I went into Conclave with little information, so I didn’t know what to expect. There’s a lot going on here than a story about cardinals electing a new pope.
After the death of the pope, Dean Lawrence is left in charge of the conclave that will determine the next one. Cardinals from all over the globe attend the election, and the political intrigue builds from there. Ralph Fiennes as Lawrence is fantastic; he portrays a character who balances his duties and his beliefs in what is right. Fiennes does a great job of displaying the crisis of faith that Lawrence is going through. His performance never goes over the top and he shows the deterioration of his faith and loyalties with subtlety. He’s a man who’s been denied the right to choose his own path, and Fiennes demonstrates his struggle perfectly.
The cast as a whole is great with John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, and Carlos Diehz, and Isabella Rossellini as additional highlights.
The movie does a great job of planting seeds of intrigue as the plot advances. The election can’t be slowed down, so when allegations of corruption and conspiracy emerge, the characters have to deal with it between ballot counts until a two-thirds winner is decided.
It’s an engrossing drama that turns into a thriller. In the first half, I kept wondering if the internal politics of the Catholic Church are even half as dramatic as this portrayal, but as the film goes on, you realize this is about much more than religion. The cardinals are split into two sides, one backing a progressive who wishes to build upon the foundation of tolerance and open-mindedness, and the other in favor of a cardinal who wants to embrace old, staid traditions.
When some of the cardinals shift to saying that the progressive candidate might be too divisive and that they should back a more traditional one as the lesser of two evils, the political commentary becomes thicker. Some argue that ideals must take a backseat so that an extremist doesn’t get his way, while only a couple of men among them say that such a hollow victory isn’t worth fighting for. It’s a plot point that makes the movie's second half marvelous.
More than ambition and power, this is a story about fear and how people react to uncertainty when having to make a crucial decision about the future. Among all the arguing and underhanded tactics, Lawrence wonders how the church got to be in such a state of division and paranoia. I would say Conclave has been released at a perfect time.
I also want to give the movie's direction and score their due. The ominous tones of string instruments are used throughout, and when combined with the tight shots of characters navigating the Vatican, they give the film a feeling of paranoid claustrophobia.
This movie, directed brilliantly by Edward Berger, might fly under the radar for some, but It’s a fantastic film with a lot happening under the surface.
Author Bio:
Ulises Duenas is a senior writer and film critic at Highbrow Magazine.
For Highbrow Magazine