Vineeta Rao
Auckland, March 4, 2025
Synopsis: Cardinal Lawrence has one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events, participating in the selection of a new Pope. Surrounded by powerful religious leaders in the halls of the Vatican, he soon uncovers a trail of deep secrets that could shake the very foundation of the Roman Catholic Church.
Director: Edward Berger; Based on: Conclave; by Robert Harris; Box office: $101.2 million
At Bridgeway Cinemas on the North Shore, the crowd watching Edward Berger’s Conclave, the screen adaptation of Rober Harris’ book of the same name, had mixed reactions.
A majority seemed engaged and engrossed but there were also a few loud snores sprinkled in the mix. It is obvious, that Conclave is not a movie for everyone.
It is for you if you are interested in the inner workings of one of the world’s largest institutionalised religious organisations, want to know how a Pope is elected and enjoy a visual spectacle alongside a good old-fashioned mystery. At two hours long, the movie has been in the theatres for some time now but I have only just gotten around to writing this review.
Having sat through some terrible on-screen adaptations of best-selling, plot-heavy novels, I must admit I had not held very high hopes. That said, I thought the movie progressed fairly briskly, peppered with a lot of humour. Based on the pot-boiler by Robert Harris, the plot involves a fictionalised hunt for a new Pope. Interestingly enough, the film was released in the US just before the US Presidential election, so there are some tongue-in-cheek references to real-life elections.
Papacy and the Community
Let us be honest, papal elections are not necessarily a riveting subject, especially to an Indian audience, despite the high stakes. But the drama in what could otherwise have been a rather dry film on papal politics comes in the form of the clash between the traditionalists and the liberals. This is a very real struggle and part of the church’s challenge to be modern and relevant to Christians in today’s world. Do they want to push Christianity back into a homophobic, misogynistic past or move forward into a more inclusive, diverse world?
After the death of the sitting Pope, his Dean of Cardinals – Cardinal Lawrence, brilliantly portrayed by actor Ralph Fiennes, has the unenviable job of setting aside his grief at the death of his friend and colleague and conducting a papal conclave to elect the next Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Bear in mind that there are 1.39 billion Catholics who see this office as the head of their faith. Moreover, this is a pretty ancient system, cloaked in secrecy. All the cardinals affiliated with the catholic church arrive at the Vatican from their posts all around the world and sequester themselves until they elect a new Pope. Lawrence is also closely associated with liberal favourite, Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) who is opposed by the bigoted traditionalist Tedesco, convincingly played by Sergio Castellitto.
The ‘Other’ Candidate
There is also the middle-of-the-road candidate, Tremblay, well played by John Lithgow, a Nigerian conservative, Adeyemi (wonderfully portrayed by Lucian Msamati) and a wholly unexpected candidate, the Cardinal of…hold-your-breath, Kabul, the very Mexican Benitez (Carlos Diehz). Veteran actor Isabella Rosellini also features as a stern nun who has a small but important role to play in the mystery.
The entire plot plays out in a couple of locations – their living quarters or the Doma Sanctus Marthae, which also is where the Pope actually has his quarters and the room at the Sistine Chapel, where the elections are held. Technically, they are all sequestered and no information is allowed in or out and yet, like in all political intrigue, information comes trickling in. As the Dean of Cardinals, Lawrence plays an unwilling detective, compelling and sharp, even as he seemingly ascends to power himself, gathering an ever-increasing number of votes in the election. He battles doubt in his faith, which seems to be a mandatory requirement for all Hollywood movies about priests these days, weighing his own personal gain with that of the Church, Christianity, and mankind.
Nervous situations
Unlike most of the current crop of movies which seem to be all action and some wisecracks, there is a lot of dialogue in Conclave, which is brilliantly managed by Berger.
He peppers the aerial long shots with a lot of compelling close-ups, showcasing stellar performances by the ensemble cast. The writing by Harris and playwright Peter Straughan is tight barring one misstep, the cringeworthy speech by Cardinal Benitez where he remonstrates with his fellow cardinals. There are lots of intriguing glimpses into the reality of modern-day papal elections, from security sweeping the room for electronic bugs to gathering all their phones, to the Latin casually used by cardinals of all colours to utter their oaths, to little traditions like the threading of the ballots and the puffing of the black and white smoke to indicate whether or not a choice had been made.
The enormity of the task – that of choosing the supreme leader of the faith – is depicted by the nervous tics of the assembled cardinals. From the cigarette butts littering the grounds before to the demonstrated jumpiness over sudden moves and loud noises, Berger relies on the cinematic principle of ‘show, don’t tell’ and does it brilliantly.
The subtlety of the plot
It surprised me to read later that the whole film was shot on a specially created set, from the painstakingly created Sistine Chapel to the Domus Sanctus Marthae. Both the set designer as well as decorators received Oscar nominations.
The film does a good job of subtly making us think about topics we typically tend to avoid. Is it worth having the first African Pope if he is homophobic? Is it worth having a liberal Pope if he does not have the courage of his convictions? Given the crisis of faith that many Christians are currently experiencing and the dwindling numbers, there have been many arguments that religion needs to adapt and approach a more modern face if it is still relevant. Pope Francis, the current Pontiff, is accused of being too modern to the detriment of the values of the establishment but others say even this is not enough. The climax of the film is a delightful plot twist that may leave audiences divided but is more food for thought.
Conclave is showing in cinemas now.
My Rating: 
Vineeta Rao is an Indian Newslink Reporter based in Auckland.
