Film

The Two Popes

Name: The Two Popes
Genre: Drama, History
Released: 2019
Cast: Jonathan Pryce, Anthony Hopkins, Juan Minujín, Luis Gnecco, Cristina Banegas

Period drama
Slow-burning

A chamber piece about faith, doubt, and power, built on two performances of luminous intelligence. Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins sit across from each other and dismantle everything you thought you knew about forgiveness. Directed by Fernando Meirelles with the precision of a confession. For anyone who loves character-driven drama that treats serious subjects seriously.

TMDb rating

3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy two-handed character drama where the pleasure is watching sharp, opposed minds spar over faith, guilt and power across a long dinner-table argument, with plenty of dry humour.

Skip it if you want brisk plotting or a steady stream of incident, since most of the runtime is conversation, reflection and slow-burning mutual sizing-up between two elderly men.

What it asks of you: Settle in for just over two hours of talk-led scenes, unhurried and often quietly funny, where your attention to small shifts in expression and argument does most of the work.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Spotlight2015

A newsroom procedural about the Boston Globe uncovering Catholic abuse. It has The Two Popes's same moral clarity and refusal to look away from institutional failure, but through journalism rather than theology.

But It's methodical and slow—there are no easy catharses, just the grinding work of truth-telling. Some find it a bit mechanical.

A Man for All Seasons1966

Paul Scofield as Thomas More facing down Henry VIII in a film built entirely on principle versus power. The ancestor of every smart dialogue-driven historical drama. Direct line to what The Two Popes does.

But It's very of its era—formally composed, theatrical in a way that modern audiences sometimes find distant or stagy.

Silence2016

Scorsese's film about faith collapsing under pressure. Andrew Garfield and Liam Neeson grapple with the same question The Two Popes poses: what does belief mean when the institution fails? Unflinching and metaphysically exhausting.

But It's three hours of spiritual despair. There is no comfort here, and the pace is glacial. Not for anyone seeking resolution.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Two Popes

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Name of the Rose1986

Both are dialogues about institutional faith collapsing from inside, built on the tension between an elder and a younger man. One is a confession, the other a confession wearing a whodunit disguise.

A medieval murder mystery where the real crime is the Catholic Church's control of knowledge. Like The Two Popes, it's a conversation between an older man and a younger one about faith and corruption—but it's a thriller, set centuries back, with Sean Connery and a burning library. A completely different register, same question.

But It's deliberately cryptic and slow. The mystery itself is secondary to philosophy. Some find it impenetrable.

The Crown2016

Season 3 and onward are essentially The Two Popes's cousin: two world leaders, enormous historical pressure, conversations about duty versus conscience. Same DNA, different crown.

But The later seasons get more soap opera than substance. And it requires previous viewing to land properly.

Doubt2008

Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman in a quiet standoff about certainty, accusation, and institutional justice. Like The Two Popes, it refuses to let you know who's right, which is precisely the point.

But The ambiguity infuriates some people. There is no satisfying verdict, which is the whole moral of the story.

The Traitor2019

Pierfrancesco Favino as an Italian mobster testifying against his own organization. Same year as The Two Popes, same question: what does loyalty mean when the institution is corrupt? A thriller with philosophical weight.

But It's nearly three hours and in Italian (subtitled). The crime story can feel baggy compared to its moral argument.

Conclave2024

Ralph Fiennes as a papal secretary during a succession crisis. Shares The Two Popes's fascination with Vatican politics and the gap between public image and private doubt, but played as tense procedural thriller.

But It's more genre exercise than character study. After The Two Popes's gravity, the mystery-plot machinery can feel a bit lighter than it aims to be.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel2012

Not about faith, but about aging, purpose, and whether you can reinvent yourself when you've spent your life serving an institution. Jonathan Pryce is in it; he's excellent. The same warmth and humor underneath sadness.

But It's a feel-good ensemble piece about retirement. If you want The Two Popes's moral seriousness, this will feel slight by comparison.

The Accused1988

Jodie Foster in a courtroom drama about institutional failure and the cost of speaking truth. A completely different genre, but that same unflinching gaze at systems that protect power over justice.

But It's about sexual assault and is genuinely difficult to watch. The rape scene itself is graphic and traumatic, not metaphorical.

Tender Mercies1983

Both are about reconciliation with failure, but where The Two Popes is all language and argument, this one is all restraint and what's left unsaid. Same destination, opposite temperament.

Robert Duvall as a broken country singer finding grace through silence and small acts. It's a film about faith that barely mentions faith. It moves like prayer. Everything The Two Popes is about, but told through a man's hands and what he does instead of what he says.

But It's intensely quiet and understated. It will feel slow if you need plot. Some of the acting is so minimal it reads as blank.