One could be forgiven for thinking the election of a new Pope wouldn’t make for the most interesting film. After all, the last time it happened over a decade ago the world was subjected to unrelenting footage of one God-forsaken chimney. Even on the inside, a bunch of largely old, largely white men furtively writing names on paper while chit-chatting about theology can’t be the most riveting stuff. It would seem direct Edward Berger had the same concern when making Conclave as he throws enough bluster, intrigue and high drama at the screen to make even a Dan Brown novel blush.
The film, based on Robert Harris’ book of the same name, follows a fictional version of the Conclave process through which a new Pope is elected. This is led by Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), the former Pope’s closest confident, who must sequester the Church’s diaspora of Cardinals until they reach a majority verdict on the new Holy Father. Unfortunately, this is fraught with tension as it turns out that putting together a bunch of crimson-cloaked clergy leads to some cloak-and-dagger subterfuge. As we are told by Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), ‘This is a war’, and lines are quickly drawn between the progressives lobbying for Bellini and the reactionaries pushing for Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellito).
There is something laudable, albeit perfunctory, in the film’s central conflict between liberalism and conservativism, which provides warnings about how easily “60 Years of Progress” could be rolled back and a speech, eloquently delivered by Fiennes, about the dangers of religious and political certainty. However, this gets lost quickly in a sea of papal espionage, moral iniquity, and sinful sensationalism. Berger, who last brought us his sensory-overloaded version of All Quiet on the Western Front, seems far more drawn to the conflict of Conclave than the ideas which underpin it, and, despite much rhetorical grandstanding, things are quickly overrun by mudslinging.
As it turns out, there is also a lot of mud to be slung, as just about every cardinal comes loaded with dirt, including potential frontrunners Cardinal’s Tremblay (John Lithgow) and Adeyemi (Lucia MsMati). This is dredged up through twists and turns so dramatic they will give you whiplash, as the film seems locked in an arms race with itself to find something more sinewy and more sensationalist to keep our attention. This leads to some preposterously explosive turns and an actual explosion to boot, culminating in one last-minute ‘twist’ so leftfield and so brazenly brief that I feared I had slipped into some feverous dream.
Conclave has evident aspirations of being a taught, timeless thriller in the vein of the Thomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (both film’s share a screenwriter in Peter Straughan and Alfredson is an executive producer here). However, it contains none of the same edge-of-your-seat drama and, for the most part, feels bafflingly silly. In moments, it is like a spy spoof as the Vatican is locked down like a Bond lair, and Fiennes navigates political webs as though he is still playing M. In others, it’s got the air of a high school drama as the Cardinals bitch and scheme while sneaking cigarettes in the stairwell.
Things aren’t helped by Berger’s brash and cranked-up style, which could not feel less fitting. The minute it begins, we are launched into frenetically edited close-ups and agitated camerawork designed to keep up a dizzying sense of momentum. Similarly, while the score from Volker Bertelmann, who won an Oscar for All Quiet, is by no means bad, we are banged over the head with it every time Berger wants to signal something important or treacherous is happening on screen (incidentally, the subtitling in my screening even labelled the score as ‘treacherous music’).
None of this is to say the film is unenjoyable. On the contrary, it is unbelievably good fun. However, as I snickered gleefully throughout its runtime, I couldn’t help but feel this was not the reaction the filmmakers had in mind.
Conclave is in cinemas now
Leave a Reply