“Conclave” is a Pulpy Drama of Biblical Proportion

Edward Berger’s latest thriller is more soapy than it is sensational

It is probably the world’s greatest understatement to say the Catholic Church has a reputation that’s less than pristine. But for director Edward Berger, this reputation does not serve as fodder for a hyperbolic thriller. Rather, he undercuts the expectation for a sensational scandal, instead focusing his thriller on the petty jockeying for power amongst the clergy that takes precedent even during the Church’s most solemn moments. 

After the Pope dies, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), currently undergoing a crisis of faith, is tasked with organizing a papal conclave to elect a successor. The top contenders are Bellini (Stanley Tucci), a kind-hearted and humble American; Tedesco (Sergio Castellito), noted for his Italian identity; Tremblay (John Lithgow), who holds a sense of superiority over the other candidates; and Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), a stalwart of conservative values who seeks to be the first Black pope. There is also the surprise addition of Benitez, a Mexican cardinal working in secret out of Kabul, whose arrival prompts confusion and suspicion amongst the rest of the clergy.  

Once the conclave is underway, the universal gravity of the decision gives way to pulpy whispers about the secrets that each candidate holds close. Each of the candidates has a skeleton in their closet, or daming documents to be swept under the rug — except for the benevolent liberal Bellini, who’s hesitancy about his own capabilities is exactly what prompts Lawrence’s adamance about his candidacy. 

Conclave abandons any high-minded or ecclesiastic tendencies to instead create a simple fable about maneuvers of power: those most deserving of authority have the moral clarity to not seize it by any means necessary, but this ambivalence might just make the space for the reinstatement of authoritarianism. It’s a film that’s moral standing might crumble if it wasn’t supported by an ensemble of rich performances, each embodying the simple didacticism of their respective roles while resisting the urge to reduce them to caricature. 

Conclave keeps itself at arm’s length from any genuine criticism of the church, and justifiably so — within a pulpy, populist melodrama, there’s an understandable apprehension to express any overt condemnation of the process or its relationship to secular elections. Instead, the film steeps the institution in the drama of cheap reality TV, using soapy gossip amongst the clergy to offset the rigid ritualism that paints its backdrop. The film is a papal Mean Girls, depending on the allure of its scandal to counteract its paper-thin theological or political scrutiny. 

Conclave does make an attempt to probe the purpose of the church, but all of its criticisms are superficial acknowledgments of the ridiculousness of the premise. Instead of being overt, Berger communicates the antiquities of the selection process through routine disruptions to the film’s ornate liminality. The unchanging nature of the ritual makes the film’s era indistinguishable from any other, and we become lost in its timelessness, only to be locked back into place by ephemeral signifiers of our present day — a desktop computer, the elevator’s automated voice, or a cardinal vaping during a break in the conclave. 

These moments of temporal whiplash are composed with a simple elegance, commensurate with the rest of the film’s polished visual grammar. While the clergy may be devolving into catty tête-à-têtes, Berger’s camera maintains a classical beauty. There is a constant, almost comical austerity to Conclave, mocking the ritualistic relics of the Church while its members squabble like schoolchildren. 

These simple touches poise Conclave for a greatness that it never quite achieves because of its continued commitment to a basic moral sermon. The film does not entirely forfeit its potential, but it sacrifices sincerity in the name of its bombshell narrative twists that only serve its liberal pabulum. A promising premise gets lost in overt allegory, but Conclave is a gripping romp nonetheless. 

OVERALL SCORE: 7/10

Conclave was released on October 25, 2024, and is currently showing in US theaters.