Conclave (2024)  

Review: written November 2024

Mystery and Intrigue in the Vatican

Ralph Fiennes stars in this nail-biting drama centred around a Papal conclave, the process of selecting a new pope on the death of the incumbent Pontiff. Though it has to be said “drama centred around a voting process” doesn’t really do justice to this movie, which combines a tense roller coaster of political intrigue, with a cerebral discussion on the danger of certainty of ones views. Indeed, the movie plays out as a cautionary tale on conservative absolutism.

The narrative revolves around Thiennes character, Cardinal Lawrence, who is given the task of organising the conclave. In doing so, he has to tread a tightrope into letting the good of the church be represented, despite fractious debate caused by diametrically opposed viewpoints of the competing cardinals. These range from hardline conservatives who would like to see a return to traditional Latin masses and step back from the gradual liberalisation of the past few decades, and a hard line liberal who thinks what has gone before is just the start. Additionally, Cardinal Lawrence’s role requires him to minimise the influence of what is happening outside the conclave on the decision being made, a task which becomes increasingly more complicated as the movie progresses. That’s the narrative, but this isn’t just a movie about the church, although there is some interesting debate going on about the direction of the church and about the fallibility of man… rather, the discourse becomes a clarion call to the dangers of holding personal believes as certainties and absolute truths. In one scene in particular, Fiennes extols the congregation to push back on certainty, for “..where there is certainty, what need is there for faith?”. The thread of this idea is carried through much of the political manoeuvring and drama that follows.

The opening scene starts with Ralph Fiennes heading towards the bedside of the pope who has just passed. This opening scene sets the stage for the tone of the movie – yes, there are epic vistas of chapels and piazzas, with the pomp and pageantry of cardinals in all their paraphernalia – but we experience out first taste of this world in contrast with Fiennes slightly unkempt hair, a palpable sense of urgency in his steps and with the audio containing his puffs of breath to emphasise his pace. This one scene clues us in that we are going to experience something personal and human, even if playing out on a grand setting.

The cinematography works hard to subliminally create both an overall mood while setting the tone for individual scenes – we experience aerial views of bedecked nuns with parasols moving en masse through a piazza, their faces hidden from our view. This show of uniformity and institutional thinking gives way to a scene in the last gasps of the movie where we see a few nuns in informal dress, faces visible and the audio giving a taste of their cheerful and individualistic chatter and laughter as they cross a square – this time conveying a quite contrasting perspective, as if to defuse the claustrophobia and male dominated drama that precedes it. Scenes in which individuals are vociferously extolling their point of view are shown in close up with faces central to frame, while scenes in which the same characters have a moment of contrition and acknowledging the existence and weight of the institution of the church, are shown with the characters to one side and minimised in frame next to the columns and square. This thoughtful filmmaking works wonders to subliminally turn what might have been a dry exposition of process into a movie which creates tension and drama out of people and their foibles. In that regard, this plays out less as a movie commenting on the church per se, rather it is more like “Twelve Angry Men”, using the confined drama of a conclave rather than a court room to reveal something about how a persons life experience can colour their points of view, and how our weaknesses can become our downfall or our strength, depending on how we exercise faith or fear.

Ralph Fiennes is of course spectacularly good in his role, but the whole cast appear to be perfectly picked for the roles the play. Isabella Rosselini appears in a small but impactful role, and the Cardinals played by Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellito, Lucian Msamati and Carlos Diehz all have their moments.

The final ending might thrill some and disappoint others, but viewed in context of the underlying themes of the movie, acts to underscore the value in valuing faith over certainty.. the strength that comes with doubt, and not necessarily as the moral or theological point it might appear to be at first blush. With a quietly unobtrusive but effective score, the combined effect of the production design, cinematography and measured performances create a memorably thoughtful drama which should linger in the mind.