Dir: Edward Berger | Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rosellini, Bruno Novelli, Carlos Diehz, Sergio Castelitto, Lucian Msamati | Drama 120′
The pope is dead. But his death is surrounded in controversy in this tense thriller and lugubrious papal conspiracy thriller from German director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front).
When Ralph Fiennes is in the cast we are always in good hands and he doesn’t disappointment as the suave yet sombre Cardinal Lawrence, dean of the cardinals’ college, who is ostensibly the manager of a power struggle to elect a new pope in the Vatican. Intricate twists and turns keep even the most demanding viewers on the edge of their seats with themes of treachery and sexual impropriety at heart of the narrative.
After the sudden death of a fictional, unnamed pope (Novelli), Lawrence must take control of the voting process. Three candidates quickly emerge as leading contenders. They are the liberal minded Cardinal Bellini (Tucci); a radical Cardinal Adeyemi (Msamati) and the wildly traditional Cardinal Tedesco (Castellito). A forth hopeful is the Canadian, Cardinal Tremblay (Lithgow). A mysterious latecomer then rocks the boat in the shape of Cardinal Benitez (Diehz) who claims the late pontiff intended to nominate him in the running before his untimely death.
But a final outcome is going to be prickly and full of pitfalls as rumours fly in the clandestine corridors of power and mud soon flying at each each candidate. But whether it will stick is the ultimate question.
An intelligent scrip,t written by Peter Straughan and based on the 2016 page-turner by Robert Harris, plays fast and loose with cannon law. Lawrence soon confesses doubt at his being a suitable future pope due to issues connected to prayer.
But there are some far more outré reasons why his fellow candidates may fall at the last hurdle, and these include one candidate’s sexual impropriety and another’s anatomy. These setbacks add a refreshing modern-day spin to the matter at hand.
Lawrence posits that the ultimate sin is certainty, and this elevates the narrative and provides the film with a visionary concept on which to ponder. An elegantly crafted and chewy piece of filmmaking.@MeredithTaylor
NOW ON RELEASE IN THE UK | CONCLAVE PREMIERED AT VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024 |