Conclave

Rated PG • Theaters

Aristotle said that man is a “political animal.” He wasn’t merely referring to the politics of government; rather, he claimed our rationality and ability to communicate lead us into unions with one another that serve as the foundations for human society. Conclave, a film adapted from Robert Harris’ 2016 novel of the same name, highlights man’s political nature in both its narrow and broad senses.

The story begins with the death of the pope, an event which naturally sends the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church into disarray. Immediately the whisper campaign begins. The church’s leadership suffers from factionalism, and everyone suspects everyone else of jockey­ing for position while the papal throne is vacant. One character mutters no sane man would want the job of pope, but it appears the Roman Catholic hierarchy might be full of insane men.

A conclave of cardinals must select the new holy father, and it falls to the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), to convene the conclave. Lawrence is one of the few men who doesn’t seem interested in becoming pope. In fact, he feels ill-equipped for the job of running the conclave because while the Catholic Church suffers its crisis of leadership, Lawrence is in the midst of his own personal crisis of faith. He’s a man plagued by uncertainty and doubts, but he carries on with his duties, performing one final favor to the deceased pope.

From the beginning, the conclave has an air of mystery to it. A previously unknown cardinal arrives just before Lawrence sequesters the group. The newcomer’s credentials seem legitimate, but his arrival causes a stir. While Lawrence tries to learn what he can about this enigmatic clergyman, he also hears rumors that one of the more established cardinals shouldn’t have been admitted to the conclave, requiring even more detective work.

The various factions within the hierarchy view the election of the new pope as a pivotal moment. Lawrence pleads for unity and tolerance, but ethnic and social tensions tear at the conclave’s ­harmony. Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), an Italian bishop, desires to return the church to its conservative roots in order to defend the institution from the chaos of the contemporary world. Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) is an American who argues that the church must continue the liberalizing program of the deceased pope. Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) hopes to become the church’s first African pope, while Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow) embodies unrestrained ambition in his quest to attain the papacy.

Director Edward Berger, whose All Quiet on the Western Front won the Academy Award for best foreign film in 2023, has created a taut drama filled with intrigue. Lawrence paces the Vatican’s halls searching for truth, resembling an exhausted film-noir detective more than a clergyman. Color-saturated cinematography accentuates distressed Renaissance architecture, adding to the feeling that this aged institution is struggling to navigate present realities. The brooding score by Volker Bertelmann, who won an Oscar for his work on All Quiet on the Western Front, complements the visuals, imparting a sense of danger and secrecy to the film.

You couldn’t ask for a better cast to don the scarlet robes of the College of Cardinals. The principal roles are played by esteemed actors who collectively bring so much gravitas that scenes begin to groan under the collective weight, and Fiennes’ masterful performance runs the gamut from despair to hope.

But what of the politics? I was impressed by how deftly the script handled the factional divide between the conservative and liberal cardinals. Lawrence’s sympathies lie with the liberal wing, but the film subverts any expectations of a simplistic “liberal good and conservative bad” dichotomy. Very few characters avoid the ugly side of man’s political nature, where principles quickly give way to pragmatism.

On the whole, Conclave is a satisfying psychological drama, but the script falls short in a couple of ways. First, these churchmen have surprisingly little to say about the Bible’s teachings or church tradition during their debates. Even the conservatives seem more concerned with cultural tradition than doctrinal conviction. Second, the film ends with a plot twist that’s straight out of left field. The twist is in the book, but the film fails to set it up convincingly, ending with muddled messaging.