‘Conclave’: Toronto Review

Dir: Edward Berger. US/UK. 2024. 120mins 

For his follow-up to the award-winning 2022 adaptation of All Quiet On The Western Front, Edward Berger takes us to another kind of battlefield, one with far less bloodshed but a comparable degree of viciousness. Conclave follows the closely-guarded process by which the Catholic College of Cardinals elects the Church’s new Pope — a ritual that here entails backstabbing, juicy plot twists and the downfall of more than one prominent clergyman. Based on the 2016 Robert Harris novel, this thriller works best as a pulpy page-turner starring Ralph Fiennes as an honourable Cardinal trying to keep the conclave running smoothly, all the while strategising to ensure that his preferred candidate wins. 

Most effective when it’s as shamelessly entertaining as its ambitious characters

After debuting in Telluride, Conclave journeys to Toronto and London before receiving a UK and US theatrical release in November. Bolstered by strong reviews and a supporting cast that includes Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini, the film could be an awards-season player, catering to viewers who like their prestige pictures spiked with crowd-pleasing intrigue. 

As Conclave begins, the revered Pope has died and so the Catholic Church must convene its Cardinals to select a new leader. Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) oversees the conclave, which takes place at the Vatican and requires all voting members to be sequestered until one candidate receives a majority of votes. The diligent but modest Lawrence would like the papacy to go to his friend Cardinal Bellini (Tucci) who, like him, wishes to continue the progressive work of the recently deceased Pope. But other possible contenders include the arrogant Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), who seeks to return the Church to its old traditions, and Cardinal Tremblay (Lithgow), who may have skeletons in his closet. Lawrence takes it upon himself to investigate possible indiscretions in the candidates’ past lives that might make them unfit for this hallowed assignment.

In its early reels, Conclave offers the viewer an imagined, intimate peek inside an ancient institution undertaking one of its most secretive rituals. Berger and screenwriter Peter Straughan have a fine time laying out those inner workings, with production designer Suzie Davies envisioning the Vatican as a timeless but also modern facility, one that’s home to different cliques as papal candidates jockey for votes like politicians. 

Fiennes is the film’s strong centre as a thoughtful religious leader who has recently struggled with his faith. Lawrence has no interest in being Pope — he believes he’s more of a manager than a leader — but, as Conclave zips along, it becomes apparent that his desire to safeguard the integrity of the vote is a sign of his need for control. Several contenders have their backgrounds scrutinised by Lawrence, who takes on the air of a detective unravelling a mystery. His discoveries serve as a reminder of just how flawed men of the cloth can be — while also questioning how much someone’s past mistakes should be held against them.

Alongside Fiennes’ soulful portrayal, Conclave is stacked with other nicely sculpted performances, including Tucci as a humble Cardinal who only wants the papacy so that a regressive like Tedesco cannot seize it for himself. Lucian Msamati plays another top contender who faces accusations with a moving response. Yet, while no doubt intended to illustrate how little authority women have in the Catholic Church, Rossellini is wasted in the role of Sister Agnes, who becomes an unlikely assistant in Lawrence’s investigations. 

Curiously, Berger treats this thriller with a grandeur that sometimes seems at odds with the material’s airport-novel shallowness. Conclave seeks to examine the Church’s place in the world in the aftermath of multiple sexual-assault cover-ups, but those high-minded observations are far less engaging than Lawrence’s search for the truth about the different candidates — not to mention the possibility that the deceased Pope may have somehow orchestrated what has transpired from beyond the grave. The film derives its simple pleasures from the audience’s recognition that these Cardinals are just as petty and scheming as the rest of us.

And yet, Volker Bertelmann’s thundering score sometimes creates the mistaken impression that we are watching a monumental drama — and even the story’s final twist suggests that Conclave has something meaningful to say about faith, acceptance and the eternal mystery of God’s existence. Despite those lofty aspirations: Conclave is most effective when it’s as shamelessly entertaining as its ambitious characters.