Best Picture Nominees Ranked: № 2: “Conclave” (2024)
“I am what God made me.”
After the success of the 2022 German remake of “All Quiet on the Western Front” at the Academy Awards (winning four Oscars: Best International Feature Film, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design), director Edward Berger set his sights on his next project. He settled on an adaptation of the acclaimed 2016 novel “Conclave” by Robert Harris, which delved into the politics and infighting of the Catholic Church through the lens of a papal election.
Because of the Lateran Treaty of 1929, Vatican City is a fully independent sovereign nation with the Pope as its elected head. He is a world leader and has earned tremendous respect on the international stage, not to mention the 1.4 billion Catholics who look to him as an authority for matters of faith. Regardless of whether you follow them or not, the Holy See must be recognized as one of the most influential organizations in the world.
First, I must briefly explain the inner workings and bureaucracy of the Catholic Church and its conclaves to educate my fellow non-Catholics. When a Pope dies or resigns, the task of electing a new one falls to members called the College of Cardinals. Almost always, the Cardinals choose one of their own to be the next Pope. One Cardinal, known as the Dean, is tasked with running the Conclave.
The Catholic Church is not a monolith, and there are both liberal and conservative ideological branches. Many of the recent modernizations of the church since 1965, such as the end of the Latin mass and tolerating same-sex civil unions, are the result of the liberals. The conservatives instead argue that the church has strayed too far from its principles, with language dividing congregations and the belief that certain sinners should not be allowed to practice the communion eucharist.
The plot follows Dean Thomas Lawrence (played by the great Ralph Fiennes) who has been charged with overseeing the new papal conclave after the Pope abruptly dies. The two main liberal candidates for Pope are his close friend Aldo Bellini (played by Stanley Tucci), and Joseph Tremblay (played by John Lithgow). The two conservative candidates are Joshua Adeyemi (played by Lucian Msamati) and Goffredo Tedesco (played by Sergio Castellitto).
But just before Lawrence seals the conclave away from the outside world, he learns from Archbishop Janusz Woźniak (played by Jacek Koman) that Tremblay may have been forced to resign the day of the Pope’s death but has been hiding it from everyone else. Also, Vincent Benítez (played by Carlos Diehz), a man calling himself the Archbishop of Kabul, reveals that he washas been secretly named a cardinal last year.
With these last-minute surprises in mind, Lawrence struggles over the popularity of Trembley while also wanting to prevent the conservative candidates from taking power. But in the shadows, a senior nun named Sister Agnes (played by the legendary Isabella Rossellini, nominated for Best Supporting Actress) watches, and it soon becomes clear that she has knowledge that could bring one of the candidates down.
While Berger was sadly snubbed from Best Director for the second time this year, he managed to make this chamber piece succeed in spades. Often choosing to shoot with uncomfortably close cameras, mixed with the impeccable production design, the film manages to come together for a thrilling runtime.
My predictions for the film’s potential Oscar chances are an assured win for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the potential to surprise in Best Film Editing and Best Actor. With how unpredictable this campaign season has been, there is also a strong possibility that it will win Best Picture.
While the ending reveal has been somewhat controversial among audience members, the genius of the twist is not its content but how it connects to the film’s core themes of faith and doubt. Given that 2024 had half the world’s population vote in democratic elections, asking where your line in the sand lies, and how far you would be willing to cross the aisle and compromise your core tenets for the sake of consensus, is a poignant message to impart to the audience.
My final rating for “Conclave” is a thrilling 9/10.