Film review: ‘CONCLAVE’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’
Conclave, which is based on the 2016 Thomas Harris novel and comes from All Quiet on the Western Front director Edward Berger, turns the potentially dull subject of a Pope election into a fascinating, if admittedly credulity stretching, hot house political drama.
When the Pope dies of a heart attack, the reluctant Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is appointed to oversee the election of his successor. With the Catholic Church’s cardinals sequestered at the Vatican as part of the voting process, a feverish political scramble ensues with four main candidates emerging: progressive American Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci); conservative Nigerian Joshua Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), moderate conservative Canadian Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow) and the uber-conservative Italian Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto). Through various voting stages, each candidate’s fortunes rise and fall and the battle between the more Liberal Bellini and the right-wing Tedesco starts to turn ugly. Revelations suspiciously emerging about some candidates and an unexpected contender add to the turmoil.
This thoughtful and at times eloquent film is rightly being hailed as one of year’s best and an Oscar contender. The script from Peter Straughan is literate and often amusingly acerbic as it deftly uses the conclave setting to reflect broader contemporary political and religious conflicts. With its barbed dialogue and scenes of characters scuttling through hallways doing deals, the film occasionally recalls political dramas like The West Wing and All The President’s Men; there’s even a Nixon reference here. It also harks back to the intense and intelligent dramas we often saw in the 1960’s like A Man for All Seasons.
Berger succeeds in elevating what could have been a talky and stagey film into a potent story of political intrigue and personal drama. The film impresses on a number of levels, not only capturing the interpersonal conflict but also the culture, rituals and protocols of the Vatican from the election process to dining room etiquette as well as the gender-based roles, power structure and the different cardinal factions. Perhaps most interestingly, the film examines the moral and philosophical issues at the heart of religious faith. Any film questioning religious institutions will no doubt prove controversial for some and a few elements of this film will be quite confronting and provoke debate among viewers.
The impeccably chosen cast all deliver excellent performances with Fiennes anchoring the film as the harried and conflicted Lawrence. Tucci as the passionately moral Bellini and Castellitto as the volatile and belligerent Tedesco are a little monochromatic and could have benefited from some moral ambiguity but both actors are so accomplished that they’re still terrific to watch. There’s also a memorable turn from Isabella Rossellini as a senior nun who makes a startling shift from the periphery to the centre of proceedings.
While it’s shot in slightly dour digital video, this is still an impressive looking film due to the superb production design and locations that replicate iconic sections of the Vatican.
As a film that draws on the tradition of complex articulate dramas and infuses them with contemporary concerns, this is a very welcome addition to this year’s movie roster.
Nick’s rating: ****
Genre: Drama.
Classification: PG.
Director(s): Edward Berger.
Release date: 9th Jan 2025.
Running time: 120 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.