Sequestered in the Sistine Chapel, bishops and archbishops, from all over the world, gather in a ceremony known as a conclave to elect the new Pope, ostensibly the world’s most important religious leader. Going into Conclave (2024), I was concerned that many of the ceremony’s intricacies and nuances would be lost on me. How wrong I was…
Conclave was exceptional. This religious thriller had me on the edge of my seat as I was barraged, left and right, with revelation after revelation worthy of a soap opera. However, instead of regular people, we see religious leaders whose past sinful misdeeds are brought to light with deliciously entertaining consequences through smear campaigns.
This religious thriller had me on the edge of my seat as I was barraged, left and right, with revelation after revelation worthy of a soap opera.
The film is a brutal critique of the hypocrisies of the Catholic Church and is deemed by groups within the religious body as an “artfully deceptive” portrayal of the workings of the College of Cardinals. Yet, of course, Conclave is fiction; despite its often eerie similarities to actual controversies within the Catholic Church, the film is based on the “bestselling Vatican thriller” by Robert Harris. Even so, one cannot dismiss the very true realities of the Church’s systemic corruption and repression that the film’s events explore.
One such repression is that of the female members of the Catholic faith, in this case, nuns, represented by Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini). Rossellini’s small role is compensated by its potency as she embodies the sister’s position, trapped within a system of female repression, with searing truth and honesty. The film’s performances are master classes in acting: Ralph Fiennes’ Cardinal Lawrence and Stanley Tucci’s Cardinal Bellini are instant standouts for their quiet nuance yet also their force and conviction. I expect these three actors to be showered in Awards nominations next year.
Despite this, the mood-building here is, ultimately, the film’s strongest aspect. The striking combination of the cardinals’ red and white costuming is juxtaposed with dark backgrounds of greys and this, in addition to the score’s frequent use of strings, heightens the tense atmosphere to the utmost degree.
The striking combination of the cardinals’ red and white costuming is juxtaposed with dark backgrounds of greys and this, in addition to the score’s frequent use of strings, heightens the tense atmosphere to the utmost degree.
And rightly so. As we know so painfully well, the Catholic Church has often made the headlines for its endless cesspool of abhorrent controversies; we should pay attention, making sure that all religious organisations are held accountable for such horrors.
