‘Conclave’ REVIEW: Cardinals Serve Tea in the Search for the Next Pope
‘Conclave’ REVIEW: Cardinals Serve Tea in the Search for the Next Pope
Ralph Fiennes in Conclave | Still taken from IMDb
A lot of division continues to separate us now more than ever. Even in picking different favorite films, it seems like only certain movies are accepted into certain canons. But once in a while, bursts of cinematic excellence reach beyond our differences to let us enjoy and appreciate the same movies. Last year, that was the Barbenheimer phenomenon — an internet inside joke that propelled two very different studio films into cross-cultural success. I believe that this year, the symbol of movie-induced unity isn’t in another double feature, but in one particular movie where a group of cardinals spar verbally for the power to wield authority in God’s name. Conclave understands that the pompous proceedings to find the next Pope can be rife with juicy backbiting and stuffs it with an amount that’s sure to make this a classic for many who want to watch men get mired in messy intrigue.
Conclave starts briskly in its opening minutes, following Cardinal Lawrence making his way tensely to the Pope’s bedside, making it just in time to see that he has passed away already. Almost immediately, we are introduced to the major candidates for the papacy. There’s the staunchly liberal Cardinal Bellini, and the by-the-book Cardinal Tremblay. There’s also Cardinal Adeyemi, who gains a head start with initial support, and Cardinal Tedesco, whose eagerness to really bring back tradition worries the more progressive Bellini and Lawrence.
Settling into this conclave, you’re already guaranteed to see excellent work from its ensemble. There’s Ralph Fiennes’ Cardinal Lawrence presiding over the voting process. Fiennes gives an engagingly restrained performance by keying so well into Lawrence’s uncertainty over the proceedings and his own faith, as well as his determination to uphold everything with a detective’s curiosity. Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow, of course, lean into their roles with ease. The standouts, of course, are the performers that may hardly be familiar to most casual moviegoers. Sergio Castellito, already noteworthy in his native Italy, is wholly intimidating as the traditionalist Tedesco. Lucian Msamati, having notched credits in supporting roles over the years, takes a tearful moment for his Cardinal Adeyemi and makes it one of the most groan-inducing moments of the year — a plot moment that can effectively draw out a reaction from the audience.
Conclave’s plot shifts and sharpening twists are delivered largely through dialogue. It’s certainly not a film without flair. There are many moments visually that convey the significance of this moment. The pre-sequestering anxiety the Cardinals face is lightly suppressed over hallway gossip, cigarettes on the phone, and other Cardinals doomscrolling before they’re not allowed outside access at the time of the vote. Plenty of the film’s deliberations, which sees the Cardinals huddled closely in rooms big enough for hundreds more manage to feel claustrophobic as the voting continues to make the Cardinals antsy and as allegiances coalesce into fewer candidates.
There’s a moment when Cardinal Lawrence is aided in nudging a decision-making moment by one of the sisters, Sister Agnes, that plenty of the online see as reminiscent of Mean Girls, and it’s actually a connection - as different as these two films could ever be - that really gets at the crowd-pleasing appeal of seeing settings of respectability unleash the wildness within humanity. Men love to put down women’s gossip-centered behavior, but Conclave proves that men are really great at it if given the chance. Interestingly, it’s the peak of this drama that hands Isabella Rossellini’s standout moment to her. With minimal screentime and much fewer dialogues than the men in a film that’s definitely not passing the Bechdel test, Rossellini makes sure to leave the film with proof that doing so much with so little can still leave a compelling impression on the hearts and minds of audiences - including Oscar voters.
Cardinal Benitez is a surprise arrival to many in the conclave, and there’s a moment when the Cardinals bicker that he takes to appeal to their humanity, as someone who’s served in war-torn lands. There is no doubt that Carlos Diez does work in building up to this moment for his character, who spends plenty of the film in isolated contemplation before each interaction with Cardinal Lawrence interacts. But ever since I found out that the character was Filipino in the novel, I couldn’t help but think of at least five Filipino actors who could walk away with this film in a role they could do in their sleep.
Audience capacity for dialogue-driven films is often debated, as generational attention spans seem to shrink in an age of short-form content and picture-taking in the cinema. Where Conclave leaves its audience in its place in cinematic history is that when you give good enough drama, no matter its historical weight, the drama will always make people come back to you. Honestly, its success shouldn’t have been doubted in an age that saw Oppenheimer’s jargon-heavy ensemble and HBO’s Succession wrangle sympathy out of wholly unrelatable billionaires as conversation-starters. But if moviegoers needed faith that dialogue-driven films still had power today, Conclave can give audiences reassurance until another film keeps the conversation going.
