Conclave
via FilmNation
The film Conclave was directed by Ed Berger and written by Peter Straughan. It was based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris. The movie stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini.
At the opening of the movie, we learn the Pope has died, and that the College of Cardinals is going to gather together for a Papal Conclave, to decide who's going to be the next Pope.
These Cardinals come from all over the world to do this, and there is high tension between them, and between all the people in St. Peter's Square, anxiously awaiting whoever will be the next Pope.
Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), the Dean of the College of Cardinals, is tasked with overseeing this process.
The conclave becomes a battleground for the future of the Church, with four cardinals emerging as the leading contenders. Cardinal Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci) of the United States, a charismatic figure, embodies the liberal wing and seeks to carry on the legacy of the late Pope.
His primary challenger is Cardinal Joshua Adeyemi of Nigeria, a social conservative who advocates for a return to traditional values.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow) of Canada represents a more moderate path, hoping to find common ground and maintain unity within the Church.
Finally, Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco of Italy stands as a staunch traditionalist, determined to uphold the Church's historical doctrines and resist any attempts at modernization.
The clash between these four figures and their contrasting visions sets the stage for a tense conclave.
As they begin the proceedings, Janusz Woźniak, the Prefect of the Papal Household, comes to Cardinal Lawrence and tells him that the late Pope demanded Tremblay's resignation on the night he died.
This piece of information is investigated by Lawrence, but Tremblay denies it. It also fuels the campaigning that the Cardinals who hope to become Pope start to do, with Bellini telling his supporters his goal is to prevent Tedesco from becoming Pope.
With all this craziness going on, Lawrence is surprised by the arrival of Archbishop Vincent Benitez of Kabul. He was named in secret by the Pope himself and wants to take part in this conclave.
As the voting for the new Pope gets underway, each of the main Cardinals begins to have disqualifying things dug up about them.
We learn Cardinal Joshua Adeyemi of Nigeria fathered a child with a Nun from his country. And that Tremblay actually flew that Nun to Rome in order to embarrass him. As Lawrence digs into Tremblay's misdeeds, he also finds out that Benitez was close with the Pope, who was going to fly him in for a medical procedure which didn't happen.
There are so many things swirling around Lawrence that he gets more and more stressed. We learn that he wanted to retire before the Pope died and that the Pope refused to accept his resignation.
Lawrence confesses this to Benitez, who then starts to vote for him to become Pope. And Lawrence only gains votes when he delivers a passionate eulogy for the Pope.
This distresses Bellini, who now loses votes and has no path to victory, distressing his followers.
Lawrence begins to realize they may lose to Tedesco and not have the future of the church they want. And also, they could still lose to Tremblay, who seems to have made a mockery and is openly campaigning.
In his fit of not knowing what to do and having a crisis of faith, Cardinal Lawrence opens the late Pope's chambers to do research on Tremblay because his story doesn't add up and it feels like something is going on behind his back.
Inside the Pope's apartment, Lawrence finds proof that Tremblay has been bribing and blackmailing other Cardinals for votes. When he exposes this, Tremblay is effectively shut down from the possibility of becoming Pope.
Back in the chambers, voting begins again but a bomb explodes out in the square. It rocks the Cardinals and the proceedings. Tedesco blames Islam and Muslims and gets nasty. He taps into all the hatred that has been boiling up.
But in that moment, Benitez butts in and says violence should not be met with violence. He gives a passionate speech about the way religion should function that really inspires everyone in the chambers.
The College of Cardinals then overwhelmingly elects Benitez on the seventh ballot, and he chooses the regnal name of Innocent XIV.
This is a relief to Lawrence, who thinks Benitez will be great for the job. But as everyone realizes, he gets some news and goes to confront Benitez.
We learn that Benitez is intersex, and only found out when he was going to have an appendectomy. He was raised male and lived his life as such, with no one else being aware.
The late Pope knew this fact and didn't care. He supported Benitez when he chose not to undergo further surgery to "correct" his intersex status. In fact, the late Pope gave him the advice to embrace his identity as God's creation.
As the movie ends, Benitez heads out to address the people as the new Pope, and Lawrence returns to his post, with his crisis of faith finally handled. He's not going to retire but instead stay there to help usher in the new era of the Church.
The movie Conclave has some complex themes about faith and doubt that run through its course. And it challenges the audience to make their own assumptions about the inclusive and compassionate future of the Catholic Church (as presented in the film).
Basically, the movie is about divine will. We want to think the Pope is picked by God, but we see the campaigning and backbiting that goes into it. Still, ultimately we feel like the right person won. So again, the movie asks you to choose if you think God has a hand in it.
This highlights the faith and doubt we all have, and which we see all the Cardinals have gone through. Lawrence is unsure what his role here should be and ends with faith he should stay on.
Benitez doubted who he was and if he should change, but found faith that God made him a certain way and that he shouldn't have to change that.
There is also a deep seed of humanity in all of this. As humans, we're flawed and have our own issues, no one is above this fact. But to connect with the divine, we have to push past our flaws and open ourselves for signs from above.
At the end of the day, this is one of the deepest movies of the year. It adds so many layers to the story and challenges the audience to engage with the dogma they see on screen.
Did you see this movie, what are your thoughts about the story?
Let us know in the comments.
