3 min to read
Conclave
How good is the
The Good: Besides the acting just being phenomenal, their performances were able to be elevated due to the script. There is such good dialogue between the characters. The dialogue is honest, it is raw, and it is very open. A lot of this dialogue is between cardinals who are very good friends, and it was very refreshing to see friends be able to have very honest conversations with each other, have disagreements, and reconcile with each other. I just wish that some of these conversations would have been able to pay off in the end (see my issues in the bad section).
The main character Duke Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is a wonderful main character. He’s humble, open, and willing to discuss his personal struggles with others. Because of the way the character is written, he is the perfect character to see the Conclave process through, and Ralph Fiennes plays the character perfectly. His character perfectly encapsulates what you would expect religious figures to be and act like, so seeing other Cardinals through his perspective really allowed the story to be built with a lot more intrigue.
Another thing to note, the sets and costumes are genuinely incredible. They are all so well crafted and really sell the aesthetic of the movie.
The Meh: One of the best parts of the film were the lines about faith and doubt. There were several great lines said by Ralph Fiennes about these concepts, but they were few and far between. Instead of having more of these discussions,they decided to sideline these just to deal more with the drama of voting for a new Pope. More discussions of faith and doubt could have substantially increased the drama during the film, especially since a lot of the plot involves the various factions within the cardinals and all of the disagreements they have. I think it was just a missed opportunity to not do more in order to have the payoffs be and feel greater.
Additionally, the pacing of the movie was a little all over the place. At times there was a great buildup of tension and intrigue, but at other times it would just take forever for something interesting to happen. When there was intrigue, it either took too long to have a weak payoff, or the payoff was virtually nonexistent, leaving that payoff and intrigue to be very underwhelming.
The Bad: The ending for the movie didn’t work for me. Without spoiling the ending, I understand the point they were trying to make with the ending, but the whole film seemed to build towards one ending, but it ended in another direction. The ending that should have occurred would have been an easy homerun and it would have had incredible payoffs for several characters that was already building throughout the movie.
Overall: This movie is best at just showing and informing people the process of how the Catholic church decides a new Pope. There is some drama and some discussion of faith, but they don’t come together as much as they should have. It really made me respect my faith and how my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) proceeds with the death of the prophet and appreciate the unity amongst the leaders of the Church. Overall, I appreciate the acting and the story that was shown, but I felt informed rather than impressed.
Rating: 3.5/5 (pretty close to a 3)
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