Richard Crouse

SYNOPSIS: In “Conclave,” a new drama now playing in theatres, Ralph Fiennes plays Cardinal Lawrence, the Dean of the Council of Cardinals, who must navigate intrigue and egos as he organizes the election of the successor to the deceased Pope. 

CAST: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini. Directed by Edward Berger.

REVIEW: Director Edward Berger presents the sacred process of electing a new Pope with the intensity of a mystery thriller. It is a quiet movie, but you may well find yourself moving up to the edge of your seat as plumes of black smoke drift out of the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel.

“Conclave” has a hushed, restrained feel, but even though the characters all carry bibles as they walk the ecclesiastical halls, director Berger understands this story is more pulpy thriller than holy book. As such he imbues every scene with a sense of urgency that propels the action. Voices are rarely raised, and meaningful conversations happen in passionate whispers, but this spiritual process is ripe very human intrigue.

As Cardinal Lawrence, Fiennes is a pious man who has fallen out of love with the church as an organization. That places him in a delicate position as the lynchpin in the election of a new Pope, one that Fiennes conveys with a calm exterior but a roiling inner conversation. When he does let loose, and voice his trepidations, with one of several monologues, they are show stoppers and will certainly be noticed at Oscar time.

Fiennes is surrounded by fine performances from Sergio Castellitto as a conservative who wants the church to revert to pre-Vatican-II traditions,

Stanley Tucci as the polar opposite, a left leaning papal contender who says, “No sane man would want the papacy,” and moderates in the form of John Lithgow and Lucian Msamati. The wild card candidate is the enigmatic Benitez, a man secretly made a Cardinal by the Pope, played Carlos Diehz.

The dynamics between them gives the film a perspective on power and the thirst for it. “The men who are dangerous,” says Cardinal Bellini (Tucci), “are the ones who want the power.”

“Conclave” is a thriller about the choosing of a Pope that uses the secretive nature of the process to tell a mystery story, and deliver a timely message about the quest for power, which seems relevant in a US election year.