I was a catholic when I was a kid growing up in Massachusetts and I’ve followed these beliefs more often than not the rest of my life. It’s something I’ve had an off-again-on-again relationship with Catholicism. When I heard about Conclave I was very excited to see a movie about the inner workings of the Catholic Church from a higher-up perspective.  The Pope is one of if not the most known people on the face of the planet, whomever that may be at a given time. The “Conclave” is a very important event in the church and the world. There are millions of Catholics on this planet which is why this event is so important.  This movie shows that perfectly well, with a twist.

The film starts with “The Pope is Dead” so the Bishops need to elect a new Pope. The process of electing a new Pope is called the Conclave. Obviously, questions will arise about how this man passed away, but that’s not what this movie is about. It’s a thriller about backstabbing, backroom deals and who’s the best man for the job of being the Pontiff. How the film gets from point A to Z is why it’s so entertaining and compelling to watch. It’s as good as any movie I’ve seen this year because of that.

Ralph Fiennes plays Cardinal Lawrence, a high-ranking official in the Catholic Church. The Conclave has fallen to him to run and oversee.  There are a lot of things he’s responsible for during the process of the Conclave. He also ends up getting involved in some of the in-fighting and conniving behavior between a few of the Cardinals who are putting their names into the running for the head pontiff of the Catholic Church. Fiennes gives a very nuanced and subtle performance in this movie. He also has some moments where he has to flex his muscles against others in the cast. He brings his A-game in this role. He’s overdue for an Academy Award and I think he has a very good chance of winning one in this role. He was incredible and I was glued to every word he said on screen.

Besides Fiennes’ great performance in this movie, there are a handful of other incredible performances in the film. First of all, Stanley Tucci is Cardinal Bellini. He has been giving fantastic performances for years in films like The Devil Wears Prada and Spotlight, but he channels his inner priest with an intense but grounded-in-reality performance.  He knows what he wants to do in the role. With various obstacles in his character’s way, he doesn’t let those derail his solid performance. He’s another one who’s overdue for an Academy Award. Here’s hoping he at least gets a nomination for this fantastic, well-thought-out performance. As this Cardinal who’s conflicted on what side he’s on regarding the Conclave.

Edward Berger is coming off of a huge Oscar success with his last film, the remake of All Quiet On the Western Front which won four Oscars. His latest film is Conclave which is adapted from the novel by Robert Harris and has been anticipated by many film fans and critics alike. He has lived up to his last movie as far as I’m concerned. After reading the book I had an idea of what this movie would look and feel like and he exceeded my expectations regarding that. He has put his touches on this story and how the film was shot and how it sounds. That’s what a good director does. They put their stamp on it to make it uniquely theirs. You know that particular director made a specific movie. In this case Berger with Conclave. 

There were three things that stood out to me most while watching Conclave.  First and foremost was the score by Volker Bertelmann. This score had me from the first time I heard it. There are about ten chords, mostly made with string instruments like violins and cellos that keep coming back again and again at key moments in the film. They played mostly in tense scenes where there wasn’t a lot of talking. This helped ramp up the intensity of the story. This is one of my favorite scores of the entire year. I can’t stop thinking about it since I saw the movie. It’s that good to me.

The second thing is the production design. The quarters where the Cardinals were sequestered and the voting room both looked amazing. The walls were white and grayish marble and the doors were bright red. It was hard to envision what these rooms and quarters would look like in the book but they stood out in the film. The voting room also had quite a bit of red. The colors jumped off the screen. I applaud the production designer. They captured the look of these locations as well as I could have expected. This is an awards-worthy production design.

.The third thing that stood out for me was the cinematography by Stephane Fontaine.  There are multiple shots that are picturesque. Including a scene where it’s raining and all the Cardinals are walking toward the Sistine Chapel with umbrellas. Other shots involve them all sitting in the voting room or congregating in the courtyard of the St. Martha’s Residence or Domus Sanctae Marthae in Vatican City. Some scenes of Men walking downstairs or just standing around talking are shot incredibly well. I was blown away by how impressive this movie looked. I imagined how good it could be, but seeing it brought to life was breathtakingly beautiful. 

I talked about Fiennes and Tucci, the rest of the cast is fantastic. John Lithgow plays Cardinal Tremblay and he is layer back from his usual over-the-top type of performance, but he still knows how to play the antagonist. Lucian Msamati and Segio Castellito both play Cardinals Adeyami and Tedesco, two men vying for the head job. They both have skeletons in their closet which makes them very interesting characters in the overall story. Along with Brian F O’Bryne and Carlos Deitz Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes round out a stellar cast of character actors. They all have moments to shine and they all make a good impression in the time they’ve been given on screen. This is definitely in contention for a best ensemble nominee come the SAG Awards next year.

Conclave is everything I thought it could be and more. As a reader of the novel, I had high hopes. It surpassed those hopes. I was stunned by the look and feel of this film. Berger brought every skill and ability at his disposal to this production. He recruited some amazing people who all brought their A-Game including Bertelmann, & Fontaine on the production side of things. As far as in front of the camera goes he gets amazing performances from Fiennes, & Tucci, but the entire cast is stellar here. A lot of these men and women are people American audiences aren’t familiar with, but they are terrific in the scenes they are in. As far as Finnes and Tucci go they both give career defining performances. I hope both get Oscar nominations. Berger has made a fantastic follow up film to All Quiet On the Western front. Will it translate to audiences and awards voters? Who knows? I know I loved every minute of . That’s all I can do is be honest. It’s one of the best films I’ve seen all year!

5 stars

Dan Skip Allen