Conclave

The Plot: The Pope is dead. In The Vatican, Dean Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with managing the conclave to elect a new Pope. It’s a task that he didn’t think would be thrust upon him, but proceed he must. As the Cardinals gather and are about to be locked into their secretive meeting, unexpected news arrives of a late addition to the group. That’s not the only problem. A number of candidates are vying for the prime position, with various factions gravitating towards Bellini (Stanley Tucci), Tremblay (John Lithgow) and Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto). As the votes come in, they find themselves unable to reach the magic number of 72 for one candidate…

The Verdict: Sometimes you think you have a film nailed down as it nears its conclusion… and then it springs something else on you. No harm in that, as a surprise can leave you pondering what just happened as you walk home but also leaves you giddily excited about what it actually meant as the director’s intention sinks in. That’s very much the case for Conclave, the trailer for which revealed a fair amount to give a flavour of the film… but thankfully not everything. It’s based on the novel by Robert Harris, whose works have been laced with historical and political intrigue and were thereby ripe for adaptations like Enigma and Munich: The Edge Of War. Conclave follows very much in that vein, with a ticking-clock, God’s eye view of flawed men of faith finding themselves locked in and needing a successor – the right one of course. That’s only the beginning though.

The real-life conclave in The Vatican is as secretive as a Christopher Nolan film in pre-production (as is the case right now), so what we have here is an imagined approximation of the conclave with a genre-film twist to shake it up that bit more. Peter Straughan’s adaptation plays it straight as a subtle thriller with religiously political overtones. It appears that the men who want the top job are the dangerous ones. Lawrence has other ideas though and wants it as much as Jon Snow wanted the Iron Throne. At one point, Lawrence remarks that he feels like he’s at an American political convention and that’s an apt description given recent events in the real world. This election though is not a tight race. It’s uncertain who might win and while the cardinals squabble among themselves, a dark horse lingers in the background.

Lawrence has to manage all of this as secretively as possible, but like all men he is prone to rumours and starts digging around. It’s interesting then to observe his apparent rigid determination to keep the rules intact gradually erode as he comes to question his own beliefs. This is where the film really comes into its own, with director Edward Berger (All Quiet On The Western Front) building up further layers of character and digging in deep to find out what makes these men tick. These are ultimately good men trying to do a good thing in a supposedly perfect way, but finding themselves and the process as flawed as anyone and anything else. It’s a gift of a role for the ever-excellent Ralph Fiennes, who is experimenting with some exciting new roles including this one and Odysseus in the upcoming The Return. It’s the way he handles Lawrence’s own foibles with subtlety and more than a hint of ambition that makes him so eminently watchable as the film’s anchor and moral compass.

Fiennes is surrounded too by an excellent supporting cast, including Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini – who gets the biggest laugh at just the right moment. Yes, there are laughs to relieve the tension in what is outwardly a serious film. Then there’s the aforementioned ending, which initially seems like an act of self-sabotage on Berger’s part. The kind of thing that Neil Jordan might have conjured from a fever dream. Upon reflection though, it actually makes sense and gives the film a different perspective that you didn’t know it needed. It’s a clever film that plays around with audience expectations and is all the better for it, while delivering the kind of solid, mature entertainment which is in short supply at times. Conclave gets this reviewer’s vote to make cinema great again, which it does indeed.

Rating: 4 / 5

Review by Gareth O’Connor