Anonymous wrote:It’s a beautifully acted film based on a novel originally inspired by the 2013 conclave. The adaptation is very successful. It’s a theological political thriller, examining the motivations and machinations of the cardinals. In the end it is a profound contemplation of the nature of faith and the acceptance of God’s will, the ability to let go of preconceptions and trust God.

Very well said.

So gimmicky. Ruined what could have been a decent film.

I generally like Harris's work (his Cicero trilogy is quite good), but the ending in the book doesn't feel properly earned and [spoiler] it's incredibly hard to believe the character was raised male and simply didn't know he was biologically female (the character is not intersex in the book) until very recently, especially given that the character's unsheltered background. I haven't seen the movie yet so I'm curious if they cleaned that up a bit to make it make more sense.

I’m not a Catholic but I’m tired of the Catholic bashing. It just doesn’t seem realistic that ALL the cardinals are greedy, or liars, or awful in some way.

I thought it was good, but the ending was odd and really detracted from the movie overall. I would imagine it’s this kind of ending that makes MAGA think the libs are ruining everything. It definitely seemed contrived to suit a liberal agenda to me, and I’m a non-Catholic liberal. I saw it with my father in a rural red state and he hated it.

Great film except for the ending. They never would have voted a new cardinal and some one they knew nothing about to be pope.

Anonymous wrote:It’s a beautifully acted film based on a novel originally inspired by the 2013 conclave. The adaptation is very successful. It’s a theological political thriller, examining the motivations and machinations of the cardinals. In the end it is a profound contemplation of the nature of faith and the acceptance of God’s will, the ability to let go of preconceptions and trust God.

Hardly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved it: the cadence, the fact it came spot-on to help us deal with the US elections, the cast, the production values are excellent. I rarely go to the cinema, but did not regret the price of my ticket.

However, it is, once again, Catholics seen through the lens of Hollywood. Never in a million years would there be a papal contender with such progressive views as the one we see onscreen. The conservatives ones are more believable. They're all two-dimensional caricatures, which is fine by me, but does make the movie far less profound than it could have been. This is meant to be a puff piece, a beautifully shot diversion, with great talent. But in its reflection of the Roman Catholic Church today, it's entirely forgettable.

And the ending was silly. (As a biologist, I also feel people might misunderstand the situation of this character, but I don't want to spoil it for others, so...)

Yes we loved it too and laughed so hard at the ending. Did not take it too seriously …

My daughter's comment at the end (spoiler alert!)







"I guess I got my female pope!"

Except no. You could tell this was based on a book written a while ago, with little understanding of the issue being discussed.

Wow. I bet you are a ton of fun at parties.

It’s a beautifully acted film based on a novel originally inspired by the 2013 conclave. The adaptation is very successful. It’s a theological political thriller, examining the motivations and machinations of the cardinals. In the end it is a profound contemplation of the nature of faith and the acceptance of God’s will, the ability to let go of preconceptions and trust God.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved it: the cadence, the fact it came spot-on to help us deal with the US elections, the cast, the production values are excellent. I rarely go to the cinema, but did not regret the price of my ticket.

However, it is, once again, Catholics seen through the lens of Hollywood. Never in a million years would there be a papal contender with such progressive views as the one we see onscreen. The conservatives ones are more believable. They're all two-dimensional caricatures, which is fine by me, but does make the movie far less profound than it could have been. This is meant to be a puff piece, a beautifully shot diversion, with great talent. But in its reflection of the Roman Catholic Church today, it's entirely forgettable.

And the ending was silly. (As a biologist, I also feel people might misunderstand the situation of this character, but I don't want to spoil it for others, so...)

Yes we loved it too and laughed so hard at the ending. Did not take it too seriously …

My daughter's comment at the end (spoiler alert!)







"I guess I got my female pope!"

Except no. You could tell this was based on a book written a while ago, with little understanding of the issue being discussed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved the ending!

OP - why the eye roll? I agree with PP that ending was great and unexpected …

Unexpected?? It’s been talked about (and rightly mocked) since the moment it was released.

We had a good laugh about it - the movie was excellent and that was just a deadpan twist at end.

And possibly was not without historical precedent - Pope Joan was a medieval Englishwoman who allegedly disguised herself as a man to follow her lover to the papacy in the ninth century. She became well-educated, rose through the ranks of the church, and was elected pope. Her secret was reportedly revealed when she gave birth during a papal procession. Some say she died in childbirth, while others say her followers stoned her to death. Might have been made up to warn women about knowing their place.

I admire many aspects about the Catholic Church (have lived in countries where people depended on priests and nuns for providing education and medical care) but left it as I don’t think it is right for old men in the Vatican to dictate childbirth decisions for women - especially poor women in poor countries where most Catholics are these days.

This film was so well done but we did not take it too seriously.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved the ending!

OP - why the eye roll? I agree with PP that ending was great and unexpected …

Unexpected?? It’s been talked about (and rightly mocked) since the moment it was released.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved it: the cadence, the fact it came spot-on to help us deal with the US elections, the cast, the production values are excellent. I rarely go to the cinema, but did not regret the price of my ticket.

However, it is, once again, Catholics seen through the lens of Hollywood. Never in a million years would there be a papal contender with such progressive views as the one we see onscreen. The conservatives ones are more believable. They're all two-dimensional caricatures, which is fine by me, but does make the movie far less profound than it could have been. This is meant to be a puff piece, a beautifully shot diversion, with great talent. But in its reflection of the Roman Catholic Church today, it's entirely forgettable.

And the ending was silly. (As a biologist, I also feel people might misunderstand the situation of this character, but I don't want to spoil it for others, so...)

Yes we loved it too and laughed so hard at the ending. Did not take it too seriously …

My daughter's comment at the end (spoiler alert!)







"I guess I got my female pope!"

Anonymous wrote:I loved it: the cadence, the fact it came spot-on to help us deal with the US elections, the cast, the production values are excellent. I rarely go to the cinema, but did not regret the price of my ticket.

However, it is, once again, Catholics seen through the lens of Hollywood. Never in a million years would there be a papal contender with such progressive views as the one we see onscreen. The conservatives ones are more believable. They're all two-dimensional caricatures, which is fine by me, but does make the movie far less profound than it could have been. This is meant to be a puff piece, a beautifully shot diversion, with great talent. But in its reflection of the Roman Catholic Church today, it's entirely forgettable.

And the ending was silly. (As a biologist, I also feel people might misunderstand the situation of this character, but I don't want to spoil it for others, so...)

Yes we loved it too and laughed so hard at the ending. Did not take it too seriously …

I loved it: the cadence, the fact it came spot-on to help us deal with the US elections, the cast, the production values are excellent. I rarely go to the cinema, but did not regret the price of my ticket.

However, it is, once again, Catholics seen through the lens of Hollywood. Never in a million years would there be a papal contender with such progressive views as the one we see onscreen. The conservatives ones are more believable. They're all two-dimensional caricatures, which is fine by me, but does make the movie far less profound than it could have been. This is meant to be a puff piece, a beautifully shot diversion, with great talent. But in its reflection of the Roman Catholic Church today, it's entirely forgettable.

And the ending was silly. (As a biologist, I also feel people might misunderstand the situation of this character, but I don't want to spoil it for others, so...)