The Young Pope

Paolo Sorrentino, noted Italian auteur of such critically acclaimed fare as This Must Be The Place and last year's Youth, like many film directors has turned to the television medium to tell a greater story where he can tell it over 10 hours instead of the pre-requisite two hours you have in film.

Sorrentino, such a stylish and visual director from his earlier films to the more deliberate methodical dramas such as The Great Beauty, certainly lands on his feet in Rome.

It tells the story of a young (by Pope age) American Cardinal, called Lenny Belardo played by intense broodiness by Jude Law who has been recently appointed the new Pope Pious XIII. When we first meet Lenny he is giving his first public homily to St. Peter's Square - in which quickly becomes a satirical swipe at Catholicism and its blindness to the world with its ever changing notions of acceptable decorum and relationships.

Lenny then wakes up from his dream, and we are equally flummoxed; are these the actual beliefs of a young Catholic in modern day society, is Sorrentino speaking on behalf of all Catholics or embracing the laissez-faire mentality of current real Pope Francis, who did not question same-sex marriages for instance.

Lenny is introduced to his new cabinet most notably Cardinal Voiello (Silvio Orlando), an Italian whose true love is Napoli FC, who was overlooked for the top job and is eager to rock the boat. Whilst Voiello wants to control Lenny, our new pope is certainly not forthcoming ignoring his suggestions of cabinet positions and inserting as his special advisor, Sister Mary (Diane Keaton) the woman who took him into the orphanage at a very young age and has mentored him to this moment.

Other questionable characters such as fellow American Cardinal Dussolier (Scott Shepherd), who is alluded to like young flesh by foreign speaking Cardinals and Sofia (Cecile de France), the young head of marketing who embraces Lenny's ideal that his image should not adorn any merchandise and he remain invisible to his public. 'Only Jesus is present, I am nothing' as he states.

The difference between this being a run of the mill, behind the scenes drama of a world usually closed off to the public is that Sorrentino has tweaked the role of Lenny somewhat into that as a archetypal figurehead of that other Italian institution, the Mafiosa.

Law plays Lenny as a newly appointed head honcho of a criminal organisation; his way or the highway, he smokes openly, flaunting the line between confessional confidentiality by asking a priest to be his mole by telling him what people think of him in passing prompting a changing of positions in his cabinet swiftly and without remorse. You can sense Law had immense fun playing Lenny; with the ability to spin words to his will and a presence to match his movie matinee idol looks.

The cleverness of the premise is that this Pope, as played by Law, can run and run if Sorrentino maintains a hold of this vessel. Law is certainly an individual you want to keep watching and the neat twist on him being in question about his faith and the layers he hides despite apparently being without sin demands our attention.

The Young Pope has enjoyed some decent reviews since launching on Sky Atlantic, but in the newly released box-set on DVD and Blu-ray it warrants a rewatch.

The Young Pope is available on DVD and Blu-ray now from Aim Publicity 

Youth

Paolo Sorrentino is one of the most enigmatic filmmakers in Europe yet alone Italy incorporating a mixture of tales of an ageing man in Central Europe embraced by the performances of Toni Servillo in The Consequences of Love and The Great Beauty. 

Sorrentino has attempted English language film before with the Sean Penn vehicle This Must be the Place, a film using the oeuvre of David Byrne's Talking Heads back catalogue as a springboard. He returned for the aforementioned Great Beauty before this latest venture, Youth starring Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel.



They both play 80 year old veterans of entertainment who meet for their annual two week holiday at an elite spa in Switzerland. Caine plays a composer who could have been as great as Stravinsky yet is famous for a more popular composition he wrote for his singer wife from whom he is now estranged. Keitel is a film director who with two co-writers and an acting duo is attempting to create one last masterpiece to make with his ageing muse, played by a fleeting and glowing Jane Fonda.





Whilst we might be witnessing the twilight of these two men, they are surrounded by youth in terms of the young people who serve them or give them massages, Caine's daughter Lena (Rachel Weisz) who is going through a separation from her husband who has fallen for a younger woman. 

Paul Dano, an exciting young American actor portrays a young accomplished actor who is most famous for playing a robot in a science fiction franchise picture; he would prefer to take risks with roles and his career, which leads to him taking on a future role as a famous world leader to show his range and craft, which shows an over reach on his behalf.
This pervading sense of youth and innocence is in stark contrast to the ageing men and the manifestation of end of existing exhibited by the inclusion of a man resembling Diego Maradona. While Caine and Keitel's character can continue to exist in the popular culture through composing or directing which has no age restrictions only a restriction by an individual's ambition, whereas Maradona has a limited shelf life due to physical demands. Even the newly crowned Miss Universe is restricted, she may want to get into acting as she states but she unfortunately will only ever be Miss Universe.



Keitel is keen to point out that all you have are memories and the craving for creativity and embracing your strengths, not yo be pigeon holed by one piece of work. 



Sorrentino has moulded a film that is about celebrity - a subject that fascinates him - ageing, loss and friendship. Caine and Keitel are two titans of screen acting and cleverly have never suffered by such pigeon holing in their CV, and their depiction of friendship is portrayed effectively with genuine affection and emotion.

A wonderfully odd and eccentric film with laugh out loud moments it can be included in the great pantheon of hotel movies (Lost in Translation remains the top), a hotel allowing fleeting friendships and moments. The film is stylistically shot with a great sense of space and environment, at times you sense the people could even be there against their will in a dystopic world, yet Sorrentino has a sure hand over proceedings helped by an ensemble cast of a refined quality and an eclectic soundtrack to boot.

Youth is available on Digital download from 23rd May and on DVD and Blu-ray from 30th May from Studiocanal.