In Edward Berger’s Conclave, the selection of the pope is no holy affair. Instead, it’s a petty, political campaign carried out in secrecy, where gossip flows, agendas are malleable and loyalties are fleeting. All are there to serve God, they say. But we all know how helpful that has been in conflicts throughout history. Conclave might not have much new or interesting to say about the Catholic Church, but it is a deliriously fun watch in the way that tense, smart thrillers with an ensemble of great actors can be.
It’s fitting that Peter Straughan, who co-wrote the script for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, was the one to adapt Robert Harris’ 2016 novel, taking audiences inside the secretive halls of the Vatican in the immediate aftermath of the pope’s death. The film opens abruptly and effectively on Ralph Fiennes’ back, walking somewhere briskly. Nothing is said. You don’t even see his face. But between Volker Bertelmann’s heightened score and Fiennes’ pace and tensed shoulders, the mood is set. This, it is clear, is not going to be a straightforward affair. Plus, something seems a little fishy about this death.
Fiennes plays Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, the dean of the College of Cardinals, whose duty is to oversee the election of the next pope. That means gathering a group of 100-some clergymen in Rome to vote. With many dreaming of ascending to the position, they’re secluded from the outside world and left to their own devices to lobby for support.
There are some formidable forces at play following the death of a more liberal-minded pope. Stanley Tucci’s Aldo Bellini is a progressive hoping to evolve the church dramatically. Sergio Castellitto’s Goffredo Tedesco thinks they’ve gone astray and wants to bring it back to the days of Latin Mass and Italian leadership. There’s also Lucian Msamati’s Joshua Adeyemi, from Nigeria, who stands to make history as the first Black pope but whose views on homosexuality worry the progressives. And finally, John Lithgow’s slick but earnest Joseph Tremblay, who, unlike Bellini, wears his ambition on his sleeve. He also happened to be the last official meeting on the pope’s schedule before he died and delayed before calling Lawrence with the news.
