FILM REVIEW
CONCLAVE
Rated PG
120 Minutes
Released October 25th
From the start, Conclave is a moviemaker’s movie. The visuals tell the story in perfect melody with the sounds and the music. The opening scene is built on movement, which you might not expect from the pious, regal subject matter. Windows play a key role in opening your psyche to accept the thoughts that are transpiring in the cardinals’ minds, as these cardinals are the players in this human drama, men who are supposed to be striving to rise above human flaws towards a spiritual state of being.
Does that really happen? That is something explored in Conclave. On the surface, this is a story of cardinals arriving in Rome after the death of a pope, to choose a successor. Most of us have witnessed at least one papal succession in our lives and are familiar with the process of choosing a new pope from among cardinals who convene at the Vatican from all corners of the world, the conclave, which adheres to Catholic tradition going back to the Middle Ages. This is the backdrop for the movie.
This story of a high-stakes election moves at a steady pace carried by the intensity of the story and the cast. The undercurrent is the thirst for power, which can slowly obscure the commitment to do good in the world. Beneath their red vestments, these cardinals are still human, with all the flaws inherent in their nature. The movie is released with good timing, as the political machinations reminiscent of our own election season color the spiritual process in which God chooses a pope, and the cardinals enact His will.
Director Edward Berger has created an all-enveloping style merging color, set, and sound surrounding the ensemble of brilliant actors in this movie, as he did with All Quiet on the Western Front (2022). He is a German director who attended an arts high school in his home country and then NYU Tisch to study filmmaking. He’s been directing and writing since 1992, and I believe is one of the top directors working today. Composer Volker Bertelmann worked with Berger on All Quiet on the Western Front. His score is in touch emotionally and highly creative.
The impactful relationships between the cardinals are conveyed with few words. The extraordinary cast, which includes Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini, and newcomer Carlos Diehz, have very little range to use body language in their expression, as they are cloaked in religious robes. Almost all their communication is in their faces and nuanced voices. Diehz, who plays Cardinal Benitez, is a Mexican actor who started acting only two years ago.
Famed casting director Nina Gold searched worldwide to fill the role and offered Diehz his first major feature film. Reportedly, Fiennes was watching Diehz on set and said to him, “Now I know why they chose you. You are Benitez.” Tucci, who plays “Bellini,” offers this enlightening comment about the religious heavyweights vying for power in this story: “The most important relationship in this film, for all these men, is the relationship with themselves. That’s what it all boils down to. They think it’s God…and it is, but really, it’s not. It’s them.”
Conclave is a psychological thriller set on a grand plane, and at the same time, it’s a soap opera of momentous proportions. The end is not what you will expect. There is understandably some consternation in the Catholic community about the movie. In the end, Conclave will make you think, no matter what spiritual background or inclination your life cornerstone is. It will make you explore your own spirituality, and shouldn’t we always be questioning our reason for being here? Know that faith is vital to our mental well-being and to our will to care for each other. Also know that we should never lose our sense of wonder, and our respect for faith and for the great universe that is full of mystery.
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com
