Papal politics takes an unholy turn in this clever thriller: NPR

I can’t do better than my friend, variety critic Guy Lodge, who, in describing The Conclave, suggested that the title of this meandering papal novel should have been Corpus Agatha Christie. .

This sums up the film’s paperback thriller appeal and dramatic limitations. Conclave, based on Robert Harris’ 2016 novel, begins with the discovery of a body, but not exactly a criminal organization. Since the Pope suddenly passed away at his residence, the College of Holy Cardinals is planning to hold a meeting to decide on his successor.

The conclave will be overseen by Cardinal Laurence, played by the excellent Ralph Fiennes. Lawrence has the perfect job. He has serious doubts about both his future in the church and his personal faith, and his argumentative and spiteful co-workers aren’t doing much to restore it.

In time, universities will become cesspools of backbiting, infighting, and ruthless smear campaigns. In other words, the timing is perfect for this tough election season.

Things start off very peacefully as cardinals from around the world gather in Rome for a conference. Stanley Tucci is deftly cast as Cardinal Bellini, Lawrence’s longtime friend and ally who is expected to do well in the election. Bellini takes on a catlike and serious personality and tells Lawrence, “No sane person would desire the papacy.” But if Mr. Bellini is removed from the candidacy, the next candidate is Cardinal Tedesco – someone he cannot stand.

Tedesco, played with amusing comic menace by Italian actor Sergio Castellitto, is a die-hard traditionalist who still complains that the church has abolished the Latin mass. The liberal-minded Bellini and Lawrence fear that Tedesco could set the church back. Selected. They want the church to make progress on gay rights, interfaith unity, and women’s leadership, issues that rightly plague Pope Francis’ reign today.

But for all this high-minded posturing toward topicality, the conclave isn’t really about the challenges facing Catholicism today. Nor is it about the clergy sex abuse scandal that continues to make headlines, although the film acknowledges it in passing.

Director Edward Berger comes into this film primarily for its intricate puzzle-box plot and relentless political intrigue. Berger, who previously directed “All Quiet on the Western Front,” directed “Conclave” as a different kind of war movie, in which words are used as weapons and even the seating arrangement of the cardinals resembles a battle formation. are.

One of these men will be the next head of the church, but the options are not very exciting. John Lithgow gives a smart performance as one of the college’s most popular and opportunistic members. Lucien Msamati oozes ambition as a cardinal aiming to become the first African pope in centuries.

Conclave is a raucous movie. The actors crunch through the Vatican scenery, and Volker Bertelmann’s music is as bombastic as an exorcism. I appreciated the understated yet dignified presence of the divine Isabella Rossellini, who made the most of the thin role of the silent but all-seeing nun. Equally welcome is Mexican actor Carlos Diels, who plays a humble cardinal who leads a dangerous mission in Afghanistan. His motives are one of the film’s most interesting mysteries.

Berger is clearly having fun taking us into a world cloaked in the shadow of the Vatican, including a detailed recreation of the Sistine Chapel. And it’s definitely engrossing to watch Conclave shuffle and reshuffle its narrative deck, delivering red herring after juicy cardinal.

The story may be a parlor trick, but there’s nothing fake about Fiennes’ performance in the film as a troubled conscience, a thoughtful man of God experiencing a genuine crisis of faith. Fiennes makes Lawrence’s psychology very convincing, whether he steps in to rebuke a wayward colleague or grudgingly considers himself for the papacy.

Lawrence claims that he does not have the mental fortitude to become pope. His attitude is basically, “Please pass this holy grail from me.” But Bellini stops him. All the cardinals have ambitions of becoming pope, he says, and have even secretly chosen the name they would like to be known as pope.

Speaking of names, we learn that Lawrence’s first name is Thomas, which means he’s literally a suspicious Thomas. Like everything in Conclave, it’s clever, but a bit too far-fetched.