Conclave (2024): Holy(?) Fathers

This is the second of two movie reviews I’m publishing today about upcoming feature films that I was able to catch at last week’s Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF). This one is about Conclave, the previous one is a review of the new Sean Baker picture, Anora, which you can check out via the link HERE. These two movies were among my favorites at the festival, although they couldn’t be more different. I expect to review a few more favorites over the next two or three weeks.  

Conclave was the opening night film at MVFF. It’s directed by Edgar Berger, and stars a magnetic Ralph Fiennes. As the title suggests, it’s about a Roman Catholic conclave – the secretive, dramatic tradition-bound gathering of the world’s cardinals at the Vatican following the death of a pope, whose task it is to select his successor. The film is based on the 2016 novel by best-selling author Robert Harris [Fatherland (1992), Archangel (1998), Munich (2017)]. As an opening night film, it was wildly successful – everyone I spoke to at the festival quite liked it. As it turned out, Conclave won the MVFF Audience Favorite award. It’s opening in theaters soon (see below)

Berger is best known for having directed [and cowritten] 2022’s All Quiet On the Western Front, winner of four Oscars including Best International Film. [Read my February 2023 review HERE.]  In some ways the new film could not be more different than that one. 

All Quiet is a war movie and, more than most war pictures, spends much of its time depicting large scale battles and the nasty, fraught life of foot soldiers in the trenches - which is to say in the wide, war-torn outdoors. The film’s terrific cinematography is depressingly bleak – which (aside from the horrific subject matter) is largely due to its reliance on desaturated colors – pale grays, blues, and greens, chalky skin tones, and so forth.

By contrast, Conclave is mostly set in the sumptuous inner sanctum of the Vatican - every detail of the extravagant interior rich and extravagant. Over a hundred cardinals are gathered, dressed in gold brocaded cassocks of cardinal red or the occasional deep blue or purest white, with red zucchetti or white peaked mitres on their heads, and large bejeweled crosses hanging from their necks. They convene in a magnificent chamber with a high, elaborately frescoed ceilings, marbled walls, ruby or gold draperies, ornate furnishings,  and  ...  well, everything you’d expect of the Vatican.

The cardinals’ voting is by secret ballot. Until there is a super majority they must keep voting until they get one. Several cardinals – representing disparate ecclesiastic philosophies, nationalities  and temperaments – are ambitious for the job and the immense power over the world’s 1.3 billion adherents  that comes with it.  But none starts out with anything close to the votes needed. 

Fiennes is Cardinal Lawrence, dean of the cardinals. His job - to preside over and manage the conclave – is one he didn’t want and doesn’t like. As open senatorial style debate is not permitted, the fraught, high-pressure maneuvering between the various aspirants and their factions is pursued only when the group is not in session, in the shadows so to speak. There are intense rivalries, intrigues,  scandalous secrets or rumors of secrets, good guys and bad guys - depending on your point of view.  

The dour Lawrence finds himself, reluctantly, at the epicenter of all this.  His fortitude is tested as are his personal friendships and loyalties. The tightly woven plot quickly thickens, enriched with unexpected twists and turns and increasingly high tension and emotion. 

A completely engrossing and highly entertaining dramatic thriller, Conclave is well worth your time -beautiful, mysterious, thrilling, dark, quite surprising (even shocking) at times and a lot of fun. The movie features numerous excellent performances, not the least from Fiennes, who is superb. Also featured are Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini (as Sister Agnes, leader of the Vatican nuns). Lesser known in this country, but also excellent in key roles are Sergio Castellito,  Lucian Msamati, and Carlos Diehz, as a mysterious cardinal, largely unknown to the rest of the gathering.  

Conclave is likely to be nominated for bunches of awards come January. It is one of the richest and most satisfying movies of the year so far.  

2 hours Rated PG

Grade: A-

In theaters beginning 10/25/2024