‘Conclave’ Delivers Political Thrills, Towering Performances Led By Ralph Fiennes

Throughout my first few days at the Telluride Film Festival, I encountered dozens of people who’d read the novel Conclave by Robert Harris. You knew they’d read it because they’d learned “the twist” that factors into the end of the story, and they could not wait to discuss, pre-judge the film, and spoil it for those (like myself) who didn’t know the secret.

Turns out, after seeing Edward Berger’s adaptation, knowing the secret doesn’t really factor into your appreciation of the film. Berger and his troupe of actors have fashioned the pulpy story into a hugely entertaining, meticulously crafted, and masterfully acted crowd pleasing film.

Conclave begins as the current pope dies, leaving the task of leading the conclave — the process cardinals from across the world follow to elect a new pope — assigned to Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Fiennes). As with any election, there is a lot of drama. There are dark secrets whispered in hallway conversations. There are accusations unbecoming a potential pope. And there are difficulties centering on the ideal candidate to ascend to the lofty position. Lawrence navigates all of this to hopefully settle on the right person who can guide the church forward into the modern era.

On paper, none of this seems particularly cinematic. This is a dialogue-heavy exercise, miles away from Berger’s last film, All Quiet on the Western Front. But he still crafts a film that bursts with visual energy as his camera navigates the ancient corridors of power. We’re given masterful framing, placing the characters amidst gorgeous Italian architecture that allows us to breathe in its beauty while focusing our attentions on the characters’ relationships. There are scenes that are staged and filmed as if they were examples of the finest Renaissance art thanks to Berger and his incredibly talented cinematographer, Stéphane Fontaine.

What Berger and team really excel at here is in crafting a film that follows a very traditional, classic Hollywood filmmaking pattern. They elevate a popular piece of pulp fiction into something of a work of art using all of the tools of cinema. It’s something we don’t see often, and while it may not impress those seeking something new, it’s incredibly refreshing to know that artists can still deliver a mass entertainment at this level.

It would not be as rewarding an experience, though, without the ridiculously talented assembly of actors, led by a career-best performance from Ralph Fiennes. His Cardinal Lawrence seems tormented at every step of this process, torn between obeying the rules of the conclave and investigating potential warning signs to ensure the right person ascends. Fiennes’s face constantly presents as riddled with anxiety and doubt, and he’s able to beautifully render the physical exhaustion Lawrence feels at every step of the arduous process. He’s well supported by Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, Carlos Diehz, and Lucian Msamatti as cardinals all vying for the throne in addition to Isabella Rossellini as a head sister (albeit a too-brief performance unfortunately). It’s a brilliant ensemble navigating the more melodramatic aspects of the material with the confidence of a finely tuned company of stage actors.

In a festival filled with multiple varieties of excellent filmmaking, it’s refreshing to see something like Conclave that elevates a story into a master class of filmmaking and acting. It’s also important, I think, to see this kind of filmmaking in an enterprise that mostly any audience can enjoy. When people say “they don’t make films like they used to,” Conclave provides sterling evidence that, “Yes, they do.”

Conclave opens in NY and LA on November 1 and expands on November 8.