2024   Focus Features

Rated:  PG

Length:  2 hr

Drama ~ Thriller

Directed by:  Edward Berger

Starring:  Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, Lucian Msamati and Isabella Rossellini.

What happens behind these walls will change everything.

His Holy Father, The Pope has died of a heart attack. The Dean of The College of Cardinals Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is summoned to the Pope’s death bed, and following Church procedure, The Pope’s Ring is removed and the seal of the Pope removed from the ring. The Pope’s body is removed from his room and the room is sealed by Dean Thomas Lawrence. He then starts the proceedings to convene The Conclave, notifying and calling all the Cardinals to Rome to participate in the election of a new Pope. As the Cardinals arrive from all over the world, there is a surprise appearance by a Cardinal from Kabul, Afghanistan that no one knew about.

Cardinal Vincent Benitez was appointed a Cardinal by the Pope In Pectore (In Secret) last year. As The Conclave commences and The Cardinals are sequestered, there are politics, conspiracies and secrets that rise to the surface in the chambers of the Conclave. There are four front-runners in the bid for the new Pope;

• Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci) of the United States, A Progressive
• Joshua Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) of Nigeria, A Social Conservative
• Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow) of Canada, A Mainstream Conservative
• Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) of Italy, A Staunch Traditionalist

It gets very political very quickly as the members choose who to support and who has the best chance of being the new Pope. As the voting takes place day by day, secrets and scandals rise up to oust the chances of the front-runners one by one. There are illicit sexual relations, illegitimate children, bribery and Political scandal that rocks the Conclave as the Cardinals attempt to elect a new Pope. It is a very interesting look at The Hierarchy and Politics of the Catholic Church. And the process of The Conclave and electing a New Pope.

It is very dramatic and political, there are intense opposing viewpoints on which direction the Church should head directly related to The New Pope that will lead the way. The Traditionalist wants to return the Church to it’s old ways, the progressive wants to align the church with the modern times, and the conservatives have their own views on which way the church should go. It is very dramatic and pulls you right in wanting to know how it all plays out. As the scandals and mysteries pop up Dean Thomas finds himself playing Detective trying to get to the bottom of them. A Pope must be free of any scandal or any seemingly unholy activity. He must be above human temptation, free of man’s sinful ways, a step down from God himself.

The Movie was great, a great story and religious political thriller with a captivating look inside the workings of the catholic church. But the end……that was unexpected. I did not see that coming and it leaves me with more questions than answers. They could have just ended the movie with the election of the New Pope, but they attached controversy to the New Pope right at the very end. Why you may well ask, I did. Was it the previous Pope’s intention to set all this controversy up to install this new Pope so that his vision and work would be carried forward? Or was it his intention to make a point about The Church’s views on Sexuality?

I don’t have an answer for that, like I said it left me with more questions than answers. It was like a monkey wrench thrown in at the end to make you think and ponder what if or why. I am not a fan of movies that end this way, I like a movie to come to a solid conclusion and not leave you hanging….or at least set itself up for a sequel with the previous events at least concluding that chapter of the story. They could have left out the monkey wrench and it would have been a great movie.