue 1
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      • I Can See the Light...
      • Above The Clouds
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      • Chanel's Fashion Revolution Reaches For The Stars
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  • Archive
    • Creative Archive >
      • The Clock: Part 1
      • The Man In the Bank
      • Adventurous Story Of A TV Remote - Part 1
      • Yishun: The Devil's Ring
      • A World With No Borders
      • An Interview With The Divers At The Heart Of The Thai Cave Rescue
      • The Mountains
      • The Day I Woke Up In Troy
      • In Japan
      • Pertinus the Tenacious
    • Current Affairs Archive >
      • Riot vs. Protest
      • #BLM What You Need To Know
      • A World Of Performative Activism
      • Entrepreneurship: The Key To Go From Zero To Hero
      • Why The U.S-Iran Conflict Is Sure To Escalate
      • Why India’s Citizenship Bill And Its Effects Are More Serious Than We Originally Thought
      • The Rise Of Bitcoin In 2019
      • Hurricane Delta
      • Why Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's Murder Is More Significant Than We Originally Thought
      • Why Do Many Technology Startups Fail?
      • What Is The Trump-Ukraine Crisis And What Are Its Effects?
      • Ending The Hong Kong Protests - A Guide For Dummies
      • Why Brexit is Going Nowhere
      • Ending the Yemen War: A Guide for Dummies
      • India-Pakistan Conflict: A Dummies Guide
    • Editorial Archive >
      • Singapore's Latest Nuisance: Electric Scooters
      • Why Artificial Intelligence is the Future of Humanity
      • Self Driving Cars, The Future of The Automotive Industry
      • Should We Really Be Afraid Of Artificial Intelligence?
      • Something Is Rotten In The Heart of Tanglin's Head Team
      • Boeing 737 Max 8: A Question of Safety
      • A World in the Dark
      • The Day That Siri Died
      • Does Brandy Melville Fit into the Future of Fashion?
      • #NOFILTERPOETRY
      • World Cup Conspiracies
      • Is Money Really That Great?
      • Why I Hate Valentine's Day
      • How We Became Enslaved To The Social Media Overlords
      • The Projector VS Golden Village
      • A Little Red Dot
    • Entertainment Archive >
      • The Diary of Taylor Swift's Cats
      • Champions League Comebacks
      • It's Bruno, Possibly The Weirdest Show On Netflix?
      • Why Being a Film Fan in Singapore Kinda Sucks...
      • Fortnite Vs Apex: Let Battle Commence
      • The Dying Art Of One Direction Fanfiction
      • Taylor Swift Cancels Concert At The Melbourne Cup
      • Haji Lane
      • To All The Boys I've Loved Before
      • Thor Ragnarok film review
      • The Ring of Fury - Why Now?
      • The Films You Missed in 2018
      • Kingsman: The Golden Circle
  • Category