Tallying the Votes: “Conclave”

You’d think that, afterNovember 5, I would have had enough of elections. But there I was, two dayslater, checking out a film that is all about what it takes to get elected. No,I wasn’t watching  Reese Witherspoon asTracy Flick doing everything in her power to be chosen student body presidentin Election. (That 1999 flick—both delightful and disturbing—turnedMatthew Broderick of Ferris Bueller fame into a much-beleagueredgrown-up, and established writer/director Alexander Payne as someone to watch.But I digress.)

 What I saw last Thursdaynight was not about high school girls in very short skirts, but rather aboutRoman Catholic cardinals in long ones. The brand-new Conclave, based ona popular novel, takes us behind the scenes of the election of a new pope ,after his predecessor is found dead in his Vatican apartment. There’s been nomurder most foul: it’s clear the old man died of natural causes. Both thepublic and the princes of the church are in deep mourning . But life goes on,and a new man must quickly be chosen to wear the so-called Ring of theFisherman, like the one that has just been wrested off of the dead pope’sfinger.

 That’s why Roman Catholiccardinals from around the globe are locked in the Sistine Chapel, directlybeneath Michelangelo’s famous frescos, to choose one of their number as theSupreme Pontiff. Each will write a name on a small slip of paper, which  will ritualistically be slipped into achalice. An appointed cardinal reads each ballot. Because it takes a two-thirdsmajority to win, multiple rounds of balloting are generally required. Then, atlast, the burned ballots will emit white rather than black smoke, indicating tothose waiting breathlessly outside that a new pope has been chosen.

 The film Conclavemakes clear that, amid all the ritual formality of the voting process, there’soften a real power struggle going on. The papal candidates make no speeches andissue no campaign promises, but their views are well known to their fellowcardinals, and factions naturally arise in support of various approaches to theancient institution they all hold dear. Some skullduggery is also to beexpected: the always memorable John Lithgow plays a cardinal who trips up arival by dramatically exposing a long-ago transgression. We meet also a deeplyconservative cardinal who seeks to undo many of the church’s recent reforms, amysterious Mexican cardinal who was elevated in secrecy by the late pope, andStanley Tucci as an American cardinal who’s probably too liberal-minded to bechosen pope. At the very center of the film is Ralph Fiennes as a deeplyscrupulous cardinal faced with the unenviable task of managing the ins and outsof the Holy See. I should not overlook the film’s one important femalecharacter, Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes, who sees bad behavior that the cardinalswill not admit to. There’s one point the film makes crystal-clear: everycardinal, no matter how modest his manner, secretly dreams of beingelevated  to the papacy, and has long sincepicked out his papal name.

  Conclave is directed by Edward Bergerwho won acclaim for last year’s All Quiet on the Western Front. Hebeautifully manages the film’s huge canvas: Conclave is gorgeous to lookat, and is well served by a fascinating score. The acting ensemble provesimpressive, and Fiennes is deservedly getting raves for his complex role. Yes,toward the end the plot twists become increasingly unconvincing, but Conclaveremains a satisfying behind-the-scenes look at a world we’ll never fullyknow.