There’s something special about Ralph Fiennes. I can’t quite place it–I’ll leave it to more eloquent and deep-thinking film critics to figure that out–but the dude can command a scene like few other actors can. He can be quiet, even passive, and yet the way his piercing eyes shift around the room, his lips purse, his voice oscillating at unexpected times, the dude can command a goddamn room. And there’s something special when we get treated to a drama where Ralph Fiennes is at the top of his game.
In Conclave, Fiennes is at the top of his game.
A dead pope and a suspicious meeting are at the center of the drama-thriller, which has Fiennes playing the cardinal responsible for leading the process to elect a new conclave. Altruistic to the end, his actions nonetheless have profound implications for the future of the Church as he reluctantly investigates his peers.
Oddly entertaining for a serious movie about a bunch of religious guys bickering about the papacy, Conclave, directed by Edward Berger, evoked a fair amount of good-natured laughter from the packed crowd I watched the movie with; they weren’t laughing at the movie, they simply were so caught up in the elements at play it was hard not to appreciate all that was happening.
With a taut, dialogue-heavy script by Peter Straughan and Robert Harris, the actors have plenty to work with. Fiennes is terrific, as you likely surmised from the opening paragraph of this review; in fact, he’s riveting. But he’s not alone. Stanley Tucci is great, as is Lucian Msamati. John Lithgow is good too, though his character doesn’t end up getting as much to do as you’d expect.
Methodically placed and superbly staged, Conclave works on many levels. As good as the acting is, it’s the little moments that glue the performances together and raise everything to new heights. Berger demonstrated his talents with the exceptionally vivid All Quiet on the Western Front (the Netflix remake), and with Conclave he flexes different kinds of muscles to even better results.
All in all, the journey is arguably more rewarding than the destination. While the surprise finish fits well into the film’s subtext, the reveal is a bit jarring, almost a bait-and-switch. There’s intention to it of course, but for those of us who thought we were watching a fairly conventional low-key thriller, the end message comes off as a bit heavy handed (and I can predict how certain facets of the American public will react). And yet, the more I think about it the more I respect it; it’s a ballsy move.
Conclave boasts a stellar screenplay and incredibly powerful performance by Ralph Fiennes. There’s something special about Ralph Fiennes, and something special about this movie.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.