Operating from a purely aesthetic point of view, Catholicism is the most dramatic of the Christian sects. The Catholic mass is, essentially, immersive theatre, down to incorporating a signature scent (incense) and musical numbers (hymns.) Catholicism is full of emphasis on procedure and ceremony: things are done because that’s how they’ve always been done, even if they look odd.
That’s part of why there’s a long, enduring relationship between the papacy and Hollywood. Where it’s The Young Pope, The New Pope, or The Two Popes, the mysterious goings-on behind the Vatican walls will always be fascinating. A recent movie now streaming on Peacock takes both the Catholic habit of ceremony and the Hollywood habit of pope drama and stretches both to their absolute limit, creating an edge-of-your-seat cinematic experience that will have you gasping, even if you’re watching alone in your living room.
Conclave, based on the novel of the same name by Robert Harris, follows mild-mannered Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), through the death of the sitting Pope. This means he has to oversee a papal conclave — a reclusive, mysterious process where all the cardinals are assembled and secluded until they elect a new pope from amongst themselves.
From the get-go, the conclave is full of drama. A new cardinal, Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), was appointed in the late Pope’s final days, but nobody seems to be aware of this process until he shows up for the conclave unannounced. The main candidates in the election are all big characters in their own ways: the American liberal, Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci); the Canadian moderate, Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow); the Nigerian conservative, Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati); and the Italian traditionalist, the constantly-vaping Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto).
As Cardinal Lawrence tries to navigate the election process, he encounters a quick-moving networks of whispers and rumors that are more fitting in Gossip Girl than in a serious religious drama. As he digs deeper, he faces conniving campaigning strategies and illicit dealings that feel straight out of a paranoid political thriller. Behind the self-serious air is an ever-present gleam of camp, from the billowing albs to the little brass dish each elector uses to slide their ballot into the box to be counted. Butting up against this surprising lighthearted tone is the film’s commitment to shock audiences. Believe it or not, there are jump scares in Conclave, and they come at just the right time, right when you finally buy into the seclusion and forget about the outside world.
The balancing act of all these elements is carefully executed by the movie’s incredibly stacked cast. Ralph Fiennes uses his habit of constantly looking concerned to his benefit, as that’s often Lawrence’s defining characteristic. Stanley Tucci brings his trademark charm to the seemingly humble Cardinal Bellini, a charm that has inspired fancams and personalized merch. Much like the Catholic church itself, women definitely take a lessened role in Conclave, but Isabella Rosselini is face-meltingly powerful as the matter-of-fact nun Sister Agnes.
All of this builds to a climax that, without spoiling anything, suddenly vaults the themes from fussy procedural drama to a meditation on divine creation and humility. Much like Lawrence, the audience’s loyalties are pulled from person to person, with every shock reveal feeling like an M. Night Shyamalan-esque twist. This is more than a pope movie, this is, paradoxically, the most exciting and shocking movie of the year — it simply must be seen to be believed.
