Review: ‘Conclave’ (2024), starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto and Isabella Rossellini

October 25, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Conclave” (2024)

Directed by Edward Berger

Some language in Italian and Spanish with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Vatican City, the dramatic film “Conclave” (based on the novel of the same name) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people and Latin people) who are Catholic Church clergy people of various titles and rankings.

Culture Clash: A cardinal from the United Kingdom gets caught up in turmoil and scheming during a sequestered conclave to elect a new pope of the Catholic Church.

Culture Audience: “Conclave” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and well-made dramas about behind-the-scenes politics in the Catholic Church.

“Conclave” offers a gripping and well-acted portrayal of cutthroat scheming and betrayals that can go into choosing a new pope for the Catholic Church. It’s a fictional drama but entirely plausible. Twists and turns make it a unique and suspenseful movie that will surprise many viewers with its final outcome.

Directed by Edward Berger and written by Peter Straughan, “Conclave” is based on Robert Harris’ 2016 novel of the same name. “Conclave” had its world premiere at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Stellar cast performances and skillful filmmaking are the reasons why “Conclave” is a better-than-average movie, with very little flaws.

“Conclave” takes place entirely in Vatican City, the Italian city-nation ruled over by the pope of the Catholic Church. (“Conclave” was actually filmed in Rome and in Caserta, Italy.) The story is told from the perspective of a Catholic cardinal from the United Kingdom named Thomas Lawrence (played by Ralph Fiennes), who gets caught up in a maelstrom of secrets and potential scandals that affect his decisions throughout the movie. Cardinal Lawrence, the dean of the College of Cardinals, is a well-respected and popular leader who is a reluctant candidate to be the new pope because he is having doubts about his Catholic faith.

The movie, which takes place over the course of about one month, begins by showing Cardinal Lawrence arriving in Vatican City because an unnamed elderly pope (played by Bruno Novelli) has suddenly died, reportedly of a heart attack. As is the custom/policy of the Catholic Church, the College of Cardinals members from around the world gather in person in Vatican City to have a sequestered conclave to choose a new pope. The elected pope must receive a two-thirds majority of the votes.

“Conclave” makes it clear that the decision-making process is very much influenced by the individual cardinals’ personal political beliefs, as well as other factors such as race and nationality. Several characters play crucial roles in the sometimes-ruthless actions that take place over the course of the story. These characters are:

• Cardinal Thomas Lawerence, who considers himself to be politically liberal and believes that the Catholic Church should be held more accountable for crimes such as sexual abuse committed by and enabled by Catholic clergy.
• Cardinal Aldo Bellini (played by Stanley Tucci) from the United States is the candidate with the most progressive political views, such as his belief that the Catholic Church should no longer condemn homosexuality.
• Cardinal Tremblay (played by John Lithgow) from Canada is the candidate who is the most transparently ambitious and is very skilled at getting people to be on his side.
• Cardinal Tedesco (played by Sergio Castellitto) from Italy is the candidate who has the most conservative political views, such as his belief that homosexuality, abortion and artificial birth control should be outlawed.
• Cardinal Adeyemi (played by Lucian Msamati) from Nigeria is another politically conservative candidate, who would be the first African/black pope of the Catholic Church if elected.
• Cardinal Vincent Benitez (played by Carlos Diehz)—originally from Mexico but assigned to live in Kabul, Afghanistan—is a mysterious candidate who arrives on short notice and reveals that he was secretly appointed to be a cardinal by the pope who is now deceased.
• Cardinal O’Malley (played by Brían F. O’Byrne) from Ireland is a trusted ally of Cardinal Lawrence.
• Cardinal Wozniak (played by Jacek Koman) from Poland is a trusted confidant of the pope who is now deceased.
• Sister Agnes (played by Isabella Rossellini) is a mostly quiet observer of what happens during the conclave.

Three weeks after the pope’s death, the conclave is set to convene. Tensions are running high because it’s very probable that a majority vote will be difficult to reach. On the day before the conclave begins and becomes sequestered, three things happen that alter the course of the story’s events.

First, Cardinal Benitez shows up with a letter that Cardinal Benitez says is proof that the pope had secretly appointed Cardinal Benitez to this position. There is no time to verify this letter, which looks like an authentic document. Cardinal Lawrence lets Cardinal Benitez join the conclave.

Second, Cardinal Lawrence and Cardinal Bellini confirm their private alliance to prevent Cardinal Tedesco or any other politically conservative cardinals from winning the election. Cardinal Lawrence promises not to actively campaign for himself, so that votes can go to Cardinal Bellini instead of Cardinal Lawrence. Publicly, Cardinal Lawrence must appear outwardly neutral. Privately, he and Cardinal Bellini and a few other allies have decided that the new pope must be politically liberal so that the Catholic Church won’t go back to oppressive policies.

Third, a nervous and sweaty Cardinal Wozniak tells Cardinal Lawrence that Cardinal Tremblay was the last person to see the pope alive, and the pope had decided to fire Cardinal Tremblay. Cardinal Wozniak says that shortly before the pope died, the pope told Cardinal Wozniak that the pope had a meeting with Cardinal Tremblay to demand Cardinal Tremblay’s resignation, which was supposed to be announced. Cardinal Mendoza (played by Rony Kramer), who is not part of the conclave, was also in this meeting, according to what Cardinal Wozniak says the pope told Cardinal Wozniak.

Cardinal Wozniak says that the pope would not give details of why Cardinal Tremblay was being fired, but the pope said the reasons would soon become clear enough. The pope died soon after having a separate private meeting with Cardinal Tremblay when Cardinal Tremblay and the pope were the only ones in the room. No one has accused Cardinal Tremblay of harming the pope, but there’s room for suspicion that Cardinal Tremblay could have done something that caused the pope’s death.

On the first day of the conclave, Cardinal Lawrence delivers a speech to the College of Cardinals members who are assembled. He says in the speech: “Certainty is the deadly enemy of unity.” Cardinal Lawrence adds, “If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no doubt, and therefore no need for faith.”

The speech is a reflection of Cardinal Lawrence’s inner turmoil about his current crisis of faith. Cardinal Lawrence later confides in Cardinal Benitez that after the new pope is elected, Cardinal Lawrence plans to resign from his position as dean of the College of Cardinals because Cardinal Lawrence is having doubts about his faith in the Catholic Church.

During the first day of the conclave, Cardinal Lawrence asks Cardinal Tremblay if it’s true that the pope had demanded that Cardinal Tremblay resign or get fired, based on what Cardinal Wozniak reported. Cardinal Tremblay completely denies what Cardinal Wozniak is claiming. Cardinal Tremblay adds that Cardinal Wozniak can’t be trusted because Cardinal Wozniak has a drinking problem.

Cardinal Mendoza, the only other person in that meeting where the pope allegedly fired Cardinal Tremblay, cannot be questioned by Cardinal Lawrence while Cardinal Lawrence is sequestered. However, while everyone is sequestered, Cardinal Lawrence sends Cardinal O’Malley (who is not sequestered) to interview Cardinal Mendoza about this meeting and get a message relayed back to Cardinal Lawrence with information on what Cardinal Mendoza said in the interview. The movie shows the outcome and who was telling the truth.

During the election process, the votes fail to reach a majority at least four times. The person who gets the most votes isn’t always the same person during this process. Meanwhile, scandalous secrets emerge for a few of the candidates. And these exposés alter the course of the election. Through it all, Sister Agnes sees a lot of what is going on and then makes a move that is also impactful.

Fiennes, Tucci, Lithgow, Diehz and Msamati give standout performances as five of the cardinals who are involved in this battle for papal power. Cardinal Tedesco is supposed to be very charismatic and persuasive, but his role as the presumed leading conservative candidate is surprisingly not as prominent in the movie as it could have been. Castellitto is quite good in the role, but he is overshadowed by performances that get more screen time.

Issues of race and gender are overtly and subtly mentioned in the story. In a semi-private conversation in a group dining hall, Cardinal Tedesco tells another cardinal that certain candidates have no chance of winning because of certain characteristics that they have. He then makes a nodding gesture toward Cardinal Adeyemi, in an obvious reference to Cardinal Adeyemi being black.

Except for Sister Agnes and another nun named Sister Shanumi (played by Balkissa Maiga), women are mostly background characters. And all of the women who are in these conclave quarters are there to serve the men. As “progressive” as Cardinal Lawrence and Cardinal Bellini think they are about women’s issues—for example, Cardinal Lawrence and Cardinal Bellini believe that Catholic women should be allowed to use artificial birth control and undergo IVF treatments—Cardinal Lawrence and Cardinal Bellini still cling to the belief that women cannot hold the most powerful positions in the Catholic Church.

“Conclave” is a tension-filled depiction of power moves among Catholic Church officials that show how choosing a new pope is more about politics than about religion. The cinematography by Stéphane Fontaine is artfully filmed (there’s a stunning-looking top-down aerial scene of the conclave members holding umbrellas in the rain), while the movie’s editing and production design are also superb. “Conclave” ultimately succeeds in reminding viewers that those who have been given holy and religious titles are still flawed human beings who can do things that are anything but holy.

Focus Features released “Conclave” in U.S. cinemas on October 25, 2024.