Conclave – The Politics Involved in Electing a New Pope

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Charlene Giannetti in Playing Around

The timing for the release of Conclave, from Oscar-winning director Edward Berger, couldn’t be better. Released a week before the 2024 presidential election, the film purports to expose what happens behind the scenes at another election, one to elevate a cardinal to become the successor of Saint Peter as pope. The current pope, Francis, is 87 and in fragile health, so who would replace him is very much on the minds of heads of state and Catholics worldwide. While a presidential election plays out in public, what happens behind the closed doors of the Vatican remain shrouded in secrecy. The thriller by Richard Harris, upon which the film is based, imagines the machinations that play out among the cardinals responsible for casting their votes for a new pope.

Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence, the dean of the College of Cardinals, who is saddled with managing the conclave. That duty comes at a bad time for Lawrence. Suffering a crisis of faith, not with God but with the church, he explains to someone, he had asked the pope to accept his resignation. The pope refused, telling Lawrence he’s not a shepherd, but a manager. What Lawrence will have to accomplish, however, will take all his managerial skills.

The film shows what happens after a pope dies. His ring is destroyed and his room barricaded with the papal seal. Cardinals from around the globe begin to arrive, the scenes of these red-robed prelates gathering in the piazzas within the Vatican, are stunning. It soon becomes apparent that some cardinals are already jockeying for position, four not even attempting to hide their ambitions. Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) is a conservative Italian cardinal who wants to take the Catholic Church back to the Dark Ages, when mass was said in Latin and homosexuals and divorced individuals were not welcome in the church.

His counterpart is Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) the Cardinal Secretary of State who heads up the more progressive wing of the church. Cardinal Trembley (John Lithgow), is a Canadian, who is also conservative and perhaps the most ambitious candidate, not reluctant to resort to extreme tactics to skew the vote in his favor. Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) from Nigeria is a social conservative and economic progressive. While a long shot, he’s in the running until something from his past threatens to upend his candidacy.

A late entry into the contest is Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Dietz), who is from Mexico but whose missions included working in the Congo and Afghanistan. After he’s seated, he makes no bones about the fact that he’s voting for Lawrence, much to the dean’s dismay. Because he was on the verge of leaving Rome, Lawrence believes he’s not pope material. Benitez disagrees.

While the cardinals are sequestered, there are nuns and staff to attend to their needs. Isabella Rossellini plays Sister Agnes, the cardinals’ head caterer and housekeeper. But as she reveals at one point, she still has eyes and ears and has much to reveal to Lawrence.

There’s a surprise ending which early reviews have criticized. Putting that aside, Conclave is a fascinating film. The performances, especially by Fiennes, Tucci, and Lithgow, are strong. Cinematography celebrates the beauty of the Vatican, while creating intervals of tension, following various characters down dark and gloomy passages. As anticipated, we see the black smoke rising when votes fail to elect a pope. When a successor is finally named, we hear the cheers, but not the crowds.

What the film does reveal is that when there are men with agendas and ambition, there will be politics, dirty tricks, coverups, and lies. That these men are cardinals, they are also human and, yes, sinners. But rising out of that turmoil, Lawrence proves that the pope was right – he is a skilled manager who leads the conclave to the right decision.

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