Conclave – “certainty is the great enemy of unity; certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance” (UK cinemas from Friday 29 November)

Conclave is likely to be in my top three films of the year. While it’s a great translation from page to screen of Robert Harris’ novel, it also has much to say to contemporary events and ecclesiastical leadership.

The Catholic Pope has died. The Dean of the College of Cardinals – Thomas Cardinal Lawrence (played by Ralph Fiennes) – must organise and manage the conclave that will elect the new pontiff. The cardinals gather, including one unexpected appointment known only to the previous Pope. (In real life, canon law wouldn’t allow an in pectore appointment to take part in the conclave … but that would spoil a good story.) Sequestered from the outside world, they will vote several times a day (up to four) until one candidate receives a two-thirds majority. (There’s more to the rules, but that’s the gist.)

The media quickly speculate about the runners and riders. There’s the black African Joshua Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) who some see as progressive while others label as homophobic. Blowing in like a blast of stale air from Venice comes Goffredo Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) who would reverse recent modernisations and return to the days of the Latin Mass. Canadian Jacob Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow) does little to hide his keenness to take the top job (I mean, become the servant of the church) but his ambition could be a double-edged sword. There’s the liberal Aldo Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) who was close to the former pontiff and a favourite of the Curia. Ostensibly he’s utterly reluctant to be seen to want the role, but he also points out that every cardinal harbours the possibility somewhere in their heart. The wild card is newcomer Vincent Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz) who has been ministering in conflict zones, most recently in Kabul.

While great effort has been made to cut the cardinals off from outside influence, the world still makes itself heard inside the Sistine Chapel in Peter Straughan’s screenplay (and Harris’ original novel). Some of the leading candidates are damaged by revelations about their past and present actions: with one falling on his sword having been found guilty of protecting his position over taking responsibility for others. Some of the dead pope’s turtles escape their pond. Many cigarettes are smoked. Many conversations are convened in stairwells and darkened rooms. While the decision-making cardinals are male, the story provides opportunity for women’s voices to be heard and their influence to be brought to bear on the conclave.

Ralph Fiennes portrays gravitas, cunning and a worry-worn brow as his character skilfully navigates his fellow cardinals around the potholes that he becomes aware of. (Expect to see his name in Academy Award nominations in January.) In his homily on the eve of the conclave beginning, Cardinal Lawrence remarks that “certainty is the great enemy of unity; certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance”. I’m in no doubt that these phrases will dominate sermons from pulpits of all persuasions in weeks to come, with some ceasing on its apt challenge in times of binary right and wrong, and others suggesting that Christianity is misunderstood if faith is seen as belief amid uncertainty.

Conclave was released to American cinemas ten days before the US Presidential Election. The film’s characters have much to say about leadership and service, and ideologies that exclude, repress or isolate.

Its UK release at the end of November is likely to hit an Anglican Communion that will still be in turmoil. Cardinal Lawrence’s homily went on to hope that “God sends us a pope who sins, asks for forgiveness, and carries on”. Those words turn out to be both succour and a challenge within the world of the film, never mind in the real world.

In terms of leadership being suited to the reluctant rather than the overly keen, the words of Matthew 20:16 echo unsaid throughout much of the two-hour film: “the last will be first, and the first will be last”.

Having touched on the church hierarchy’s attitude towards women at several points in the film – not least through the work and witness of the nuns serving food to the sequestered cardinals – the story’s final twist examines another uncommon aspect of identity (one that is not so rare that it hasn’t pastorally been dealt with poorly in some congregations on this island).

For some, the finale will spoil what has been a thought-provoking story. For others, the finale will pleasingly allow Cardinal Lawrence to stop managing and begin leading, confident that identity in Christ (“I am what God made me”) and wholeness – all the previous talk of unity finally culminates in the man who prayed for both men and women in his mealtime grace – matters more than identity in society. It’ll certainly get tongues wagging in cinema car parks.

Conclave isn’t the deepest, most philosophical film that will be released in 2024. However, for once it uses faith – and in this case the closed doors ritual of electing a new Catholic pope – to shine light on how human beings inevitably organise themselves into hierarchies. It’s definitely not the most accurate portrayal of what happens at a conclave. The real college of cardinals may turn out to be gentile bunch, full of prayer, and incapable of forming schisms or factional groupings. But if they’re human, there’s at least a germ of truth about the potential manoeuvring and politicking even if the issues at play are less likely to be classified as ‘woke’.

Other than a handful of preview screenings, expect to see Conclave hitting UK cinemas on Friday 29 November.

 

Appreciated this review? Why not click on the Buy Me a Tea button!