"Conclave", and the more political than religious drama of the new Pope

This movie is like a Catholic Game of Thrones. Mysteries, backstabs and a lot of gossip just to become the new Pope in this unortodox conclave.

Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is in charge of directing and organizing a conclave to elect a new Pope after the surprising death of the previous one. But this conclave is a war between the more liberal Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), the ridicoulusly conservative and fundamentalist Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), a kind of moderate with a dark past Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), and Cardinal Trembley (John Lithgow) who is willing to do anything it takes to get to the power of the Church. But, while all this secrets and conspirations are coming to the light, partly thanks to the silent and unnoticed sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini), it turns out the Pope had hidden in secret Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), who could turn this Conclave around.

I was quite shocked to discover the director of this movie is the one of All Quiet in the Western Front, which I found unbereable to finish even when it was kind of pretty visually, not enough for winning an Oscar, but what are we going to do? In this case, his directing is pretty conventional and in some moments, like the characters presentations, very weird. I do not know if he was trying to be subversive, but like he creates a lot of expectation around characters, both with what others said, as well as keeping their identities and faces out of camera, just to reveal it on bland and unimpactful ways; clearly the director is more sensible to day-to-day and intimate moments. On the climax this is better worked on a well directed scene, creating a sense of expectation by manipulating the sound design and montage to keep you on the edge of your seat.

The music does a great company with the scenes, fulfills it purpose completely. The set design, even when it does not feel as grandious as the idea of the Vatican I have, at some moment feeling like a simpler and American (the continent) colonial building, works well at conveing what is happenning. But, the way everyone dresses does feels kind of mystical, sacred, made with great care and represents each Cardinals personality on simple details as the nueances in the crosses around their necks. The cinematography is quite dinamic, but some scenes the lightning is just very flat and uncinematographical, kind of held by trying to be realistic with how this areas are illuminated in real life.

Yet, all this becames irrelevant and secondary to the screenpay and performances. Fiennes, when does not laugh manniacally without a nose, is astonishingly empathic, carries the film on his shoulders without an issua and has the whole range from stoic all the way to absolute desperation. Tucci gives a some sort of bromance feel to many scenes, providing a different dynamic from what is normally seen in this kinds of movies. Msamati has an amazing scene, very heartbreaking; Lithgow's face is one of the most fakish surprise I have ever seen, works marvelous in this part; Diehz is a very calmed and with just looking at his scenes you feel a weird sensation that everything is going to be ok because you are loved; and Rossellini is extremely charismatic and has her moments to shine in a all-men driven film. But Sergio Castellitto steals the show without any regards for the others in every scene he is in, is the son of a b*tch with more personality and over the top reactions you could imagine, is funny and dispiceful in same amounts, you love how much you hate his character.

But all of this is build upon an amazing script. A screenplay that shows different aspects of the characters to make them more complex and human, like blasfeming and joking priests about others, as well as maquiavellic and power hungry men who are supposed to and pretend that are all good. Also, the movie does not take that long to get to the action, the election of the new Pope, but it constantly brings in new information, revelations, plot twists and it is never clear where the pendulum is going to shift next. The characters are always moving the events towards their agenda, making some "pacific" elections a true battle for power full of very deep emotional, ideological and aggressive subtext. All through the movie you feel the hate, conflict and pure drama exhumed by the characters by just their looks and words-choosing. The movie is this always changing power scales very engaging to follow that, even when there is some religious message and criticism, it is just the dressing on this Catholic-War-for-Power-salad.

At the end, is trully amazing how engaging its drama is, and more so to find a movie these days that just relies on that and does not needs shallow spectacle nor pretencious cinematography. Aparently is just people talking in rooms, but it is a thiller full of mysteries, treasons, lies and a ridicolously strong conflict that remembers early Sorkin's work as A Few Good Men.

You can read my review on Nosferatu and Anora on my personal blog, Once Upon a Time in the Movies: https://onceuponatimethemovies.blogspot.com/