Conclave (2024)
The Pope is dead, and the exhausted, grieving Cardinal Lawrence is Dean of the Conclave. During the time that it takes to pick a new Pope, plenty of skeletons will be dragged from closets and cells, with the Church seemingly at a crossroads. Conclave is a look, albeit a controversial one, at a shadowy world where politics often take equal if not greater precedence to serving God.
During the conclave, two hundred thirty-five cardinals meet and vote until there is a two-thirds majority. It takes place in the utmost secrecy; no news is allowed to leave the Vatican or come in, so as not to influence the vote.
After each session, the votes are burned in a special stove. If there’s no consensus, black smoke rises from the chimney. When the majority have agreed on the candidate, white smoke issues to cheers and celebration from the hopeful crowds assembled outside.
Conclave really shines in a lot of ways. The casting is terrific. Ralph Fiennes gives a beautiful performance as the conflicted Lawrence. Isabel Rosselini is a luminous Sister Agnes. Stanley Tucci plays the seemingly amiable but mostly spineless Bellini. John Lithgow is the deceptively safe Tremblay, who’s also the frontrunner in the conclave voting.
Visually, the movie looks amazing. There’s a constant emphasis on uniformity, with everyone in the same red uniforms or carrying the same white umbrellas. Everyone is the same from far away, with nothing to distinguish one from another. Up close, it’s a different story.
Like plenty of other aspects of church life, popularity is a big factor when it comes to who gets where. One person might seem like a big cheese, but then gets rejected for not towing a certain line. Another might seem quiet but carry big secrets. And as always, there’s the proverbial dark horse.
Here’s the thing about Conclave: It clicks along, it’s an absolute stunner, it’s easily Oscar bait, and then right before the curtain there’s a major What the Actual Heck moment. I mean, major. While I picked my jaw off the floor at Conclave’s new development I wondered if my theatermates were Catholic and resisted the urge to take a show-of-hands poll. They were all laughing. I was too flummoxed to laugh.
If any Catholics have seen Conclave, what are your thoughts on the ending? Please clue me in, because this little ol’ Protestant was under the impression that only…ahem…certain people could be ordained. The filmmakers insist they made every effort to be respectful of the Catholic church, and the movie acknowledges that some situations are nuanced, but it still feels like something is rotten in the Sistine Chapel.
Indeed, there are Catholics who are deeply offended by this movie, and I can’t say I blame them. One review even said certain parts of the dialogue sound as if they were written by ChatGPT. That’s probably not too far off. Not only is the ending very Not Ruddy Likely, but Conclave contains some pretty rookie mistakes that would have turned the ending on its head in real life.
It’s often said that Conclave is a well-crafted movie, and it is, but it also feels like the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing. At the very least, though, it deserves credit for impeccable timing.
Conclave is currently in theaters. Rated PG.
My grade: B
Principle Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Lucien Msmati, Jacek Koman, Bruno Novelli, Thomas Liobi, Brian F. O’Byrne, Isabella Rossellini, Rony Kramer, Sergio Castellitto, Valerio Da Silva, Carlos Diehz, Joseph Mydell, Vincenzo Failla, Garrick Hagon, Merab Ninidze, Madhave Sharma
Directed by Edward Berger.
Written by Peter Straughan and Robert Harris (novel).