As I write, the current Pope, Francis I, is ailing, so the timing of the release of this fictional drama about the struggle for succession after the death of a Pope is fortunate I suppose for the filmmakers.  Based on a book by Robert Harris, (Fatherland, Enigma, An Officer and a Spy) it won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for writer Peter Straughan.  I haven’t seen The Brutalist or Emilia Perez but of the movies that were in contention for the top Oscar I would have chosen it above Anora, and I would have chosen Ralph Fiennes over Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) for Best Actor.  

There are no car chases or explosions or violence in this movie, and no sex, at least no visible sex, although sexual activity has taken place which will become significant as the story unfolds.  

There are no goodies or baddies either.  But there is plenty of ambition, scheming, secrets and drama.  

Conclave has many strengths.  There’s the meticulous recreation of the ancient ritual that attends the selection of a new Pope, a process of run-off voting which can last many days.  There’s the glorious setting amid the centuries-old artistic and architectural splendours of the Vatican.  

Then there are the masterful characterisations which carry the drama forward.  It’s a superb ensemble piece, although Ralph Fiennes is a standout as the conscientious but troubled Dean of the Vatican, Cardinal Lawrence, to whom falls the job of convening the conclave of cardinals who will choose the next head of the Catholic Church.

He’s not all that happy about the job.  He’s a man of meditative disposition who doesn’t relish political intrigue and who had planned to retire to some quiet corner of the church to spend his latter years in spiritual contemplation.  But he’s also a dutiful servant of the church so he takes up his cross, so to speak, and it’s a heavy burden to shoulder. 

There are logistical complications:  an unknown cleric arrives late, after the books have been officially closed, claiming to have been nominated at the last minute by the dying Pope as the cardinal representing Afghanistan, of all places.  Should he be admitted to the college of cardinals, and can it even be done in this sclerotic bureaucracy?  

The unofficial lobbying starts as soon as the cardinals arrive, and Lawrence has to deal diplomatically with each one, especially those known to want a crack at the top job.  He also has to get to the bottom of various conundrums and intrigues.  

Did the Holy Father denounce one of the candidates on his deathbed, and if so why?  And where is the rumoured document that proves it?  

What’s the story when a young nun creates a scene in the dining refectory?  And why does senior nun Sister Agnes (Isabella Rosselini) try to stop Lawrence from winkling it out of her? 

The politics are nothing short of byzantine.  

The African candidate Adeyemi starts out with the numbers but his hard line against homosexuality alienates the liberals, especially the American candidate, Bellini, played by Stanley Tucci.   

The ebullient Italian Goffredo is a social and political conservative and makes an angry appeal to tradition.  

As the days pass the early bonhomie and piety evaporate as secrets are revealed, denunciations are made, numbers shift, new favourites emerge, campaigns are torpedoed and at one stage Lawrence himself is tapped on the shoulder, much to his chagrin.  

Despite its sometimes sombre mood, Conclave is a gripping and suspenseful movie, brilliantly written an acted and never predictable.  Five stars from me.