TMS Movie Review: Conclave
(FilmNation / Focus Features)
With the US election coming up next week, we coincidingly have a new political drama on a different, yet important voting process: the next pope. Conclave is the latest film from director Edward Berger following his successful adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) and starring one of the most respected groups of actors this year. The marketing around the new release has been a bit vague story wise and after viewing it, I can see why—for multiple reasons. It’s not the type of Christian movie you would see from distributers like Angel Studios or Kingdom Story Company, yet has a lot of interesting things to say about Catholicism and the Catholic Church without being too biased or pointed.
Set during a five-day period at the Vatican, Cardinal Dean Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is instantly tasked with moderating the selection of the new Catholic Pope when the current, unnamed one suddenly passes away from a cardiac arrest. Throughout the film, we get many different dilemmas affecting the voting choices from the members of the council of cardinals. Lawrence reveals he doesn’t want to become leader of the Church because of a crisis of faith; liberal Cardinal Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci) doesn’t feel he deserves the title; ambitious Cardinal Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow) has a growing, ambiguous accusation; Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) is strongly endorsing the Church go back to traditionalism; and Cardinal Joseph Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) has a secret from his youth that’s on the verge of being exposed. At the same time, a cardinal with a mysterious history, Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz), unexpectedly appears at the gathering; and Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini) watches discreetly as she and her fellow nuns organize the events.
(FilmNation / Focus Features)
Conclave is based on Robert Harris’ 2016 novel of the same name and adapted by Peter Straughan. The main praise for Berger’s film adaptation seems to primarily be toward Fiennes’ lead performance, which is strong and presently leading fans and pundits to believe he is the top contender for Best Actor this Oscar season. Like with Mark Mylod’s The Menu (2022) previously, Conclave is a return to creative form for the acclaimed actor after spending years co-starring in huge franchises like Harry Potter and James Bond. The supporting cast here is also solid, unsurprisingly, and Rossellini in particular makes us wish she had a bit more to do as she spends most of her screentime on the sidelines. What makes Conclave stand out is that it’s crafted more as a courtroom drama or detective story, with various twists and turns throughout the plot. While the beginning is only slightly scandalous by 2024 standards, the final twist in the last five minutes is definitely going to divide viewers, and not just Christians. While I was generally fine with the film’s portrayal of the priests, I was a bit underwhelmed that it went from a discussion on faith and commitment to these men’s religious beliefs, to essentially a social commentary. Though not necessarily bad, it’s rare to see any sort of topic on Christian/Catholic faith portrayed positively in major films, so I was enjoying how prominent it was for the rest of the film.
Nevertheless, excluding the ending, I think the rest of Conclave, especially the acting and visuals, deserve a viewing.