Stubs - Conclave

Conclave (2024) starring: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini Directed by Edward Berger. Screenplay by Peter Straughan. Based on Conclave by Robert Harris. Produced by Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, Michael Jackman, Alice Dawson, Robert Harris. Run time: 120 minutes. Color US/UK Political Thriller

While art is not always a reflection of real life, sometimes a movie comes at a time when, even though it might be fiction, gives insight into current and future events. With the current Pope seriously ill, the process through which he would be replaced is examined in Conclave, a film from director Edward Berger, based on the novel of the same name by Robert Harris.

The film opens with the death of a pope and the conclave, the assembly of cardinals, to elect his replacement. In charge of this meeting is Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), the dean of the College of Cardinals.

Several candidates come into serious contention, Cardinal Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci), an American liberal; Cardinal Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow), a Canadian moderate; Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), an Italian traditionalist; and Cardinal Joshua Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), a Nigerian with conservative social views.

But voting comes with scrutiny, and with the help of Monsignor Raymond O'Malley (Brian F. O'Byrne), Lawrence’s assistant, information becomes known that seems to eliminate one candidate after another.

There are even questions about which Cardinals should be present. Reports come to light that on his last day, the Pope had asked Tremblay to resign, and there appears a Cardinal, Cardinal Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz), a Mexican archbishop appointed the Cardinal of Kabul, in a secret appointment by the recently deceased Pope.

There is also backstabbing amongst the Cardinals, including the appearance of Sister Shanumi (Balkissa Maiga), who had a love child with one of the candidates, the revelation of which effectively ends the candidacy of the one-time front runner.

I am not Catholic, so I will admit to no knowledge of this process or some of the ecclesiastical language spoken by the Cardinals during the film. However, that doesn’t take away from enjoying this political thriller, as relationships and alliances shift day-to-day through the process. And the film does a good job of revealing the elected Pope, so I won’t ruin it here. It is also my understanding that it is fairly accurate to the actual process, though it’s hard to know given a conclave’s secrecy.

Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence

The film is well acted at every level, with Ralph Fiennes excelling in his Academy-nominated role. You really get a sense of his struggles both internally and externally as he tries to pilot the conclave to an appropriate conclusion. His Cardinal Lawrence is a complicated man who struggles with his faith but also lets himself, if only for a moment, give in to the idea that he might be the next Pope.

Stanley Tucci as Cardinal Bellini

Stanley Tucci, who never seems to give a bad performance, plays Cardinal Bellini, a man who claims not to want to be Pope, but wears his ambitions on his sleeve. When it looks like he will not be elected, he makes alliances with men that he doesn’t like in order to have some presence in the next papacy.

John Lithgow as Cardinal Tremblay

John Lithgow plays Cardinal Tremblay who, even though he might be the worst candidate for the position, is not above doing anything to get elected.

Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes

Isabella Rossellini, who plays Sister Agnes, the cardinals' head caterer and housekeeper, gets to show her chops as well, showing that even though the women might be held as secondary in the Church, they are not deaf and mute. Her role, though brief, has earned her an Academy nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

The film was also up for a significant number of awards, Best Picture (Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman); Best Adapted Screenplay (Peter Straughan); Best Original Score (Volker Bertelmann); Best Editing (Nick Emerson); Best Production Design (Production Design: Suzie Davies, Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter); and Best Costume Design (Lisy Christl); but only won for Best Adapted Screenplay.

I found Conclave to be an interesting look at a world event most of us will never be privy to. Though, as Dragnet would say, the names have been changed to protect the innocent, there is no doubt some truths about how a Pope is elected and this is a compelling political thriller.