‘Conclave’ Review: The Audacity of Pope | Telluride

“I took my team through the mud,” said Edward Berger to a packed audience before the world premiere of his latest film, Conclave, on the opening night of the 51^st Telluride Film Festival. This, of course, was Berger referring to his 2022 surprise Oscar-winning hit All Quiet on the Western Front, which introduced the director and his team to mainstream audiences around the world. In his follow-up film, he leaves behind the bloody battlefield of World War I and enters a different playing field with as much political intrigue, personal accusations and worldly implications as we dive into the behind the scene’s proceedings of a conclave ceremony to elect the next Pope. Adapted from the best-selling novel by Robert Harris, Conclave delivers a mostly effective thriller that mirrors our modern American political elections, as well as the divide within our country (the movie is sprinkled with over a dozen red vs. blue state winks to the audience). But, the frustrating thing about Conclave, beyond a headache inducing score from Oscar winner Volker Bertelmann, is the film’s refusal to dive deeper than the on the surface political messages and refocus any attention on many of the other issues within the Catholic Church, organized religion, and the numerous crisis of faith that characters have in the film.  In many ways, the overall vibe and tone of Conclave is equal to that of a Presidential debate; entertaining to watch but not substantive enough to focus on the real issues that should matter.

In the dead of night, we find Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, (Ralph Fiennes) racing to the Vatican as the news of the Pope’s passing has spread throughout the clergy. Lawrence, a devote, trusted member of the Holy Father’s inner circle is surrounded by his fellow close-knit cardinals Bellini (Stanley Tucci), Tremblay (John Lithgow), and Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), all carrying a collection of emotions ranging from grief, regret, stress, and shock, with Lawrence evening saying he thought the Pope “was going to outlive us all.” But as we know, these emotions are momentary as the reality of the situation starts setting in, and work must be done in order to bring together all of the cardinals from around the world for the conclave, which will be overseen by Cardinal Lawrence, given the title of Dean for the ceremony. As we are gathering this information, the score and sound work within these moments blast, clang, bang and shatter one’s attention span, as Bertelmann’s work is at times raised to a louder volume than the spoken dialogue by the extraordinary character actors we are watching on scene. If you also combine this with the rapid editing by Nick Emerson, it is a jarring beginning that will prepare you for what is coming throughout the rest of the film, for better and for worse.

Three weeks pass and Lawrence has been working night and day to make sure the conclave runs successfully. Though his service to the Holy Father and church has never waivered, Lawrence has been struggling with prayer, as well as his place in the Vatican going forward. He offered to relinquish his position at the Vatican as we learn, to move to other forms of service but the Pope refused to let him leave. In a way, it is a blessing as he finds his purpose in getting these proceedings under control and wanting to make sure they are done correctly, in memory of the man he held such respect for. Fiennes commands every scene he is in, instilling just the right amount of confidence, suspicion and doubt in Lawrence to go down this journey with him, hoping he finds peace within himself, as well as the inner strength to do the right thing as the conclave factions out into a political, ideological choice beyond even his control.

Case in point, Lawrence and his friends lean more towards the liberal side of the cardinals arriving to Rome. As they see it, there best chance to continue to move the church into the modern world, where the church is fearful of gay marriage, women’s rights with their body and within the church, is to pull their support behind Bellini, who modestly says he doesn’t feel like he is the right man for the job. Done in secret, within rooms and hallways, these selective members of the conclave successfully convince him to see within reason, as the alternative could be Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), a conservative, vape pen smoking candidate that will erase the progress done over the last several decades to make the church a more inclusive place.

This is where the film dives head first into being a political commentary, examining our fears of the other side winning an election, with binary choices that are decided by men in dark rooms. As Tedesco tells Lawrence at the dinner the night before the conclave, every cardinal is divided by race, country, language, and political ideology, and when they vote, that will be the only way to determine which ideology is the right one for the future of the church. They represent the far left and the far right of the cardinals, while the other options are Tremblay and Adeyemi, more centrist thinkers but as we learn throughout the course of the film, each carry baggage with them if they were elected. If they the collection of cardinals wanted to go into a different direction, the  inclusion of a mysterious, last minute addition to the conclave, Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), looms as a choice as he feels like the typical unknown participant in an election cycle that grows in popularity because they are fresh, new, and have an outsider’s perspective; though we come to find that might always be a good idea because there is not much known about him and if there are secrets that unfold with them, there won’t be much the cardinals and the church could do if he was elected Pope.

Mostly through Lawrence’s eyes, we see the imperfections in this selection process, and as he uncovers the truth behind several mysteries circling the various candidates, he can’t help but to question everything and everyone around him. His inner conflict is what makes Fiennes’ performance the best in the film. Tasked with this burden, he breaks traditional conclave rules and regulations to track down the truth so the right man for the job can be selected. This does ruffle the feathers of pretty much all the cardinals gunning to be Pope, with even Bellini yelling at him about being selfish for putting himself over the natural selection process, therefore gaining votes for himself that seem to make Bellini vulnerable for the win. In a perfect showcase for his immense talent, Tucci delivers one of the best performances of his career as Bellini, as we see this man gain and lose the trust of his most loyal friend only to ask forgiveness for his angry transgression. With multiple scenes throughout, Fiennes and Tucci carry the film’s ensemble and narrative forward enough to keep you engaged, even as the mystery and topical connections start to run a bit stale.

But at the core of Conclave lies a lot of wasted opportunity, not just at the religious elements the film is set around, but within the actors who surround Fiennes and Tucci on screen, as well as a clunky ending that hasn’t changed at all from its source material. For the actors, Lithgow, whose character has a much larger, meatier role in the novel, is absent throughout large sections of the film, making the actions Tremblay makes to secure his position as Pope feel a bit stale and unearned in terms of Lawrence’s character uncovering some big scandal. Knowing the long standing history of sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, as well as numerous other controversial financial and cultural stances the church and the current Pope have taken over the years, the reveals for Conclave run the gambit of being tame too predictable to downright silly. Speaking of silly, let’s talk about Isabella Rossellini’s performances as Sister Agnes, a nun who is in charge of the behind the scene’s preparations for the cardinals in terms of meals and accommodations. Known for having a close relationship with the late Pope, Rossellini gives a cold, silent performance for most of the film, till she becomes involved with Lawrence’s quest for the truth surrounding a potential scandal with Tremblay. Reduced to making copies and having one moment where she yells at all the cardinals, the veteran actress is given a thankless role that is not elevated to the source material, though she does her best with what she is given. Peter Straughan screenplay, though working with a pretty lightweight, airport novel, is too focus on making a who-dun-it within the Vatican and lets the Catholic Church off the hook, especially in something so inherently political. It’s too simple, and when the final moments of the film start to settle in after the biggest twist of the film is revealed, a feeling of frustration and exhaustion starts to settle in as you start to question the goal of the journey you just took on through the last two hours.

Berger, a director who earned a lot of respect for his visual pallet in his previous effort, gives us a more subdued visual language this go-round. Working alongside cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine, he gives us a less elegant vision of the Vatican but is able to incorporate shadows and lighting perfectly to build his tension of this thriller. The problems for the film lie in the script, one that leaves too much fruit on the vine and doesn’t have the bite necessary to be beyond a rather entertaining yet forgettable time at the movies. Maybe that is the point, as Conclave splices in a lot of humor in its runtime, but this subject matter doesn’t need campy moments. Rather, it needs someone to take this seriously given what this whole movie is about. Just like in American politics, we don’t need fluff or razzle dazzle, we need to talk about serious issues by serious people, and this sadly just didn’t happen.

Grade: C

This review is from 2024 Telluride Film Festival. Focus Features will release Conclave in select theaters on November 1, 2024 and wide on November 8.