Written by Andreas Babiolakis

It didn’t take long for German filmmaker Edward Berger to follow up his surprise war hit, All Quiet on the Western Front. The newer take on the Erich Maria Remarque novel didn’t quite win Best Picture like its previous counterpart, but it cleaned up four awards of its nine nominations at the ninety fifth Academy Awards. Naturally, it only took two years for Berger to release another awards season juggernaut, and this time it is his first foray into English language cinema. Conclave dials down the scope and scale of All Quiet on the Western Front into the confinements of Vatican City, specifically after the passing of the latest pope (note: this is a fictional story, based on Robert Harris’ novel of the same name, and not based on real circumstances). While Conclave is far more contained and solitary than the sprawling trenches of war in Berger’s previous film, it’s no less effective. You still feel the weight of the world on your shoulders throughout this mysterious parade of developments.

Dean Thomas Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) takes the lead on the process of choosing the next pope, and there are a handful of major candidates; however, everyone in the College of Cardinals cannot decide on a new face of the Catholic Church, and their divide — which prevents them from having enough votes to select the new pope — only worsens due to political and personal reasons. As Conclave proceeds, you not only learn about the policies of each candidate and what sets them apart, but you begin to unravel their deepest secrets as well, including those that may make each potential cardinal unworthy of being the pope. This doesn’t help the dilemma whatsoever. In fact, it only worsens it because you’re not narrowing down the candidates down to the best option: you’re instead losing your options entirely, and having to resort the least-bad cardinal.

*Conclave* may not have the narrative depth to allow the film to be an instant smash hit, but its brilliant acting will certainly make enough of a splash this awards season.

While Conclave sets itself up to be a deep exploration of the human spirit with promises of twists and revelations, it is a far more surface-level experience than you would imagine. The plot only goes as far as sifting through what the papal conclave has to work with, and any discoveries or occurrences (including a shocking surprise around the start of the final act of the film, which felt effective at first but only feels almost like a last resort to conclude the film in hindsight) only marginally move the needle. I was expecting a film with twists as pulpy as its characters, who, thankfully, are mostly well written; the weakest person is Goffredo Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), who is reduced to being a hate-spewing conspiracy theorist (and, perhaps, a highly obvious representation of like-minded politicians who we face on a daily basis). Fiennes delivers a sensational performance as Cardinal Lawrence: a religious man who has a wedge placed between him and God during a series of tests. Alongside him is Aldo Cardinal Bellini, played tremendously by Stanley Tucci; here’s a fierce character with hidden motives who is far less clunky than Cardinal Tedesco (due to writing; this is not Castellitto’s fault at all).

Conclave saves its largest twist for its very end, and I can see why it is polarizing. While it is the one revelation that actually leaves you questioning everything you’ve just seen before (and leaves us questioning the divide between God’s plan and the council who tries to carry it out as closely as possible), I understand why other critics or viewers would find this twist insensitive or even in extremely poor taste; to me, it depends on whether or not you buy into the twist’s candidness and conflict, or if you find the use of such a personal and raw detail to be a cheap tactic at the expense of something that is very real to many people. For me, there’s something visceral about what Conclave leaves for its final half hour, even with the choices that won’t work for everyone (one didn’t work for me, for instance).

If religion is one person’s connection with their faith and/or higher power, Conclave is the study of how much we hide out of fear of judgement (not by who we worship, but by the peers with the same beliefs). Whether one considers their acts sinful or they have only wanted to live by God’s plan, these devout followers are forever watching their every move because other Christians are right behind them. Is anyone truly fit to be a pope if all worthy candidates are either full of sin or they do not line up with the basic qualifications created by people (and not God)? By Conclave’s end (which arrives after an engrossing, albeit occasionally shaky, journey), you may not have an answer, which is precisely the point; all you can do is hope that God leads the way (in the case of the film’s Catholic lens, anyway), because we can only get so involved before fate takes over. Conclave is a well-acted, well-shot, engaging effort that maybe doesn’t quite hit the ceiling it set for itself, but it is a worthwhile watch for anyone looking to find a fairly gripping film either in theatres or on streaming once that cold weather hits (it’s a claustrophobic mystery that will certainly work within close quarters).

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.