TIFF 2024: Conclave (a.k.a. What if Tom Hooper was Good But Still Very Silly?)

Pope it out with Ralph Fiennes and a bunch of catty cardinals.

The Pope is dead. The passing of the Holy Father brings with it a unique kind of election: the papal conclave. The cardinals of the world gather in the Vatican City, are sealed off from the outside world, and told to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church. Like any good election, there are favourites, dark horses, and schemers with more ambition than sense. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) has been tasked with leading the conclave to a fair and just decision. It is supposed to be one of purely godly intentions, but this is the Vatican, not heaven.

Conclave, based on the novel by Robert Harris, is director Edward Berger’s follow-up to his surprise Oscar hit All Quiet on the Western Front. I heard a colleague at TIFF say of him, “What if Tom Hooper was good,” which may or may not be a compliment. Certainly, Berger is a sturdy director, one who understands the assignments given to him. Conclave is an airport thriller and he delivers the classiest possible version of that. 

The dozens of cardinals gather to make the choice, and there are already favourites among outside bookies: there’s Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), who could make history as the first African Pope but is hardcore with his homophobia; Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) is a staunch traditionalist and open racist who thinks the Catholic Church has gotten too liberal; Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) is a liberal icon who wants further reforms; and Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow) is the centrist. They all want the job. Some are more subtle about it than others but the wheeling and dealing they all engage in makes that irrelevant. They need to get a super-majority of votes to win. That means making some calls, so to speak.

The more the various cardinals reveal their true ambitions, the more enjoyable it becomes. If you love process-heavy courtroom dramas, this is the religious version of that. There’s a weariness to the entire process, with one cardinal admitting that they’ll never get a “clean” candidate because every previous Pope was mired in their own controversies. They are just men, after all, but this is also an institution with a deep-seated rot at its core. The stakes are palpably high. 

But make no mistake, Conclave is also very silly. It’s basically a political drama set in the Vatican, complete with egotistical power brokers, juicy monologuing, and an ending that could only have come from a thriller designed to be read in airports. It’s all told very seriously and respectfully but not without fun. Cardinals gossip like fishwives, nuns give good stinkeye, and the wardrobes would put Prada to shame. This is House of Cards with Catholics, but with a soapy twist that is sure to inspire some conversations.

And the more the film seeks to hammer home the parallels between the conclave and the now-current political system, the dafter it gets. At one point, Fiennes straight-up says that their backroom plotting makes him feel like he’s part of an American political convention, just in case things were getting too subtle. It wasn’t obvious enough when Tucci lamented that they were being forced to tactically vote for the least worst option over a truly strong candidate. This stuff is bound to play well to those stodgy awards voters who want political stories but nothing too scathing or driven. There’s a third-act monologue that feels like the DNC version of America Ferrera’s Barbie speech. 

The pleasures of Conclave are evident, and the press screening I attended clearly loved the film. It’s never boring. The cast is strong, particularly Fiennes, who can do tortured stoicism in his sleep but is committed as a man of God who wonders if that’s still compatible with being a man of the church. Isabella Rossellini is a scene-stealer as a nun who remains largely silent in the background but is integral to the power struggle. Stanley Tucci is best when his Cardinal Bellini drops the reluctant candidate act and admits he’s hungry for power. 

I won’t spoil the ending but the final act reveal is sure to be a conversation starter, to say the least. It’s pure airport thriller sh*t and it got a huge response at the press screening. It is… well, it’s a thing. I suggest you look up the book’s Wikipedia page if you’re interested. It’s a moment that reveals the source material’s trashier intentions while trying to make a grander point about the Catholic Church’s need for a more open future. Does it work? Eh? It’s certainly an intriguing idea, but it also comes perilously close to evoking some nastier tropes from cinematic history. I will write more about it when the film gets a wider release.

I wholly believe that Conclave will be a big player this awards season. It is the ideal middle-of-the-road appealing mainstream fare that will be fourth or fifth on a lot of voters’ ballots, and there’s a great Best Actor narrative for Ralph Fiennes, who hasn’t been nominated since Schindler’s List (he should have gotten one for The Grand Budapest Hotel, then he should have won it, dammit!) It’s not likely to be anyone’s passion choice but being liked will get you far in a crowded year. Just don’t take it too seriously.

Conclave had its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. It will be released in the USA on November 1.