PG | 2h | Drama | Oct. 25, 2024
Based on Robert Harris’s 2016 book “Conclave” and spearheaded by a masterful yet subtle turn from the formidably gifted Ralph Fiennes, the movie version is a crackling actors’ showcase. It’s a precision piece of filmmaking as riveting as any police procedural or conspiracy thriller, despite the somber and stately ecclesiastical setting.
The Pope Is Dead
Cardinals from around the globe descend en masse upon Rome, metaphorically rolling up their sleeves for the papal conclave, the historical ceremony of deliberation and voting to decide on the new pope. Until one of the eligible Cardinals receives two-thirds of the votes—enough to become the Supreme Pontiff—the red-robed cardinals will be sequestered for however long it takes.This is one of the most ancient election processes in the world, and befittingly secretive. The doors and windows of an isolated wing of the Vatican are shuttered and locked. Each cardinal has his own private room in a long subterranean marble hallway.
These days, each room also features an electronic lock. By which, as noted (and nudged) by the camera, we see that not even here, in the Holy See, as it’s known, where the most high and supremely pious who helm the future direction of the Roman Catholic Church, can its leaders be trusted. Even here there must be some policing in place in order to ensure a fair election.
The Papal Players
Cardinal Dean Lawrence (Fiennes) was a close friend of the deceased Pope. Lawrence’s faith has been on the wane of late. He was actually ready to pack it all in for a lower-profile position, but the Holy Father wouldn’t allow it. Lawrence has strong leadership skills and is now responsible for overseeing the administration of the conclave, navigating via Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish, and English, and seeing to it that all of historical procedure’s byzantine intricacies are impeccably executed.Representing the liberal faction is Lawrence’s ally and pick for the next pope, the outwardly modest but inwardly exceedingly ambitious Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci). He’s a modernist who’d like to see, among other things, the church embrace progressive ideals and involve women in church leadership roles.
Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow) is suspiciously a bit too pious and self-righteous to not have some skeletons in his closet. Turns out—he’s not the only one.
The highly outspoken (and highly and enjoyably Italian) right-leaning Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) believes tradition and isolationism are the proper path of the church. He’s ready to take the religious war to the Islamic fundamentalists by any means necessary, which his opposers see as erasing 60 years’ worth of progressive stances.
The Nigerian Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) is even more entrenched; he’s basically up for returning open homosexuality to the criminal offense it used to be in the early part of this century. He'd see that community go to prison in this lifetime and hell in the next. He eventually has to deal with the arrival of a mysterious nun at the 11th hour—arranged compliments of another cardinal—in a scene reminiscent of the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas debacle.
Lawrence’s Job
Cardinal Lawrence keeps an eye on anyone who wants to be pope too obviously and is attempting to extend influence beyond allowed conversational parameters. That leads to Lawrence needing to investigate several members who may or may not have attempted to manipulate the election. This results in the movie being something of a murder-free whodunit.There’s a Monsignor O‘Malley (Brian F. O’Byrne) who circles around every now and again with reports to Lawrence about various candidates. This functions as a writerly device that serves up new plot lines as needed. Each time he speaks with O’Malley, Lawrence acquires a new game-changing piece of the puzzle, in the form of scandals and cover-ups.
Humor
“Conclave” features a delicious tension between the cardinals’ contentious dramatics, sprinkled with deeply meaningful meditations on the meaning of faith and bits of unexpected comedy—reminiscent in that sense of 1993’s “Schindler’s List” (which also featured Ralph Fiennes making an incandescent film debut as a hellish Nazi).
The ironic and witty humor happens in the little moments wherein the cardinals, draped in their traditional blood-red finery (symbolic of their willingness to die for their faith), interact with current technology, such as a crimson iPhone case to match the owners’ robes, surreptitious vaping, and the making of little Keurig-machine espressos.
My favorite comedic instance has to do with one Cardinal who’s vehemently accused a colleague of ambition. Having consequently looked within and discovered he was projecting his own ambition, he comes hat in hand to apologize: “It’s absolutely ridiculous to be this old and still not know who I am.” I also enjoyed that the previous pope’s pet turtles sometimes wander out of the piazza fountain and into the chapel.
Bottom of the 9th Fastball
The movie, despite the solemnity and slow pace—crackles with tension. It flies by. That’s a good thing. Just as I was thinking here was finally a big movie not pushing an agenda, “Conclave” throws a fastball right at the end that comes whistling over home plate so fast that you don’t want to acknowledge you’ve been had, because the rest of the movie is so sublime.In order not to spoil it, I’ll just say that the only cardinal who is able to cut through the Gordian Knot of division in the College of Cardinals, has his own hidden—albeit innocent—secret. His situation is innocent, but the use of it in this context is anything but.
What I find most annoying is that it’s facilely tied to the central (and, in truth, beautiful) seed that Cardinal Lawrence plants at the outset while addressing the congregated members of the conclave: He admonishes the cardinals to avoid certainty at all costs. Certainty in anything is fundamentally the enemy of faith.
See “Conclave” and see if you can spot the fastball. It’s really more of a spitball (a fastball with knuckleball action) because it’s one of the sneakier and more sophisticated pitches on this particular agenda. It’s hard to miss, and it’s a shame, but “Conclave” is a fine piece of movie-making and worth it, regardless.
