Conclave Movie Review

“Conclave” is the ultimate in Drawing Room Drama, wherein a few characters are in a locked room to perform a difficult task. In this case, the ones together in a single room are Catholic Cardinals — and their goal is to elect a new Pope. The purpose might be lofty, high and mighty. But that doesn’t mean that some of the events and interactions are not going to be down and dirty…

 

The sitting Pope has passed away, and there are many things to be done to finally elect a new Pope. The Vatican Dean is Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (played by Ralph Fiennes). He is a noble and honest man, who worked for the Pope as manager of all the activity in the Eternal City.

 

Lawrence is taking this death very hard, since he worked closely with the Pope. Another one at the Vatican is Cardinal Tremblay (played by John Lithgow). He is in charge of the finances. Other holy men from around the world will be brought into the Vatican. Once in the walls of the City, these Cardinals from around the globe will sit and pray over who they shall select for the next Pope.

 

One person in the running is Cardinal Bellini (played by Stanley Tucci). He has a very liberal stance, and his supporters might carry him to the Holy Seat. However, he is at first very unsure of his ability to carry the burden. Of course, there are others who are in the running for this selection.

 

Cardinal Tedesco (played by Sergio Castellitto) is a very hard line conservative thinker, who wants the Church to end this ‘experiment’ in liberal thought and openness. His selection would bring about a very drastic change to the culture and the next direction of the Vatican.

 

Another Man of God is a Black Cardinal Adeyemi (played by Lucian Msamati). Picking him would show the Church to be open-minded. However, Adeyemi has quite a few detractors in how he quashed the gay-rights movement in his home country of Nigeria.

 

One cannot count out another potential candidate: Cardinal Tremblay. He was with the Pope at his bedside when the Pontiff passed away. Tremblay has an extremely powerful position in the Vatican.

 

Tremblay can count on a lot of support, if only because of how he was able to send extra Vatican dollars to the Cardinals who might vote for him — when the time was right. Cardinal Lawrence is dealing with quite a few head-strong people, and some of them might have difficult backgrounds or devious plans of their own.

 

At the last minute — there is an unexpected guest. The Pope had secretly declared an unannounced Cardinal. This is a man who spent his time in war-stricken places, such as the Congo and Sudan. He wound up in Afghanistan, heading up Jesuit mission — in secret. Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz) had been named the Bishop of Kabul, and then made a Cardinal by the Pope. But, because of the danger — this was never made known.

 

Cardinal Lawrence, as the Vatican Dean, is making sure arrangements are being made. The Sistine Chapel will be sealed. There will special shields put on the doors and windows — just to make sure no electronic snooping can be done. Every Cardinal must put aside any tablet or smart phone.

 

There must be no news to come in or information going out. They will be sequestered until they make a final decision. Once they have three-fifths majority for one candidate, then the vote will be brought out to the world. The smoke coming from the special chimney will be white.

 

Along with the Cardinals at the Vatican, there are also quite a few Nuns. They are there to assist and to keep the place running while the Conclave is being held. The head Nun is a wise woman named Sister Agnes (played by Isabella Rossellini). If there is any indication of foul play, she is right there on top of it and ready to bring it to the attention of Cardinal Lawrence.

 

Another person that Lawrence also relies on is Monsignor Raymond O’Malley (played by Brían F. O’Byrne). Just before the start of the Conclave — he had given Lawrence some odd news. It seems that the Pope had a final meeting with Cardinal Tremblay. But this was not a meeting about how good he was doing.

 

No, the Pope had a secret report of some financial misdeeds that Cardinal Tremblay was involved with. His position allowed him to ‘buy’ votes. But nobody else was at the meeting, so it cannot be verified. The secret report is gone, and Cardinal Tremblay denies anything was up.

 

Cardinal Adeyemi was getting a lot of attention from the other Cardinals. He seemed to be picking up on the total count of votes. But there was an incident from his past that gets revealed. It pushes him to the side, and Cardinal Tremblay might have had a hand in getting the news out about that, also.

 

Cardinal Tedesco is then picking up in the count so votes, by promising to shut down any progressive movement in the Church. Cardinal Bellini wants to get a better tally from his fellow Cardinals. But he is seen as a weak and compromising leader.

 

Being out of touch with the outside world, the Cardinals do not know what is happening on the doorsteps of the Vatican. It could be rumbling from a natural gas line exploding. It could be something that quite a bit more serious – and deadly.

 

But Cardinal Lawrence is not going to let any events make a difference on what these people need to do here. They need to divine and select the best one among them who can lead the Church into the future.

 

But as the days pass, more votes are taken. More ballots are tallied up, only to show not enough support for any of candidates. Could Cardinal Bellini pull himself together to be the future Pope? Will the stringent and backward-looking Cardinal Tedesco finally win out with his gruff bluster?

 

What effect will the presence of Cardinal Benitez have on this gathering, seeing that his path to the Vatican has been long and treacherous? Is it possible that Cardinal Lawrence might be seen as a middle-of-road candidate — someone who might offend the least, while pleasing very few? Heaven only knows!

 

I might be able to tell you all — but than I would really need to go to Confession!

 

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“Conclave” is a very well done movie that explores the mystery of an event that has been personally known only to a few select people. The acting all round is stellar, giving a tense situation the gravitas that it would deserve. The setting and music also adds to the air of majesty and consequence of the event as it unfolds.

 

Ralph Fiennes is great as Cardinal Lawrence, showing the inner turmoil of the man. John Lithgow (Cardinal Tremblay) plays the sneaky opponent for the other candidates, making things happen behind the scenes. Stanley Tucci plays Cardinal Bellini who has a desperate need to in charge, without knowing if he really wants to be that main man.

 

Director Edward Berger takes a grand overview of these pious men and shows they can also have petty thoughts and actions – if they think it might get them what they want. There are many close-ups of faces as the person hears of something that shocks them. You can see, and empathize, with the men in select group. The story plays out like a mystery.

 

This movie does have some minor drawbacks. The two ‘sides’ of the Church (conservative vs. liberal) are a bit broad and ill-defined. The ‘villains’ of the film are made to look a bit too cartoonish. The ending reveal gets a bit absurd when it comes down to it. The devil is in the details…

 

“Conclave” is a well-acted and beautifully produced movie about a fictional version of a real event. It keeps you intrigued all the way through. Amen!