‘Conclave’ is a Simmering Papal Thriller
metroweekly.comConclave, a simmering political thriller about succession, set at the feet of a dead Pope.“The throne of the Holy See is vacant,” so the College of Cardinals have convened at the Vatican for a Papal conclave, to elect a new pope.
While some cardinals come to Rome determined to rally support for their preferred candidate, others arrive prepared to promote their own candidacy in an expectedly ruthless contest to garner enough votes in the conclave and become the next pontiff.Overseeing the contentious proceedings is Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, one of the late Pope’s closest associates, portrayed by Ralph Fiennes with an air of genuine loss and dutiful purpose, and just a flicker of personal ambition.For nearly everyone else inside the Vatican, ambition and animus seem to be the fuels stoking their fire.
John Lithgow’s powerful Cardinal Tremblay clearly harbors secrets, and openly covets the Holy See. So does cape-wearing divo Cardinal Tedesco, played by Sergio Castellitto in the film’s most entertaining turn.Alone among the likely candidates, Stanley Tucci’s level-headed Cardinal Bellini, a pro-LGBTQ liberal reformer, appears to be motivated by something other than self-interest. “No sane man would want the Papacy,” he declares.Based on all the conniving and backstabbing that goes on in the Vatican, he has a point.
Pacing out the votes and re-votes over a matter of days, the film packs in a soap opera season’s worth of secrets — sex scandals, stolen documents, and hidden agendas — into a well-acted two hours.Yet, even though the conclave is rocked by a steady barrage of bombshell revelations, director Edward Berger, an Oscar-winner for 2022’s All Quiet on the Western Front, maintains the dignified tone of a PBS drama.The.
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