Has an election ever been more fun than in Edward Berger’s latest film? Conclave is the latest Robert Harris adaptation, this time of his 2016 novel of the same name. It takes its name from the process of the election of a new Pope, where the Cardinals are placed inside the Sistine Chapel until they are able to elect a new leader of the Catholic church, and whilst it is placed in the holy walls of the Vatican, this has the allure of a political thriller that can be transposed into any electoral situation. Fractious, nasty and feisty, it shows humanity at its most self-absorbed. Although there is no death, the cardinals become cavemen in the wild, fighting to stay alive, willing to hunt anything that stands in their way.
One of the great joys in Conclave is the transformation of the mundane into an intense sense of emergency and anguish. The opening scene sees Ralph Fiennes’s Cardinal Lawrence commute through Rome and into the Vatican, but it is shot with such ferocity. These are not holy men contemplating the world and faith in peaceful reflection, but rather businessmen holding up the fractious house of cards that is the Catholic Church that is ready to tumble at any point. Every decision feels large, from the intricate construction of tortellini to the Cardinals wandering the corridors.
As Lawrence arrives to the discovery of the Pope’s passing there is a question of how to announce it to the public, whether saying he was working to the last hours of his life makes him sound like a hard worker who was committed to his end or whether he is someone who is overworked. It is an arena of great doubt and unassuredness, of many voices who focus on what divides them rather than what connects them. As the conclave begins, speculation unravels, none so more than the arrival of Cardinal Benitez, a Mexican Cardinal working in Kabul who states he was secretly made a Cardinal by the Pope prior to his passing.
What makes Conclave so compelling is that it is shot with great ferocity, unlike other Papal dramas such as the pedestrian The Two Popes. Edward Berger has a great focus on all the minutiae, such as the cigarette butts on the floor. The Vatican is not shown in rose-tinted glasses but rather in great detail with its hollow marble structures providing great exuberance but also making every sound loud and obtrusive.
It is a film about the Politics of Rome and the Vatican, the recently deceased Pope is said to have lost faith in the Church, whilst others are in breach of gross misconduct and are now in pole position to take claim of the Catholic chalice. The Vatican is like a chess board, constantly moving as each Cardinal tries to think three moves ahead.
There is a tremendous fight for power from each character – although they may choose not to believe it. For instance, Aldo, played by Stanley Tucci states he doesn’t want the papacy even though he’s favourite, but runs to stop those he disagrees with, such as the traditionalist Tedesco, from gaining power, believing he will tear down everything that has been built by the previous Pope. It is a film full of deceit and shrouded in dark untrust.
At the centre of Conclave is a question between doubt and certainty. Fiennes’s Cardinal Lawrence states that he fears certainty, stating it is the great enemy of unity, and the deadly enemy of tolerance, endorsing the need for doubt and hence, the need for discussion. However, doubt also leads to distrust, refusing to share true beliefs, placing a façade that shadows over the Vatican. Whilst it is important to doubt and question, it also conceals and endorses dishonesty. It is this multifaceted approach that gives Conclave an alluring, provoking and enduring film.
What completely drives the film is a musical score of great intensity. It is one of the most obtrusive and in-your-face of the year, but it is also a guiding light through every scene. Whilst a score with an organ could have easily been used to replicate that of a service, the striking decision of dark and sharp strings gives a musical score that is nasty and gnarly, with the bite of a snake ready to pounce.
Whilst at times Conclave falls into an almost soap-like sentimentality – there are plenty of moments that could be interjected by the East Enders thuds, it nevertheless gives a great ferocity that so many films are lacking, and although the intensity is not able to withstand the 2-hour runtime, it still has enough to make this a compelling and gripping time.
Conclave is one of the most intense cinematic films of the year. One that is multifaceted in its approach, focusing on the need for discussion, debate and democracy. Whilst its 2-hour runtime flies by with an incredible pace to the film, its themes linger long after you have vacated the cinema.
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