Movie review
November 27, 2019 · 125 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Two Popes is a 2019 Netflix biographical drama that imagines private conversations between Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in 2012 as the Church faces scandals and a leadership change. The story centers on faith, personal doubt, guilt, and differing ideas about the Church's future direction. It shows a clear contrast between strict tradition and calls for reform focused on the poor, with visible institutional critique of bureaucracy and past handling of abuse cases.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Two Popes.
Woke representation / casting
Actors portray historical white European-descent figures with no audience-visible diversity signaling, identity swaps, or mismatches that stand out.
Woke political dialogue
Conversations highlight tension between conservative doctrine and reformist ideas on church openness and social focus, delivered through personal talks rather than direct lectures.
Identity-driven story themes
Story stays on Catholic faith, leadership, and institutional challenges with no race, gender identity, sexuality, or modern identity politics elements.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Film depicts Vatican bureaucracy and traditional leadership under Benedict as rigid and tied to scandals, while presenting reformist views more positively and empathetically.
Woke character or canon changes
Heavy fictionalization of private meetings and amplified contrasts between real popes leads to documented criticism of biased or distorted portrayals, especially of Benedict.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Conservative Catholic voices called out liberal bias and efforts to favor progressive leadership over tradition, though complaints center on internal Church politics rather than DEI or identity messaging.
Creator track record context
Key creatives have records in socially aware dramas critiquing inequality or institutions from progressive angles, without repeated identity-driven or activist ideology as the main pattern.
Production
