The 2024 movie year hasn’t really been one of great many surprises, but director Edward Berger and his impeccable cast have somehow created a compelling and dramatic story surrounding the secretive process of anointing a new Pope. The film is staged as a microcosm of dueling ideals that resonate in a world divided along conservative and liberal approaches, yet another surprise in a movie that concerns the chaste lives of those men and women who serve at the highest level of the Catholic Church. That it does so without the utter demonization nor the complete lionization of either view point is refreshing. ‘Conclave’s interests lie more in the sins and burdens of ambition conflicting with true morality, an unimpeachably universal human concept.

The film wastes no time getting straight to the proceedings. The Pope lies in repose, only to be visited by cardinals and bishops of renown, including central figure Cardinal Lawrence, whose duty is to oversee the next stages of the appointment process. He’s played wonderfully by Ralph Fiennes with reserved, steadfast piety, traits that made him the now deceased Pope’s choice for this task. A group of characters vying for leadership are quickly introduced, played by both the familiar (Stanley Tucci as Bellini, John Lithgow as Tremblay) and the unfamiliar (Lucian Msamati as Adeyemi, Sergio Castellito as Tedesco). All come to represent some level of human frailty and fault in different and interesting ways, as the film dispatches any type of murder whodunnit plot in service to its dramatic procedural framing.

The pomp and circumstance takes place in a recreation of the Sistine Chapel as a rudimentary ritual (think of a ‘Survivor’ tribal council). The catch is that in order for a new Pope to be named the candidates require a super-majority of votes from those present, and really any one of them can be nominated. All those voting are kept sequestered at the Vatican for the duration of a process only familiar to the outside world as gray smoke (vote concludes with no selection) or white smoke (new Pope is named). As a result of their isolation and minimal exposure to what is going on outside the walls, the jockeying and posturing amongst these men occurs in whispers and secret meetings in an ever-claustrophobic environment. It’s all framed by light shafts coming through stained-glass and bracketed by smoke breaks in the courtyard (there’s a memorable shot of all those in costume, panning down to a rash of cigarette butts stamped into the cobblestone).

Things get complicated throughout the movie as Lawrence uncovers various plots and schemes that start to illuminate certain potential “scandals”, many of which the Pope was aware of before he passed. Since the narrative is structured in this way, there is never a dull moment, every scene revealing a new motivation of these individuals. No matter how altruistic some may be, their actions prove that their reasoning for wanting the top spot are not pure. ‘Conclave’ really moves, powered by performances both big and small (the welcome return to screen of Isabella Rossellini for one), all leading to a jaw-dropping conclusion designed to shock. The irony and the point of the film is that the very fact that it’s ending IS a huge surprise ultimately displays the futility of man’s desire to mold natural law and the design of the divine . . .

Directed By: Edward Berger

Written By: Peter Straughan

Running Time: 120 min.

Rated: PG

* * * 1/2 (out of 4 stars) -OR- A-