Conclave

Sometimes the Oscars can highlight the best films of the year and, inadvertently, highlight their flaws when giving credit to films which might not deserve all the accolades bestowed upon them. The path to getting nominated is long and expensive, and is why many well regarded classics have been overlooked by the flawed voting process. Nonetheless, it has helped introduce me to films I might have missed but the following the passing of the recent Pope, few were left unaware of Conclave from 2024. 

Adapted by Robert Harris' novel of the same name, the film follows Cardinal Thomas Lawrence who is assigned to oversee who will become the next pope while the Vatican enters a lockdown of sorts and becomes detached from the outside world until a new pope is elected. However, Lawrence had a complicated relationship with the previous pope and soon discovers he wasn't the only one. Secrets and hidden motives soon surround the conclave and Lawrence fears the wrong man might be chosen.

It sounds like a great thriller in concept and I went into this excited but left somewhat underwhelmed. Sometimes the mystery is better than the answer and that might summarise my opinion of Conclave. It's very well acted in that theatrical way and lavishly shot but I found the direction to be off as some scenes didn't quite connect as well as I had hoped leaving a half-baked drama. I also can't escape the notion that director Edward Berger is more interested in the wider politics of religion and anyone coming for a theatrical deep-dive into seeing the conclave process on screen will also feel a sense of disappointment.

I can't say that Conclave ever dragged for me across its two hour running time but some adaptations faulter when trying to capture everything from the page to screen and I was left feeling there was a better film somewhere within this all. The Oscars didn't get it wrong nominating this but Conclave just isn't the great drama I had hoped for. In some ways, I feel there is a stronger short television series here that would have benefitted the story and characters but what we have will still prove more than engaging for most.