Let’s have a ‘Conclave,’ I wanna have a ‘Conclave,’ lock the doors — tight!

It’s not the drama you expected to carry 2024. The period of a conclave, or the time in which the cardinals of the globe sequester to elect a successor following the passing of the pope), may not have the sexiest ring to it upon first read. Yet this meticulously shot, dry-witted mystery absolutely deserves two hours of your time. 

“Conclave” (Edward Berger, “All Quiet On The Western Front”) begins in the modern-day, immediately after a fictionalized sitting pope dies of a heart attack. Adapted from a 2016 book of the same title by Robert Harris, the film follows cardinal Thomas Lawrence, dean of the College of Cardinals, in his stewardship over the conclave convened to elect the former pope’s successor. On first pass, clear favorites quickly separate themselves from the rest of the papal candidates: Cardinal Lawrence splits the liberal vote with his close friend cardinal Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”), continuing the legacy of the former pope.

Another contender represents the mainstream conservative majority. Yet another represents the traditionalist, reactionary vein in favor of reversing certain decisions such as those that lessen the influence of Latin in the Catholic Church. Also consistently receiving a handful of votes is the presumably moderate-liberal cardinal Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz, debut), the “secret” cardinal of Kabul, who has served in dangerous missions around the world and has been reintroduced to the conclave. But it is the cardinal in some aspects the most socially conservative of the contenders, cardinal Adeyemi (Lucien Msamati, “Breaking Point”), who takes the lead. 

What unfolds is a microcosmic society drama that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat. There is not a wasted second in “Conclave” — threads are constantly being woven, and there is no way to predict exactly where events will later lead. The bureaucracy of the Holy See and the intense monitoring of its cardinals’ every move create a chessboard which rewards scheming and spying while exposing the untenable in an era where the Catholic Church has suffered scandal after scandal in the public eye.

It’s worth mentioning that both the book and film make appeals to current discussions within the Catholic Church — for instance, there is rumor of a reactionary swing in leadership following Pope Francis’ papacy. One of the potentially favored cardinals, Cardinal Francis Arinze, would in fact be the first Black, African and Nigerian Pope, and is, like his fictionalized counterpart in Adeyemi, considered conservative — although perhaps not to Cardinal Adeyemi’s degree. Italy has also moved rightward as a country following the election of Giorgia Meloni as prime minister, perhaps echoed in the fiery rhetoric of Cardinal Tedesco — through him, a range of social issues concerning the secularizing, globalizing world permeate the nucleus of the conclave. 

“Conclave” boasts unambiguously masterful cinematography. Whether a cluster of vaping, smoking, gossiping cardinals; the stark shots of frescos and sculpture of the Holy See (which, to be fair, is almost cheating when it comes to visuals); or the undulations of white and crimson robes as the life of the conclave is followed, the film is beautiful. It verges on “one perfect shot-ism,” attaining an overly-manicured look meant to attract decontextualized internet traffic, unintentionally rendering the film somewhat static. But it never crosses the line — it really just looks that good, making the most of its Catholic roots. “Conclave” is a visual delicacy. And that counts for a visual medium.

What’s in flux is its reception: As interested as the film and novel are in the inner politics of both the Catholic Church and Western culture, the film is undeniably a genre film (and not everyone is a fan). It is a melodrama — much of the proceedings of the film are exaggerated for its audience. One could interpret the film as being soapy or slanderous, going so far as to be unbelievable in its twists. One could also claim that the film is unafraid of embracing genre and the values of entertainment and humor while referencing the relationship between the Holy See, postmodernity and surveillance culture more broadly. A viewer would be right in having any one of those takeaways — or all of them. Which is right? To quote Cardinal Lawrence, “There is one sin I have come to fear above all else: certainty.”

Daily Arts Writer Max Johnson can be reached at nataljo@umich.edu.

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