By avoiding grandeur in favor of a personal/political angle, Conclave crafts an intriguing and ultimately uplifting film.
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Everyone's making the same joke about this movie now. It should've come out this year. While Conclave was already very popular with almost everyone who saw it and earned a ton of award nominations, releasing a short time before Pope Francis passed away and the Conclave process would happen for real, is a cosmic kind of near-miss. Especially since a lot of the discussions and tensions between the potential candidates feel as relevant as ever. I also realized that I never actually reviewed this movie, despite featuring one of its scenes on it my "Favorite Movie Scenes of 2024" list so now's as good a time as any to rectify that.
The Setup
Following the unexpected death of the Pope after a heart attack, Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with convening the Cardinals and carrying out the election process for the new head of the Catholic church. But as the cardinals try to forge alliances and politically maneuver themselves or their candidate to the top spot, Lawrence uncovers a series of troubling allegations against many of the most prominent candidates...
The best idea this movie has is its simplest one: make the selection of the Pope a political thriller. Which means that all of the players are very human both in terms of their beliefs and their motivations. Not only does this give non-Catholics or folks who aren't interested in a faith based movie an in, but it also adds natural human drama to the situation because everyone is trying to conslidate a voting block to win the biggest position in the Catholic Church and dictate the direction the church takes moving forward.
Which means we've got a progressive candidate (played by the Tucc), a supposed moderate played by John Lithgow, and conservative and anti-Vatican II players in play as well. And while it is clear that Fiennes prefers the progressive candidates above others and wants nothing more than everything be over and done with, a series of reveals about the character and pasts of each prominent candidate shake up the voting like a traditional political campaign.
With one major difference. The oppressive environment.
Edward Berger and his cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine shot the hell out of this movie in particular in how they manage to make a location that's often celebrated for its pageantry feel crushing and dark. Almost every scene is underlit. Most of the conversations happen in dark hallways or corridors. Even the voting takes place in a dimly lit room full of historic beautiful art that is washed out by the casting of ballots. It means that when light finally creeps its way in, almost like the world crashing into this dark swirl of political machinations it makes a world of difference. Likewise, with most players being as buttoned up as possible, something like a nun being shocked by a cardinal's presence or a significant glance holds a lot more weight. It almost feels like an ongoing school election where everyone has some dirt they're trying not to spill.
Another reason the movie works so well is the central focus on Ralph Fiennes Lawrence. The entire movie is centered around Lawrence's experience both because he's running the election and because he's also got a number of emotional investments in the outcome. He clearly wants a more progressive candidate to win, is in mourning for the old Pope's life (and eager to maintain his legacy), and not so subtly having a crisis of faith. And watching a bunch of these cardinals skeletons come to light or for allegedly moral men to behave so reprehensibly has shaken him. So as the list of candidates narrow, we also feel Lawrence's own faith and convictions continue into freefall.
Which leads to the movie's ultimate message which is what the true function of faith should be: hope. One thing that stands out amidst all of the in-fighting and struggle for power is that the primary goal for almost all of the men in attendance is power and control. It is very noteworthy that the lion's share of folks who speak about what the chuch should be/do are not speaking about how to help Catholics. They're talking about combating Islam or re-establishing old ways and orders and that those that follow need to fall in line. A big part of why Lawrence is having a crisis of faith is because he doesn't see a holy mission to millions of faithful Catholics in front of him. He sees bitter old men looking to settle grievances. So when anyone arrives to speak about love, acceptance and hope, as the Catholic savior Jesus would, it might be enough to bring Lawrence back from the brink.
This is also why I believe certain people do not like the film, because in their minds faith, power and control are interlinked and hearing people they agree with cast in a negative light contradicts their own views.
Still, as skeptical as I am of the Catholic Church as a governing body, this movie both mines a lot of human drama and gives a demonstration of how faith can and likely should function.
The Verdict: Meticulously Crafted
By avoiding grandeur in favor of a personal/political angle, Conclave crafts an intriguing and ultimately uplifting film. 8/10
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