Conclave
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Capitalizing on his newfound global success after the release of his reinterpretation of Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger is now working within the trappings of the Hollywood system with A-listers at the forefront of his latest picture, Conclave. Once again working on book adaptations, this time transposing the work of Robert Harris to the screen, the film tells the fictitious story of a Vatican in shambles after the death of its pope.
Fictitious because none of the characters exist, even if the process shown here is very much rooted in reality. Berger smartly turns the election of a new pope into a catholic conspiracy thriller by way of Ralph Fiennes’ titular character, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, who has organized the lengthy process of choosing a successor to the pope. Many candidates have already expressed their interest in becoming the Supreme Pontiff, including Cardinals Tremblay (John Lithgow), Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), and Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto).
But the more liberal disciples of God, including Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), believe Cardinals Adeyemi and Tedesco becoming pope would mean the return of a more conservative, problematic ideology dominating the Catholic Church, especially in the wake of so many scandals that have (forever) plagued the reputation of its institutions. In the middle of all this is Lawrence, who is experiencing a profound crisis of faith and believes Cardinal Tremblay is purposefully planning to defame other potential candidates to be (unjustifiably) elected as His Holiness.
Shot with extreme claustrophobia by Stéphane Fontaine, who perverts the essence of the Sistine Chapel with cold, lifeless colors, Conclave has all the makings of a terrific papal thriller. What better way to uncover meticulous plots to benefit power-hungry individuals than inside the walls of the (supposedly, of course) Holiest place on Earth? And with Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini leading the film, it’s hard to resist this impeccable display of talent, even if Berger’s directorial efforts in the mainstream consciousness have been all but impressive.
The Oscar-nominated All Quiet on the Western Front is immaculately shot, but it cares very little about its central protagonist, interminably stretching its runtime to a conclusion that wants to be effective but is instead shamelessly manipulative and mawkish. While Conclave does not reach such territories, Berger does interminably stretch his 120-minute-long runtime for a soapy, inexplicably over-the-top conclusion that confounded this critic to no end that such a taut thriller could end like this.
Because the aesthetic itself posits the film as a simple but compelling drama with a methodical structure at its forefront. The lingering shot of the pope’s corpse being carried to the morgue in an ambulance car as it constantly squeaks does prime the audience that it will always stay rooted in actuality and never adopt anything that steers away from it. That’s also where its title card is inserted. Conclave begins with death, and the hope that a new pope will be chosen instills a resurrection of sorts for the Vatican to embrace a new era within Christianity.
Of course, this is much more complicated, but that’s where the layers begin to unpeel themselves. For a while, Conclave is effective in its imagination (but not really) of corruption within the Vatican walls and how each decision made by a potential candidate for the papacy benefits themselves and never the people they are elected to serve. Fontaine represents these moments with an almost symmetric visual style populating the sequestration of its cardinals as they make the most important decision they have made in their lifetimes.
When it begins to tap into and explore subjects that are very much based on real-life events, such as the sex scandals that have permanently tainted many Catholic figures and the Church as a whole, it remains engaging due in part to riveting performances from its lead actors. However, one quickly realizes that Berger is not interested in discussing any of the themes he presents. Unlike the incredible André Forcier-directed Ababouiné (also a fictitious story that discussed real-life events), which not only treated with aplomb the sex scandals in a cathartic, magical realist way but also gave the victims agency to rewrite the narratives and hope for a better future, Berger introduces this plotline as necessary and quickly drops it by the time the targeted character longs for forgiveness.
This, unfortunately, sinks most of Conclave’s back half, as Berger and screenwriter Peter Straughan attempt to lull us back into the movies with one emotionally bludgeoning twist after the next, which are overtly melodramatic but have little impact on how the story is shaped. They’re presented as important because Volker Bertelmann’s string-heavy score emphasizes the dramatic turn of events (a far better score than his Oscar-winning BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOMs of All Quiet on the Western Front) as a revelation for the protagonist.
However, for a movie that wants to discuss catholicism and crises of faith, it seems relatively incurious to explore the root of corruption within the Vatican or how Lawrence has become disillusioned by his roles as Cardinal and Dean. Instead, it wants to dazzle the audience with one explosive (at some point, literally) twist after another to distract them from the fact that it has very little to say about any of the Biblical themes it presents, whether from its visual language or its thematic underpinnings.
Movies that study (not propagate, those are terrible, and this critic is confirmed, by the way, but isn’t swayed by any of the PureFlix/Angel Studios nonsense) Christianity as the cause of all corruption are rich because they force the audience to wrestle with their pre-ordained ideals on religion and belief. When the people at the top think it’s God’s will that they meddle with a force that should guide them, how does that make a devout follower feel? Berger seems to teeter on an answer but is instead too much of a coward to say anything regarding Lawrence’s crisis or the rude awakening Rossellini’s Sister Agnes experiences when learning about Tremblay’s desires (though she does steal the show in one incredible scene, unmasking the Canadian priest completely before he feels so terribly humiliated to continue lying in front of God like this).
As such, Conclave can only go so far before it begins to peter out and reach an unsatisfying finale that is so baffling that it almost feels as if it belongs in a completely different movie than what its brilliant opening scene established. Its performances remain consistently gripping (Tucci has some good moments while Fiennes is always on top form), but the script does not favor them. If one wants to see a movie that deftly takes down, or at least interrogates, the purpose of the Catholic Church in society that was also released in 2024, Ababouiné is right there. However, since few outside Québec know who Forcier is, it will likely go unnoticed, and Berger will again undeservedly get swayed into underserved Awards hype. This says a lot about the current state of our film culture, rewarding hyped movies instead of morally challenging ones.