by Robert Bouffard, Editor
The Pope is perhaps the most recognizable person in the world. He’s the head of the world’s largest religion. And at the beginning of Conclave, he is dead.
His death is sudden and surprising to the College of Cardinals. Some of them were close friends of his, others less so, and the rest used their proximity to the Pope as a potential means to their own desired ends. Despite this wide range of experience, the Cardinals now find themselves needing to elect a new Pope, and that won’t be easy.
Cardinals Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), the Dean of the College, and Bellini (Stanley Tucci) are liberals, like their late Holy Father. Neither wants to replace their friend, but they absolutely want a liberal elected — one who will fight for LGBTQIA+ rights, as well as the acceptance of other faiths — to preserve his life’s work. Despite not throwing their own zucchettos in the ring, much of the rest of the liberal contingent supports their candidacy.
Then there’s Tremblay (John Lithgow), a more moderate conservative without any radical views. His candidacy is solid, but there are two main issues: He badly wants the position, seemingly for selfish reasons instead of those relating to the Church and its people, and he was with the Pope before and as he died in mysterious circumstances.
Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) would be a good alternative to Bellini; he’s liberal and popular, and would be the first African Pope. His issues, though, are that he’s deeply homophobic and seems to have some skeletons of his own.
Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), meanwhile, is heavily conservative and wants to bring the Church back to its days of Latin and a lack of diversity.
Lastly, there’s the enigmatic Benitez (Carlos Diehz), who the Pope secretly made a Cardinal and is not known by any of the other major players and influences. Not only is he an unknown quantity, but he’s also a Cardinal in Afghanistan, which puts the rest of the Cardinals on edge.
Now you might notice that for a movie about choosing the new Pope based on ideology, there’s a lot of intrigue, but not much spirituality. That’s because Conclave is more Survivor than Silence. There isn’t a lot of time spent really digging into the Catholic Church, the position of Pope, or their role in society. That’s fine — a movie like this doesn’t need to be that introspective. But the meat on the bones is much too simplistic to be all that nourishing. The most we get is an emphasis on progressivism because it’s good and right. And while I definitely agree with the sentiment, there’s space for a more nuanced and intentional look into that perspective.
Unfortunately, when the movie does give itself the opportunity to be more reflective of its chosen setting in the form of Lawrence’s doubt in the institution of the Church, it runs with it by adding more twists and turns in the electoral game. We’re not examining the effect that doubt has on the soul of a man who’s dedicated his life to the Church and its people, but how it can manifest in knocking down ambitious adversaries. The former would be much more resonant than the latter is entertaining.
But once you accept the reflection won’t be coming, Conclave is a fun ride in its own right. The electoral games are accentuated by a high-intensity string score from Volker Bertelmann, and director Edward Berger revels in the tension. If we’re not going to understand much of why this choice matters to the world at large, we at least see why it matters to the men making the decision. Their insulation from the outside world during this process creates a feeling of existential claustrophobia. If you’ve ever gone to a Catholic mass and thought those priests are just boring, stuffy old dudes without much in the way of an internal life, this movie is here to prove you wrong. Like Fiennes’ turn in The Menu, ratcheting up the Hollywood-ification of the proceedings and putting all its ideas about electoral politics right on the surface does make for a captivating experience.
And having performers like Fiennes, Tucci, Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini is certainly a big plus when it comes to buying into a story like this. While the script doesn’t offer a lot in terms of their characters, these are all-timer actors who can bring significant depth to their performances.
So despite a final twist that kind of comes out of left field and leaves me feeling largely puzzled (I again agree with its sentiment, but it is quite random), the movie is so competent on a base level I was watching as intently as the Catholics waiting to see what color smoke will emanate from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
Rating: Liked It
Conclave is currently playing in theaters
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