When you look at Conclave on paper, you wouldn’t think it was the most exciting movie idea for mainstream audiences. A film about the voting for a new Pope. At first, it looks like something that arthouse cinemas would thrive on. However, this is not what you think. Yes, it’s about voting for a new papel leader. Still, there is more intrigue, back-stabbing, and twists in this one two-hour movie than you would get in a weekly soap opera, and it’s brimming with outstanding performances that lead to one of the best films this year.

The Pope is dead, and Cardinal Lawrence is now responsible for selecting a replacement. The voting process is a long and arduous one that will lead to a conspiracy that, if discovered by the outside world, will discredit the Catholic Church. Cardinal Lawrence must get to the bottom of accusations and hidden meetings while protecting the Church and his own reputation.

Based on the best-selling book by Robert Harris, director Edward Berger, who gave us the recent remake of All Quiet on the Western Front, handles the source material with a meticulous eye for detail. This handsome-looking feature draws upon a world very little has seen before. He uses the cardinal dress to litter the screen with pure beauty. A sequence in which the cardinals, using white umbrellas, head inside is like watching the tide come in on a storm. He captures the regalness of the event with scenes of the ordinary, like a pile of cigarette butts on the floor in the courtyard. These moments help us understand that while this is an essential and secretive world, it still has elements that these are just people.

He then manages to build up the tension inside and around the voting, with incredible use of light and colour, while never ignoring the plot of how far some people will go to win the top job. All of this is seen through the eyes of the one man who wants to leave the position because he feels he is losing faith. As tactical voting is discussed and the discovery of a new cardinal, while a secret meeting involving a candidate and the former Pope leads to a conspiracy, Bergen slow burns the whole thing, laying each moment with a new revelation. The film could easily be described as an Agatha Christie thriller with robes.

The film becomes one long, gripping drama after another that still allows plenty of room for character development and lets us peek into how voting for a new Pope works. While it seems complex, it never once talks down to the audience or belittles their intelligence. Instead, Bergen drops clue upon clue throughout until the finale. He even springs a surprising moment that comes out of nowhere that will have you jumping in your seat.

Peter Straughan’s adaptation of Harris’s book also helps. The script crackles and stays clear of as many cliches and plot holes as possible. Every word is as important as the next. Even one of the high points is when a nun, Sister Agnes, stands before the group of men and exclaims: ‘Although we sisters are supposed to be invisible, God has nevertheless given us eyes and ears.’ It has so much power and so much impact. Just one simple sentence.

Bergen has surrounded his film with the cream of the acting world. John Lithgow is brilliant as Tremblay, one of the cardinals in the running, but hides a dark secret. As Sister Agnes, Isabella Rossellini doesn’t have too much to say but commands the screen with her presence. At the same time, Stanley Tucci, who always has good value in everything he does, is magnificent in his role as the cardinal everyone thinks should be Pope.

Holding everything together with an air of dignity, even when he becomes the target of a smear campaign, is Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence. He is a pillar of decorum, and his performance is as polished as expected. It is one of his finest, and the buzz is that he has a good chance at winning awards, starting with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.

Conclave is a superb thriller that manages to be relevant to today’s political world as it is in the voting of a Pope. If you think it’s not the film for you, think again. You are guaranteed to be on the edge of your seat while, at the same time, almost applauding the stunning performances. A magnificent treat.

5 out of 5

Director: Edward Bergen

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini, Lucian Msamati, Jacek Koman, Thomas Loibl, Brian F. O’Byrne

Written by Peter Staughan and (based on the novel) Robert Harris

Running Time: 120 mins

Cert: 12A

Release date: 29th November 2024