On Sunday Jan and I took in the new film, Conclave.
It’s advertised as a mystery-thriller. That seems a bit of misdirection. I suspect in part because for a Hollywood production, it’s pretty much outside the conventional boxes. And how to characterize it is difficult for the advertising people.
It’s based upon the 2016 novel of the same name by the British novelist Robert Harris. The script is written by Academy award nominated screenwriter Peter Straughan. The director is Edward Berger. And it stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castelitto, Lucian Msamati, and with a small part she does wonders with, Isabella Rossellini. Quite a roster.
The plot turns on what happens when a pope dies.
He dies. The papal election conclave is convened. The dean of the cardinals British Thomas Lawrence (Finnes) must herd the conclave. The leading contenders include the more liberal cardinals, the American (their nationalities weren’t immediately obvious to me, so thanks to Wikipedia for sorting them…) Aldo Bellini (Tucci) and Lawrence. There’s one moderate conservative Canadian Joseph Tremlay (Lithgow). Then the politically progressive but socially extremely conservative, he is actively homophobic, Nigerian cardinal Joshua Adeyemi (Msamati). And rounding the major contenders is the arch conservative Italian Goffredo Tedesco (Castellitto). As the innocent among these high end players pushing and elbowing is the Mexican national now archbishop of Kabul who was secretly made a cardinal by the late pope, Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz).
In a male dominated film, it is after all about a conclave of cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, so of course, basically boys; Sister Agnes (Rossellini) moves among the great and good, seeing everything.
As they say with the stage set hilarity ensues…
This is a small film with a big budget. We get the pageantry of an ancient tradition.
But the film really turns on the people. Lots and lots of close up camera work.
The principals act as if they really, really love the chance to be in this movie. Scene stealing and scene chewing are the order of the day for pretty much all of them.
For me it was impossible not to be drawn in, even if the first of the two big plot twists were pretty obvious from the first ten minutes. However, there was the twist within the twist that I did not see. I thought of morality play. The direction the whole thing was going was there. But it had lots of twists and turns.
Mystery-thriller, I don’t quite get. The big mystery is who is going to be elected pope. Maybe that’s the mystery. As to thriller. If thriller doesn’t involve a lot of jumping out of the dark, sure. Thriller in the sense of humans running mad for a job while trying to pretend they’re not. It does have its thrilling aspects.
One reviewer called it a “trashy pope thriller.” Added in “good” as well. I don’t argue. Either point.
So, is there a spiritual message in this essentially political drama? This blog is about matters spiritual, after all.
I am most interested in how Buddhist themes of impermanence, suffering, interdependence and healing might be found in popular culture. I’m also interested in the currents of our lived lives as expressions of our interior lives, how they draw apart and how they come together.
So, in answer to that is there is a spiritual message? Yes. A small message, perhaps. And largely carried by that telegraphed twist. But I also liked that very much. Against the backdrop of the elbowing and jockeying, there is a subtle movement that one could call the holy spirit. You have to squint a bit. But it is there.
The play of our ordinary human foibles as the matter of a religious film, it works.
And it is all presented admirably. As I said, with gusto by the performers.
And then that small current of something else.
It works.
At least for Jan & me.
Tired of big blow ’em up movies? At least for a minute?
Here you go.
Rotten Tomatoes professionals give it a 93% rating, while their regular viewers give it an 82%.
Two thumbs up.
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