★★★★½ - THE POST
- Conclave will be an award-winner - see it now and avoid the rush -
Conclave is based on a 2016 novel by Robert Harris. The film unfolds over 72 hours within the Vatican. The Pope - a popular reformist - has died suddenly of a heart attack, and the College of Cardinals has flown in from around the world to choose a successor.
The cardinals are roughly split between those who want the church to become more inclusive and liberal, and those who think the church has modernised enough already - and that some mystery and wonder must be retained, if it is going to preserve its authority and influence. Within this second faction, there are those who are just not ready, and probably never will be, to see a Black or Latino man on the papal throne.
Arrayed on one side is a group led by Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci. And opposing them are the followers of the formidable arch-conservative Cardinal Tedesco - played by the appropriately formidable Italian veteran Sergio Castellitto.
Plotting a way through the centre are a couple of moderates, including a nakedly scheming Canadian played by John Lithgow. And patrolling the perimeter is Isabella Rossellini's Sister Agnes, the senior house-keeper at the Vatican, who clearly knows the whereabouts of every skeleton in every closet, that this collection of men are hoping will remain a secret. Fat chance.
That's a hell of an ensemble, and Peter Straughan's (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) screenplay finds a meaty part for all of them. Conclave is mostly built from scenes of men in rooms talking and glaring at each other, but it still functions as a thriller and a gripping drama.
If you're prepared to turn your bloody phone off and pay attention, Conclave will easily hold your attention and even happily throw you back in your seat, with a couple of late twists and revelations.
Director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) and cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine (A Prophet, Jackie) have crafted a sumptuous looking film here, but the human egos and flaws that drive Conclave are also clearly drawn and always visible.
The cast, as you would expect, are all superb. But maybe none more than Carlos Diehz, who is appearing here in his first feature film after a 30- year career as an architect. Diehz goes toe to toe with Fiennes, Lithgow and Tucci, and holds his own with all of them. Watching an unknown actor become a star with one performance is one of the great joys of going to the movies. And I'll bet you anything you like that Diehz will be a regular on our screens in the next few years.
"The church is what we do next," says Diehz's Cardinal Benitez at one point, late in the film.
He has been present for all the arguments between his fellow Cardinals - but mostly just listening, as they debate the direction the church should take, and who might best deliver the future they want for themselves.
But Benitez, stepping up to become the conscience of the group when they seem to need one, reminds these men that the church is not their buildings, or their wealth, or their history - or even the agreed mythology that binds them together. The church is simply, and always, "what we do next".
It says a lot about the heart and intelligence of this film, that Conclave arrives at a place where it earns the right to make such a concise and sweeping statement, and to have it land so sweetly.
I really don’t have a religious bone in my body. But I liked that line so much I scrawled it on a piece of paper and stuck it to the wall above my desk.
Conclave is a treat. This is a handsome and beautifully performed epic, played out in velvet-curtained rooms and marble courtyards. When the Academy Award nominations are announced next week, I reckon it's a safe bet Conclave will be there for Best Film and in a couple of the acting categories at least.
If I were you, I'd go and see Conclave on a big screen now, and beat the rush.
- Graeme Tuckett, THE POST
Conclave is now playing at Light House Cinema!