Conclave

In the Name of the Tea, the Gossip, and the Holy Conclave

written by

hibisisis

I need to make a list called "My Friends Won't Stop Recommending Me This Movie" to counteract my own on Letterboxd. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, this one was a good one. A great one even, an above average one if I may. I have never been particularly close to the Catholic church, as I was raised in a Christian household who in recent years has stopped going to church and even before, rarely went. However, this film was not only made for door-to-door knocking annoyances or your Catholic grandmother who goes to church everyday and insists everyone around her does the same, it was made with the sinner in mind, that being all of us. People who make mistakes, who doubt, whose faith wavers, whose guilt eats them up inside, and those who strive to be better despite the aforementioned. This is reflected in the Cardinals and their actions throughout the film. I will start with the positives: This film is an aesthetic masterpiece; to put it informally, it's a vibe. The color coordination, the scene framing, the setting, the Catholicistic aura of it all. As someone who has visited and toured the Vatican City, this film captured the energy of the place extremely well. All in all, the cinematography is just stellar. It is truly a mystery as to how or why Ralph Fiennes has not won an Oscar since his first nomination over 30 years ago. He was incredible in this movie and just like his previous roles, he was completely immersed into his character and the story. From his stoic nature while sequestering the Conclave to his quiet breakdown while sitting on the late Pope's bed (or rather, deathbed). It's a seemingly subtle performance that also commands the viewer's attention, giving you a character that you cannot seem to look away from. I hope that his next Oscar nomination will be the one to grant him his win. The ending reveal with the newly appointed Pope Innocent XIV, better known to us as Cardinal Benitez, may seem like a small scene to many, but it is a very powerful scene to me. As the majority knows, the Catholic church is very closely tied to tradition. Cardinal Tedesco may be framed as an extremist figure in the film, but I have met many people who share near-identical mindsets to his. The reveal of Benitez being born as an intersex man challenges the audience to rethink the ways they define sex assignment and if the innate sex of the individual really matters in the long run. Unfortunately, I do not think this is a perfect film. Following the positives with my criticisms: The overall plot of the story is fairly simple: Cardinals must vote on who will be the next Pope to lead their faith; simplicity is not necessarily a bad thing. However, the journey in-between point A and point B were not all that engaging for me. Yes, scandals were uncovered and possible Popes were removed from the candidate list, however I was not very engaged with these reveals, as I found them to be simplistic. Others will enjoy it, but it is simply not for me. Related to the previous point, the Cardinals revealed to be involved in various scandals are pretty shallow characters in the context of the film. Yes, they are shown to be controversial, but I know nothing about any of them as people in order to see their actions in a more nuanced light. For example, when Lawrence confronts Cardinal Adeyami about his previous sexual relationship with Sister Shanumi, he says "you are a good man" in order to comfort him, but the audience has no way of knowing if this is true or not. The only things we know about him are his former inappropriate relationship with a nun and that he wants to imprison homosexuals and see them in Hell afterward. I feel that an extra 30 minutes added to the film's runtime would have benefited its character exploration. This is a minor thing, but I am frustrated with the lack of explanation to explain Cardinal Lawrence's wavering in faith. Was there a specific thing that affected his commitment to God or was it something external that was affecting him? I guess we will never know because the film doesn't bother explaining it to us. Overall, Conclave is an informative, enjoyable, and thought-provoking watch to both Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Despite my issues with the films, I find that it has more to enjoy than flaws I found with it. While I wouldn't name it as one of the best films to watch from 2024 (I personally see Lisan al-Gaib as my Messiah, not Jesus), you would be better off watching it and seeing the magic of filmmaking combine with the uniqueness of Catholicism.