I watched the Young Pope back in January when it was aired and am still in love with it. Having studied at a Convent myself, it was natural to have a slight inclination towards watching the show and I am so glad to have done that.
The show is about the pontificate of the first American Pope, Pius XIII a.k.a Lenny Belardo who is just 47 years old . He was chosen by the Cardinals expecting him to be a mere telegenic puppet but they get a sever shock when he delivers his first address to the masses reminding them that they have forgotten God.
He is stubborn and instead of listening to the courtiers, appoints St. Mary, a nun, as his Chief Advisor. He is complex, mysterious, conservative, powerful, rude yet extremely caring and lonely.
Lenny is a character you will love and hate at the same time. He is a Young Pope who loves Cherry Coke Zero, smokes cigarettes and enjoys music. He is an outsider, trying to find his way around the Vatican, often opening wrong doors and hence meeting people and finding secrets.
He is stubborn and rarely cares about the future implications of his actions. He is least interested to show himself or talk to the public. Something inside him haunts him all the time.
The show starts with Pius XIII tunneling his way over newborns. That only is enough to upset someone. Without giving too much away, what follows is a series of how the newly elected stubborn and contradictory Pope caries out his political and religious duties and is always full of surprises giving bizarre confessions like
“I don’t believe in God” and “My only sin; and its an enormous one; is that my conscience does not accuse me of anything”
This confuses the Cardinals who think that he does not believe in God and are now worried at what they have done.
During the beginning half of the show you will hate the Young Pope and will question his every move but as the show progresses, things start making sense and you will understand why he did, what he did.
This is show is not just about Religion, but about people. Especially what power does to one person.
Jude Law as Pope Pius is excellent. The acting is above average and the dialogue delivery is spot on. Without saying a single word, we can see the pain through this facial expressions. Diane Keaton as Sister Mary has done a good job and so has Javier Camara as Cardinal Gutierezz but my favorite character is Cardinal Voiella played by Silvio Orlando.
A must weekend Binge, he is the trailer for you to enjoy.
