Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger’s “Conclave,” a Focus Features release. Credit: Philippe Antonello/Focus Features ©2024 All rights reserved.

Opening in theaters October 25 is “Conclave,’ directed by Edward Berger and playing Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini, Brian F. O’Byrne, Sergio Castellittoand Carlos Diez.

Related: Ralph Fiennes and Director Edward Berger Talk Thriller ‘Conclave’

Initial thoughts

Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger’s “Conclave,” a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 All rights reserved.

If Eon Productions can somehow lure Edward Berger – the German director of the devastating 2022 filmAll quiet on the western front” and now “Conclave” – ​​​​to conduct the next one James Bond movie i can have my money now Between the brutal scale of “All Quiet” and the cerebral thrills of this new Vatican thriller, Berger has effectively demonstrated his ability to bring wit, visual acumen and narrative coherence to two wildly different genres — though could argue that “Conclave is also about war, just played out on a different front.

The process of electing a new Pope, a ritual shrouded in antiquity and mystery, is revealed in Berger’s riveting film Being Anything But Holy. As various cardinals jockey for power and position themselves for office, with conspiracies and scandals erupting left and right, “Conclave” brilliantly demonstrates that even the supposedly holiest of men—and yes, that’s all men—can be at just as petty and vain and mean as anyone else. And it’s impressive how Berger wraps all the pomp and circumstance into the cinematic equivalent of a beach read.

Story and direction

(L to R) Director Edward Berger and actor Ralph Fiennes on the set of “Conclave,” a Focus Features release. Credit: Philippe Antonello/Focus Features ©2024 All rights reserved.

After the sudden death of the Pope, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), as dean of the College of Cardinals, must convene the conclave of cardinals who will choose the pontiff’s successor. Even though cardinals are still arriving at the Vatican from all over the world, camps are forming around certain candidates. Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) is America’s progressive liberal; Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow) of Canada, already in the Vatican as an adviser to the Pope, is more moderate; Cardinal Adeyemi of Nigeria (Lucian Msamati) is conservative and fiercely anti-homosexual, but could break new ground as the first African Pope; and Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) of Venice is even more reactionary and seems determined to drag the Church back into the Middle Ages.

Once all the cardinals are assembled—including the mysterious and ethereal Cardinal Benitez of Kabul (Carlos Diehz), whose existence was known only to the late Pope before his unexpected arrival—they are cut off from the outside world to begin voting. Almost immediately, scandalous information begins to emerge and shake up the voting process: Lawrence is informed that Tremblay was asked to resign by the Pope the night before the latter’s death due to an unknown issue, while a figure from his past Adeyemi appears and threatens to flip. even his cardinal position. As round after round of anonymous voting continues, even Lawrence—who is endorsing Bellini—starts racking up votes, leading Bellini and others to suspect that he really wants the job for himself. Everyone is revealed to have secrets – even the nuns, led by the fierce Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini), who are there to serve the cardinals but act as a silent force amid the proceedings.

Isabella Rossellini stars as Sister Agnes in director Edward Berger’s “Conclave,” a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 All rights reserved.

As all this unfolds in production designer Suzie Davies’ sumptuous recreations of the Vatican, including Casa Santa Maria and the Sistine Chapel, the supposedly spiritual nature of the proceedings peels away like a mask, revealing political machinations, petty jealousies, hidden histories. and the potentially corrupt ambitions that lie beneath. Each of the major cardinals—those actively seeking the papacy and those who pretend not to—strategizes against the others, while Lawrence struggles to maintain order even as he is forced to reveal certain information that could affect the result of choice and even its own function.

Berger stages and runs the whole thing like a spy thriller, with whispered confessions, clandestine meetings and shocking revelations, but minus, of course, the car chases, bone-crushing punches and explosive shootouts. There’s also a nice spice of humor – served dry by Fiennes in particular – punctuating the grim proceedings here and there. However, the film still builds a palpable aura of suspense as it reveals the human foibles at the heart of one of the world’s oldest and most secretive institutions. While some of the Church’s failings – such as her inability to deal in real life with a seemingly never-ending stream of sex-abuse scandals – are glossed over here, and a late-game twist is underdeveloped. to have the necessary impact, “Conclave” is nevertheless absorbing from start to finish.

Distribution

(L to R) Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence and Stanley Tucci as Cardinal Bellini in director Edward Berger’s “Conclave,” a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 All rights reserved.

“Conclave” features a fantastic ensemble cast, led by the great Ralph Fiennes in one of his best performances ever. When we meet him, Cardinal Lawrence is a man already deep in a crisis of faith, unsure if he wants to remain a cardinal and reluctant to oversee the conclave and election. His doubts about his own faith mirror that of the late Pope, and the more Lawrence is burdened, the more you can see in Fiennes’ eyes and manner how disillusioned he becomes. And yet something in him remains aligned with his God, and a speech he gives to the conclave halfway through makes it clear that he is, in many ways, suited for the papacy he rejects. Fiennes is simply brilliant as a man struggling to maintain his composure and spirituality in a situation that tests him relentlessly.

“The men who are most dangerous are the men who want it” is a theme that rings through this film, and all the other “men who want it” – Lithgow, Tucci, Castellitto and Msamati – bring their vain, ambitious characters to life in motion skillfully, with Tucci particularly superb in his portrayal of the subtle manipulator Bellini. New actor Carlos Diehz, in his first major film, also brings to Cardinal Benitez a calmness that makes an impression despite the difficult positioning of the character in the narrative. And of course there is Isabella Rossellini, who is a portrait of strength, courage and relentlessness as the head of the nuns who are there to silently support the conclave – a woman who nevertheless speaks volumes every time she opens her mouth.

Final thoughts

(L to R) Brían F. O’Byrne as Cardinal O’Malley and Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger’s “Conclave,” a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 All rights reserved.

We can expect “Conclave” to be part of the Oscar conversation this season, even if it’s not as awards-friendly as Berger’s “All Quiet on the Western Front.” But the nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Fiennes), Best Supporting Actor (Tucci), Cinematography, Editing, Costume Design and Production Design all seem to be in the mix, with Berger and Rossellini and possible candidates according to the strength of their categories. It would all be well-deserved: this is, in many ways, a great classic-era studio film.

As I noted earlier, “Conclave” does not address the real-world issues and conflicts facing the Church as it moves uncertainly into the 21st century, its very changing mission and raison d’être. This is, when it comes down to it, a political thriller wrapped in the spectacle and mystery of a vast and murky religious edifice. But Peter Straughan’s screenplay (from Robert Harris’ novel) and Berger’s confident direction — which suits this material as effectively as his more stylized work in “All Quiet” — reveal that there’s a lot more going on underneath. surface, and that even an institution that claims to operate at God’s behest is still aware of man’s will, whims, and weakness.

“Conclave” gets 9 out of 10 stars.

“What happens behind these walls will change everything.”

Programs and tickets

From director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) CONCLAVE follows one of the world’s most secret and ancient events – the election of a new Pope. Cardinal… Read The Plot

What is the plot of “Conclave”?

When the Pope dies, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with organizing the conclave to choose his successor. But a secret kept by the late Pope, as well as the machinations of some of the other cardinals, threatens the trial and the papacy.

Who is in the cast of “Conclave”?

• Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence
• Stanley Tucci as Cardinal Bellini
• John Lithgow as Cardinal Tremblay
• Sergio Castellitto as Cardinal Tedesco
• Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes
• Lucian Msamati as Cardinal Adeyemi
• Carlos Diehz as Cardinal Benitez
• Brían F. O’Byrne as Monsignor Raymond O’Malley

(L to R) Director Edward Berger and Ralph Fiennes talk about ‘Conclave’.

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