David R. Walker

Conclave

Director: Edward Berger

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini, Lucian Msamati, Brian F. O’Bryne, Sergio Castellitto, Carlos Diehz

Running Time: 2 hours

Film Rating: 8.5 out of 10

After his stunning Oscar winning film All Quiet on the Western Front, German director Edward Berger moves from the world of young army age men in World War 1 to the world of the Roman Catholic Church in his excellent and stylish new film Conclave featuring an utterly magnificent performance by Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient, Schindler’s List) as Cardinal Lawrence.

Conclave is a superb thriller, sophisticated, intricate and rare. The film studios don’t make these type of films very often in the new age of streaming.

With a brilliant supporting cast including Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones) and Oscar nominee John Lithgow (The World According to Garp, Terms of Endearment). Tucci and Lithgow play Cardinals Bellini and Tremblay respectively and both are captivating.

The pope dies and his room is sealed. The Throne of the Holy Sea is vacant. A conclave has to be held by the influential and ruthless cardinals of the Catholic Church as they sit isolated from the volatile outside world, wild Rome which is in chaos, as the cardinals must choose a new Pope by a reoccurring ballot system until there is an outright majority. There is an outsider. A new cardinal arrives from Kabul, Afghanistan, the Mexican Cardinal Benitez played by Carlos Diehz who throws his name into the ballot system, hiding a secret.

Cardinal Lawrence in a career best performance by Ralph Fiennes is taking strain as he has to manage the Conclave a very formal and grand affair where Cardinals undercut each other and expose each other’s secrets. Fiennes just perfectly captures the nuance of Cardinal Lawrence, his fluctuating anxiety only overcome through his driving ambition to complete the conclave and elect one of the most famous men in the world, the leader of the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Lawrence finds subterfuge everywhere is he confronts several disingenuous Cardinals including Tremblay and Adeyeni played by Lucian Msamati (The Good Liar). Lawrence often seeks unsolicited assistance from the all-seeing and virtuous Sister Agnes, an excellent performance by the iconic actress Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet, Death Becomes Her, Late Bloomers).

The shot compositions in Edward Berger’s Conclave are evocative giving the viewers a sense of claustrophobia as the cardinals are cloistered away to make a final vote while the chaos of the outside world finally breaks through.

Conclave is a thought provoking adult thriller, a relevant story of power, manipulation, prejudice and ambition. Director Edward Berger revels in this world of papacy, dark rooms with imposing figures in red alternating with sublime shots of an all white production design with a hint of the grandeur of the Vatican City in the background.

Conclave addresses so many fascinating issues, but ultimately it is a masterful film, a gorgeous piece of cinema whose shot compositions are going to inspire international films schools, held taut by stunning performances by all involved. In this case, casting was key. Ralph Fiennes deserves an Oscar nomination for his role as Cardinal Lawrence.

In a world of cinematic mediocrity, Conclave stands out as a superb thriller with an ending so unbelievable it will have audiences stunned.

The elegantly constructed Conclave gets a film rating of 8.5 out of 10. A highly recommended film that will entice viewers by its beauty and shock them by its revelations.

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