CONCLAVE (2024) ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: Edward Berger
Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow,
Lucian Msamati, Sergio Castellitto, Carlos Diehz,
Isabella Rossellini, Brian F. O'Byrne, Jacek Koman
The pope is dead, the seal is broken, the red-robed cardinals are gathered in the Vatican to choose a new pontiff, and skullduggery is afoot. Ralph Fiennes plays Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, whose job is to see that the election goes smoothly, which, of course, it doesn't. Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow play two of the key candidates, and there are a couple of others, plus a new cardinal nobody's heard of, because he was appointed by the late pope in secret. So there's politicking and jockeying for votes, and a debate over whether a progressive or a reactionary should be the next head of the Church. Some of this is far-fetched, but it's a good piece of storytelling with a whopper of a surprise at the end for those who don't know the outcome going in. (Spoiler Alert: It's something that would definitely shake up the Church.) And with that, Cardinal Lawrence, tense and troubled throughout the conclave, allows himself the barest hint of a smile.
