Conclave Movie Review: Starting from December 19, after having been presented in national preview at the Rome Film Fest, Conclave arrives in Italian theaters, directed by Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) based on the novel of the same name by Robert Harris published in Italy by Mondadori. Conclave sees a cast of national and international stars such as Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini, Sergio Castellitto, and John Lithgow in a dramatic thriller set in the sumptuous depths of the Vatican. We saw the film in preview at RoFF19 and below we report our opinion.
Conclave Movie Story:
After the sudden death of the Pope, the members of the Catholic College of Cardinals gather in the Vatican to elect a new pontiff who will mark the beginning of a new era for the Church. Inside the Sistine Chapel, cardinals from all over the world are the protagonists of a ritual whose roots date back many centuries. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), Dean of the College of Cardinals, has the sacred duty of overseeing this conclave.
Among the favorites are Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) of the Vatican and Trembley of Montreal (John Lithgow), Tedesco of Venice (Sergio Castellitto), and Adeyemi of Nigeria (Lucian Msamati), who could become the first African Pope in history. Each candidate has their own agenda and compromising secrets that, if revealed, could prevent their election as pontiff. But Lawrence discovers that the late Pope had secrets of his own. As the Cardinal tries to uncover them, he must confront a shocking truth.
Conclave Movie Review:
Entering the Vatican walls is nothing new in film and literature. Dan Brown had done it with Angels and Demons (and the related film of the same name by Ron Howard) and now Edward Berger, fresh from the success of his Oscar-winning film All Quiet on the Western Front, adapts Harris's novel of the same name for the big screen to transport viewers once again inside the impenetrable Vatican walls, and in particular the Sistine Chapel, during the election of a new Pope. What happens during a conclave stays inside a conclave.
Skillfully capable of balancing thriller, suspense, and reflection on the contemporary Church, Conclave is a film that effectively manages to describe the ecclesiastical world in a moment of crisis such as that during the election of a new leader. And this is why, perhaps even unintentionally, in its extremely balanced nature, it is decidedly over the top. In embodying the lights and shadows of the Church, the actors in the film play the roles of cardinals strongly tied to tradition or even with innovative ideas that count for little in a world completely managed by an archaic and strongly patriarchal mentality. Weaving the threads of the situation is an enigmatic and thoughtful Ralph Fiennes in the role of Father Lawrence, a man of the church moved by a deep faith but at the same time by a cunning that should not be underestimated.
After a great war film, Berger plays with subtraction, using a minimalist direction, made of beautiful images, almost imitating great Renaissance paintings, supported by evocative photography by Stéphane Fontaine, capable of highlighting the lights and shadows of a story that becomes increasingly twisted and obscure as the minutes pass, as the images become obscure.
And so it is that iconic places become mysterious and full of tension thanks also to the words spoken by the protagonists of the film. Joining a magnetic Fiennes is an international cast where the most notable performances are the very brief one by a magnificent Isabella Rossellini in the role of Sister Agnes, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for her 8 minutes of screen time, that of Stanley Tucci in the role of Cardinal Bellini, a man of faith but also (too) ahead of his time, and that of the eccentric Cardinal Tedesco played by Sergio Castellitto.
Conclave, despite being a film that deals with the subject of “church” in a classic way, manages to be both contemporary and capable of criticizing the preconceptions on which the Church itself is founded. From universal themes and questions to corruption, Conclave is a thriller with a strong political and satirical streak at the same time. A film that, despite wanting to remain buttoned up and courtly throughout its time, precisely because of the subject matter, ends up being involuntarily (?) eccentric and outside the box. All this is inserted in a breathtaking scenographic context that clashes with the rottenness narrated, crowned by a soundtrack by Volker Bertelmann that is incisive and absolutely full of tension.
Conclave is thus one of the most acclaimed films of the year (with countless nominations for prestigious awards) not only for its meticulous staging or for the excellent performances of the ensemble cast, but above all for the questions it poses to viewers. Immersed in a visually stunning context, it manages to be both thoughtful and eccentric, appearing over the top but conceptually grounded in reality.