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Conclave

Young Critic

Updated: Jan 23

The Vatican political thriller is gripping if at times melodramatic


Vatican politics have been a ripe setting for dramas, from Paolo Sorrentino’s The Young Pope (2016) and The New Pope (2020), to Fernando Mereilles The Two Popes (2019). Even The Godfather: Part III (1990) delved into papal politics. However, no film has dug into the political dimension of papal elections as much as Edward Berger’s Conclave (2024).

 

Conclave is adapted from the eponymous book by Robert Harris. After the pope’s death, the Vatican’s Dean Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is charged with organizing the election of a new leader for the Catholic Church. Cardinal Lawrence is forced to navigate political factions, from the conservatives like Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), to liberals like Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), or moderates like Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow).

 

Berger’s previous film was the harrowing and gripping adaptation All Quiet on the Western Front (2022). With Conclave, Berger retains the thrills and tension, far from the WWI trench setting of his previous film. Conclave is the type of political thriller that will please fans of the pessimistic House of Cards (2013-2018) and optimisticThe Candidate (1972) alike. Berger’s film balances cynicism and optimism, keeping viewers guessing as to what the final outlook is, until the very final scene. Berger also expertly threads the links that faith and responsibility have in institutions uphold meritocratic democracies. In many ways, Conclave is a fascinating watch just before the upcoming US presidential election; Cardinals are faced with dilemmas of whether voting for the “least harmful” option is the more pragmatic solution rather than sticking to their beliefs.

 

Ralph Fiennes is fantastic, as always, in the lead role, transmitting angst and internal debate with the simplest of exhales. Actors should study the power of Fiennes’ minute movements to transmit the temptation of ambition in conflict with his morality. The supporting cast is likewise strong, but it is Isabella Rossellini as a nun catering to the Cardinals that stands out. With only a handful of scenes, the Italian actress transmits more in a simple curtsey than many actresses can in lengthy speeches, her bowed head and side-long glances covey a wit and shrewdness of her character’s plight, unlike many working actresses today.

 

Conclave, however, does fall into melodramatic beats within its narrative. The scandals that Cardinal Lawrence begins to uncover of specific candidates stretches belief in its rapid succession and is too dramatically convenient for the plot. A pivotal action moment in the film also feels out of place, dragging the film out of the contemplative political arena and into a theatrical one. The finale, while surprising and symbolically fitting, also falters slightly when a pivotal speech illustrating who the next pope will be is too timid and short to believably sway a majority of votes.

 

Nevertheless, Conclave is a satisfying political thriller and one of the more illuminating films regarding Vatican politics. Led by a stellar Fiennes, the Conclave cast fantastically keeps viewers guessing as to where loyalties lie. While the film might step sometimes into melodramatic and inauthentic territory, it’s not enough to derail one of the season’s better thrillers.

7.9/10

 

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