Conclave is, effectively, a political drama starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Carlos Diehz, Lucian Msamati, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Sergio Castellitto.
The Pope (Bruno Novelli) is dead, and the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Lawrence (Fiennes), is tapped to run the titular conclave to choose a new one. The frontrunners are Bellini (Tucci), an American progressive; Tremblay (Lithgow), a Canadian moderate; Adeyemi (Msamati) a Nigerian homophobe (sorry, "social conservative"); and Tedesco (Castellitto), a fascist (sorry, "traditionalist"). They also get a last-minute addition of Cardinal Benitez (Diehz), a Mexican cardinal whom the late pope appointed to the Archbishopric of Kabul and kept it a secret because being Catholic in Afghanistan isn't exactly safe.
The movie takes place over three days of the conclave, as support waxes and wanes, Lawrence gets put forward as a possibility when Bellini loses favor, Adeyemi loses support when it is revealed that he fathered a child with a nun 30 years ago, Tremblay loses support when it's revealed that he paid others off to vote for him. It seems to come down to Lawrence and Tedesco, though Benitez has gotten a few votes here and there, and then a series of suicide bombs rocks Europe and damages the Sistine Chapel. Tedesco gives an impassioned speech about how the Muslims are responsible and this is a holy war, and Benitez replies with what is far and away my favorite line in the movie: "With respect, what do you know about war?"
Benitez is elected pope, it's revealed that he's intersex (we'll get to that), the conclave ends, new pope, hurrah!
So, Conclave was an Oscar nominee last year, and was very much a contender for Best Picture (wound up losing to Anora). It has a lot more rewatch value than Best Picture noms often do, though - this is the third time I've seen it - and I was thinking about why that is. I think it's because although it's set amidst a highly religious environment, it's really a political drama and has the same kinds of stakes as, say, The Lion in Winter or similar stories. This particular story is set in a group of people who have to pretend that they don't want the papacy, that it's a burden, but like, these are already-powerful men on the cusp of getting even more power. As Tucci's character Bellini says, there's not a Cardinal alive who hasn't already chosen their pope-name.
Fiennes turns in an amazing performance as Lawrence (in last year's Oscars post I said he was trying to keep a vastly complex machine from breaking down). He's really good at conveying a lot in his eyes, and in ramping up tension within a scene and then pulling back. On a rewatch, I really love Diehz as Benitez, not just for his Oscar-worthy speech at the end (he didn't get a nom; I kinda think he should have) but also for his scene with Lawrence when he's talking about the turtles, which as I think about mirrors their views of the conclave. Benitez is free to vote as his conscience dictates, while Lawrence is trying to keep things alive and working.
Oh, right, the intersex thing. Benitez was born with ovaries and a uterus, but didn't know that until he was grown and already a priest (already a Cardinal, I think) when he had his appendix out. He was going to have those organs removed, but then decided against it because he wanted to remain "as God made [him]." I go round and round about whether that detail really needed to be there at all - it doesn't come up until the end and I thought the first time I saw the movie that it was a little tacked-on, like we needed an 11th-hour dramatic turn. Watching it again, there's a line that Benitez has that I think makes it work. Lawrence gives a homily early in the movie where he talks about uncertainty and hopes for a pope that isn't certain, because without uncertainty there's no need for faith (I agree, though for perhaps different reasons that Lawrence intends). Benitez, at the end, says that he knows what it is to exist between certainties, and that brings things nicely full-circle.
Last thing: I fucking love Volker Bertelmann's score.
My Grade: A
Rewatch Value: High, weirdly
Next up: Heavenly Creatures
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