The throne of the Holy See is vacant and beside the deathbed is a chess game in progress. “Conclave” has sweeping vistas of art, painstaking replicas of intricately embroidered Cardinal costumes, and one of the best all-time endings in the history of cinema. It is a human chess match of intriguing skill.
“Conclave” gives us the detailed process of papal transition that begins with the arrival of cardinals from around the world. But at the last moment, just before the great door closes for their holy meeting, an unknown cardinal from Afghanistan arrives who is suspected to be an imposter. He proffers his credentials, secretly created (“creation in pectore”) by the now deceased pope because of unnamed danger. Reluctantly and warily, Benitez is accepted and the great door is shut. The Cardinals are now sealed in the Sistine Chapel under Michelangelo’s famous frescoes to discern the will of God.
Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (sensitively played by Ralph Fiennes) is the dean of the College of Cardinals, the most senior cardinal and the one who will run the process to elect a new pope. He is certain that he does not want to be the next pope, though others vote for him on the first round. However, as time goes on and he learns more about the back life of other cardinals whose names are on the ballot, he wonders if accepting a nomination and potentially winning would be in the best interest of the church.
Suspense mounts and Sister Agnes (craftily played by Isabella Rossellini, with telling expressions from her eyes), knows secrets Cardinal Lawrence must “discover.”
“Conclave” plays like a murder mystery as one revelation after another creates a plot involving the inner selves of each Cardinal, exposing corruption, vices, and lack of faith. In the midst of the intrigues, a bomb goes off in the plaza outside the chapel in a telling reminder that the people outside demand reform.
In the midst of all this there were two spellbinding moments for me. The first was the impromptu, after the required homily, by Cardinal Lawrence. He says, “Let me speak from the heart for a moment.” He then expresses his own spiritual doubts but says that “certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance. … If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery and therefore no need for faith.”
The second moment of my captivation is from Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz). After the exploding bomb, he speaks about being sent to serve in war-torn areas by the pope. He says that the real battle of the church is not with the people but inside us. A bridge is needed between the church and its people. This merges into the memorable ending where Benitez speaks of another kind of bridge of understanding.
From the recreation of the gorgeous garments of the high holy catholic order, to the expansive cinematography zeroing in on expressions in the shadows, to the extraordinary casting, and to the artful inner struggles of the people involved in electing a new pope, “Conclave” is an exceptionally well-crafted film of perfection.
Credits
Director: Edward Berger
Screenplay: Peter Straughan
based on the book, Conclave (2016) by Robert Harris
Producers: Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, Michael Jackman, Alice Dawson and Robert Harris
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, Carlos Diehz and Isabella Rossellini
Cinematography: Stephane Fontaine
Editor: Nick Emerson
Music: Volker Bertelmann
Release: Oct. 25, 2024
Official website and how to View: https://www.focusfeatures.com/conclave
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