Conclave the men in red and the secrets of the Vatican.

Synopsis: The pope is dead and now it is necessary to gather the college of cardinals to decide who will be the new pontiff. In Conclave, we follow one of the most secret events in the world: the election of a new Pope. Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), aka Cardinal Lomeli, is in charge of running this confidential meeting following the unexpected death of the beloved and current pontiff. Without understanding why, Lawrence was chosen to lead the conclave as the Pope's last order before he died. Therefore, the most powerful leaders of the Catholic Church from around the world gather in the corridors of the Vatican to participate in the selection and deliberate their options, each with their own interests. Lawrence then ends up at the center of a conspiracy and discovers a secret from the late pontiff that could shake the very foundations of the Church. In the game, it is not just faith, but the very foundations of the institution faced with a series of twists and turns that take over this secretive assembly.

When a pope dies there is a process that has to be done in order to select a new pope known as a Papal Conclave. The basic idea is that all eligible cardinals come to Rome where they are sequestered in a large room and vote on the next pope. They do this repeatedly over and over again until someone has a two-thirds majority and then they become the new pope. The cardinals are not meant to interact with the outside world during this process and each time a vote happens the votes are burned and the colour of the smoke tells the outside world that there’s a new pope. This feels like the kind of thing that was meant to be turned into a political thriller and thanks to Conclave it has been… it’s good, it’s very good, honestly, there’s not much more that can be said than that but I’ll try.

The conclave begins with a dead pope (already an iconic opening) and so, it's time for the conclave to begin. The conclave itself is being led by Dean Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), who has the difficult job of ensuring that everything runs smoothly so that the vote can take place without letting the outside world influence the outcome. What's making this more difficult for the rector is that one of the potential nominees for pope is his friend Cardinal Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci), who is reluctantly trying to beat out the troubled Cardinal Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow) and the traditionalist and apparently intolerant Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) for the job. The Conclave's problems become even greater when a little-known cardinal, Cardinal Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz), arrives out of nowhere, then a mysterious nun who can reveal things about a cardinal's past and the final argument the Pope has with anyone can simply blow everything up, making this decision increasingly difficult.

What makes Conclave difficult to talk about is that it's the closest a work of art can come to being objectively good. Every element of this film is utter richness, the script is clear and beautifully harmonious, its cinematography is well thought out and full of lovely images, and the performances are universally good by well-known legendary actors who are completely committed. Every element of this film is amazing making it consistent making it a good film at all times.

There are several points in Conclave where an outburst is treated the same as someone getting upset at dinner, which is treated the same as someone expressing bigoted views. Each moment is played dryly, carefully, with minimal music and lots of carefully framed shots that barely move unless they're absolutely essential. There are no moments where the film is pushing you to gasp in shock or feel anything greater than "this is interesting", which makes the film good but falls short of greatness.

Conclave is a good film, very good in fact, it's no wonder it won the award for best adapted screenplay at the 2025 Oscars. Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci in particular carry the film with the kind of ease you only get with decades in the business, their scenes together are captivating and they both deserve the endless praise they've received. Every actor in Conclave is really great, it's a wonderfully diverse cast that stands up well and delivers the dialogue with the gravitas needed to make it work...

Conclave has the potential to really tackle certain topics like the election between a liberal, a centrist and a right-wing ideologue is the kind of thing we really need right now, especially considering how global politics is. Using the Pope's election to comment on the political world would be interesting and fun, but Conclave can't do that (he tries, but never gets there). It takes these loaded topics and plays them with equal weight, which makes it hard to get attached to anything. Maybe there's a moment where the film really leans into the drama and involves a moment of bigotry so direct and obvious that it's impossible not to make it stand out. It is in this aspect that the film's lack of memorability emerges.

Conclave is still a good film, visually stunning and well executed, but it's the kind of good film that draws you in and doesn't stay in your mind for long. It's good enough that it's hard to find anyone actually offended by it, but it's also hard to believe this would be anyone's favorite movie. It's good, it's cool, it's a film you can watch and enjoy, but you'll soon forget about it.