With all the ongoing interest in voting results, it’s interesting to see a depiction of the inner workings of the Catholic Church as the upper echelon conducts their voting when the Pope dies. No doubt believers across the spectrum will have their views as to the accuracy of this secret process, but the film is a pretty compelling perspective, wrapped around a mystery. Given the centuries of prior votes, who knows if there have been more Byzantine storylines?
One candidate decries the elimination of Latin and hence the division by native language. Another candidate favors the steadily progressive steps to bring the Catholic Church more in line with current beliefs, but he refuses to overtly lobby for the top job.
The most pithy quotation regarding the open position up for vote is ‘The men who are dangerous, are the men who want it.’
The film looks gorgeous. There are marble-clad rooms and hallways, lots of elegant robes and sashes and occasionally large headgear befitting the gathering of cardinals. We see gorgeous frescoes and an insightful pile of cigarette butts.
The photography aesthetic is dark, reminiscent of The Godfather. Conclave was mostly shot indoors, and the gloominess is part of the mise en scène being created.
As the plot unfolds, a seeming impostor arrives, how could that be? Could there be an unknown cardinal?
As the cardinals sit beneath the soaring frescoes, the cast many sidelong glances. The viewer is convinced there are no hanging chads in the vote by hand method.
The acting Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow are excellent. Tucci is the reluctant American, hoping for a continuing more liberal approach for the church. Fiennes plays the Dean, in charge of overseeing the conclave and seemingly disinterested in seeking the role of Pope. Lithgow is a righteous, but perhaps too righteous candidate. There are minimum roles from the distaff side, which seems all too understandable, given the male-centric nature of the Catholic Church for centuries.
The pace of the film by director Edward Berger is slow and steady, quite a reversal from his stunning work on All Quiet on the Western Front. The screenplay by Peter Straughan and Robert Harris) holds the viewers attention, especially when the outside world intrudes on the sequestered cardinals.
Berger maintains a steady hand throughout, such that the rare outbursts of emotion hit home effectively.
Perhaps a result of my Episcopalian upbringing, these insights into the Catholic Church remain intriguing. It will be interesting to see what mainline Catholic believers think of this production.
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