Conclave

Religious films have become a mainstay in the creation of movies made in Hollywood, and with that we have seen just about every religion represented: Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. So, when viewing "Conclave", this is about the process of choosing a new Pope after the existing one has died, hence the title of the film. 

Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church's most powerful leaders, including Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci), Tremblay (John Lithgow), Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), Woznial (Jacek Koman) and others have gathered from around the world and are sequestered together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church.

Others to round out the cast are Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes, Brian F. O'Byrne as O'Malley, Sergio Castellitto as Tedesco, Thomas Loibl as Mandorff, Rony Kramer as Mendoza, Valerio Da Silva as Father Haas and Carlos Diehz as Vincent Benitez. 

This was intensely and passionately directed by Edward Berger ("Strait-Jacket" '92, "Wanderbread" '95, "Windland" (TV movie) '07, "A Good Summer" (TV movie) '11, "Jack" '14, "All My Loving" '19, "All Quiet on the Western Front" '22) plus other films, another TV movie and TV. Combined with tight editing, sound effects and a riveting musical score, this director was able to pull these talented actors together and interact them with each other in order to convey to his audience that believability that these characters are real. It was creatively written by Peter Straughan ("Sixty Six" '06, "The Men Who Stare at Goats" '09, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" '11, "Frank" '14, "The Snowman" '17, "The Goldfinch" '19) plus other films, TV and a short, and Robert Harris ("D-Day to Berlin: Newsnight Special" (TV movie) '85, "Fatherland" (TV movie) '94, "Archangel" (TV movie) '05, "The Ghost Writer" '10, "An Officer and a Spy" '19) plus other films and TV. I'm not a Catholic, but this was a compelling film of what could happen as a conclave is in progress, and that can be captivating for many people. As the process of this conclave is proceeding, certain deep secrets end up coming to light which is a good thing, but the complexities of this process simply kept arising.These seasoned writers were able to intertwine these issues into the meat of the story where Lawrence was being driven crazy to keep this conclave in one piece. It was sequenced well and amazingly concise in its script. Other that a couple of areas of slowness in story, this screenplay was riveting, especially as the story started picking up. 

No spoilers, but the end is quite the shocker--I did not see it coming, so it ends bittersweetly. Whether you are Catholic or not, this is a captivating film with solid directing, writing, acting, especially that of Fiennes, music, editing and photography. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                  Rated: PG                                       120mns.