Conclave (2024)

Just as Conclave, the new film by Edward Berger (who most recently did the 2022 remake of All Quiet on the Western Front) began, a random thought occurred to me: Ralph Fiennes has not received a knighthood.

Being American, I confess proudly I have no idea how that system works, but he surely belongs in the conversation of the greatest British thespians of the last few decades (it is astounding to me that he only has two Oscar nominations). Like most of the actors in Conclave, he is not one of the best known of movie stars, but he surely is known for capital A Acting.

In Conclave (based off of the 2016 book of the same name by Robert Harris), Fiennes portrays Thomas Cardinal Lawrence, the Dean of the College of Cardinals. The film arrives with news of the death of the Pope, leading the process of voting for a new pope.

Lawrence soon sees that not all is as it seems. As is the case, politics are an issue (side note: as of this writing, just 10 more days left until this annoying 2024 Presidential Election is over!). While Lawrence and Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) are more liberal, the other side of the political aisle has Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow), Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), and Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), the latter wanting to “set everything back 100 years”.

(Another side note: Do all Cardinals have bad eye sight? Almost all of them need glasses is this movie.)

There is also Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), who was secretly annointed by the late Pope, as well as Sister Agnes, who is charge of the catering and overall housekeeping. She is played nicely by Isabella Rossellini (who mother, the legendary Ingrid Bergman, knew a thing or two about playing servants in the Catholic Church).

The thrills come from an atmosphere of palpable tension (thanks in part to a punctuating score by Volker Bertelmann). My only issue was that I felt the script could have used one more ingredient of some kind, which I find odd since I was afraid that I would not understand much of the catholicism points, but I actually did.

Parents, the movie is PG (which should not come as a surprise: a movie about the Papacy would thankfully not be filled with swearing and sex). There is some thematic material, the reveal of a past cardinal’s actions, and at least one mention of Catholic Sexual abuse. Mature Middle Schoolers and up would be okay.

It should be worth noting that, since I am not catholic, I am not entirely aware of what might be offensive to the Catholic community. One thing that could be for sure is the twist at the end of the film, which I for one did not see coming (nor will I spoil it.) However, I will say it did fit in with what the narrative was trying to say (I can’t think of how to word it without spoilers.)

As soon as he was on screen, I realized something about Ralph Fiennes: he is not one known for his facial acting. You would think that would be a negative, but he does not need it. Very few actors are better at displaying their inner emotions (especially frustration) without much facial expression than Ralph Fiennes (it is all in his eyes, and if you don’t believe me, rewatch Schindler’s List).

A knighthood may not be in his near future, but an Oscar surely could be.

Overall: