Directed by Edward Berger and starring a sublime Ralph Fiennes as a reluctant candidate for the post of the Pope, Conclave is a visually stunning, taut political potboiler that delves into the intricacies and complexities of papal elections.
At the centre of this story, based on a book of the same name by Robert Harris, is Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes), the dean of the College of Cardinals who is tasked with conducting the conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff after the death of the present Pope.
As the Cardinals are sequestered for the elections, four of them emerge as favourites — Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), the Nigerian Cardinal who would be the first black Pope but holds a regressive idea about homosexuality; Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow), who doesn’t hide his desire for the top job; Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), the Italian Cardinal who wants to take the Church back to old times; and Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), a liberal who is reluctant to be the Pope but wants to continue the work of the deceased Pope, holds tolerant views towards the LGBTQ community and wants more agency for women in the Church.
Amidst the favourites appear two unlikely candidates, Lawrence himself, despite not wanting to be a part of the race for Supreme Pontiff, and Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), a newcomer among the Cardinals. As the politics of the elections heat up with supporters of each canvassing for votes, secrets start spilling out and ambitions are revealed. Fiennes dons the unlikely hat of a sleuth as he tries to ascertain that his job of conducting the conclave is not jeopardised and the best candidate gets to head the Church.
Deftly shot in the cloistered, cold marble corridors and spartan bedrooms of the Vatican, the cinematography by Stephane Fontaine, makes the Vatican a character in the film that explores the conflict of faith, power and ambition. The tightly woven narrative, where people mostly talk in quiet corners, unfolds over four fraught days and is full of intrigue and suspense that doesn’t let you down through its two-hour runtime. Each scene is orchestrated with deliberation with characters being moved across the board like chess pieces.
Fiennes’s contained and layered performance embodies the conflict between a crisis of faith and the call of duty, and he carries the film on his very capable shoulders. There is a quietness to his character that lends his emotional outbursts a different heft.
Conclave boasts of a stellar star cast supporting Fiennes. Stanley Tucci is a scene stealer as the man who doesn’t want the title but cannot help but fall prey to human ambition. John Lithgow also delivers as the Cardinal who wears his ambition on his sleeves. Lucian Msamati as Cardinal Adeyemi, the most popular candidate whose past transgressions come in the way, is also worth mentioning. Sergio Castellitto as Cardinal Tedesco, an Italian traditionalist, could have done with more screen time. The most surprising was newcomer Carlos Diehz, who holds his own amidst all the stalwarts. Isabella Rossellini gets very little to do as Sister Agnes, given that the nuns are supposed to be invisible, but she makes a mark even with her brief role.
The film is, however, a slow burn thriller. It takes its time meandering through the proceedings, something that may put off many, but it keeps ratcheting up the tension with every scene, with Volker Bertelmann's background score adding to the atmosphere. With an unexpected twist in the final moments that makes the film that much more satisfying, Conclave is a compelling watch that justifies its eight Oscar nominations.
