With one of the most influential people leading one of the largest branches of Christianity dying, how do we get a new one, and what is the process of election? ‘Conclave’ directed by Edward Berger and based on the 2016 novel by the same name gives us a look into the papal conclave, the reunion of Cardinals all throughout the world to vote one of them to be the next pope. Being the head of the Catholic Church is no small feat, and with such high power and recognition comes conspiracies, rumors, and distrust.
Many would hear the plot of the movie or see the trailer and believe that it may seem like a boring movie, as it also targets older age demographics with its themes. What most people don’t realize before watching the movie is how outrageously shady the movie gets, seeming almost as a presidential smear campaign of who can find the worst secrets of each other, even if coming from religious figures. What makes this film so great is that it still shows that every human can be corrupt with the perfect mix of both the seriousness and stressfulness of such an important election, as well as the complete exaggeration and campiness of the whole process.
Our protagonist is Cardinal Lawrence, played by Ralph Fiennes, who organizes the election, doubts his church position and role and is planning on leaving the church right after the elections. His acting is one of the best performances of this award season, being nominated for the Best Actor in the Academy Awards and showing a multi-faceted character who both wants the best for the church but also doubts it and does questionable acts to ensure the truth comes out.
We can see four main candidates from the start: Aldo Bellini, Joshua Adeyemi, Joseph Tremblay, and Goffredo Tedesco. Each one of them from different countries and of different opinions on what the church and the role of the pope should be. For example, Cardinal Tedesco is a traditionalist and believes in the old “great” days of the church, alluding that the pope this time should be from Italy and not anywhere else. Compared to Cardinal Bellini, a close friend of the late pope, believes in the more liberal values of the church where he emphasizes women’s role and their importance in the church as well as the acceptance of the LGBT+ community. The other two characters both have distinct arguments too and make for a perfect discussion about what we should reflect upon when thinking of the church and its values.
Throughout these four strong characters, a breakout performance appears from someone else: Carlos Diehz playing Cardinal Benitez, a cardinal ‘in pectore’ meaning a secret appointment of a cardinal, as to avoid persecution such as him being in Kabul, Afghanistan. This is the first performance ever of Carlos Diehz, working previously as an architect in Mexico, and the performance even though short and not as aggressive as those of others, is a perfect addition to the movie and shows that there are still good people in the church, who care about others and don’t discriminate anyone based on their background.
Finally, the cinematography in this movie is unbelievable. I have a bias towards religious buildings and their architecture as they can be quite glorious and beautiful to stare at, but this combined with the symmetry and incredible use of color from Berger gives us a movie that is not only interesting because of its plot, but also because of its visuals.
‘Conclave’ is now available streaming on Peacock, and I recommend it to anyone reading.
