CONCLAVE - Movie Review

[kashoot]

I think the substance is one of the only
recent movies that is not subtle at all in its messaging or themes but absolutely fires on all cylinders for me

[jackding]

I usually don't comment on videos but I really enjoyed this film and I would like to offer an alternate interpretation which may address some of your concerns. I hear your objections about this film seeming very superficial and the characters seeming very rigid and one-dimensional. And I get the feeling that you were a bit frustrated at the lack of exploration of moral and religious ideas. However I would argue that this all makes sense if you interpret this film as a political drama instead of a spiritual drama. In fact the movie can be seen as the former pope pulling strings from beyond the grave. The only candidate who had a big lead at any point in the ballots was Adeyemi, but he immediately got ruined by a scandal (funnily enough he was more conservative than Tedesco but the liberal faction never considered him an adversary for some reason). The woman who showed up was invited by the pope who directed Trembaly to send her over. As for Tremblay, the pope needed to leave behind evidence in a subtle way and for someone to "accidentally" stumble upon it, which leads to his insistence that Lawrence stay on as Dean. This is because he knew that Lawrence would get suspicious enough to investigate these loose ends. This is what the "doubt" speech near the beginning was really about: it's not an examination of faith or spirituality, but a foreshadowing of his later sleuthing in the dead pope's room. Notice that at this point even after both Adeyemi and Tremblay were out, the liberal faction still never took the lead (isn't this weird given that the former pope was one of the "liberals"? Shouldn't he have given them more support?). And the boogeyman Tedesco never took the lead either until the two frontrunners were knocked out. In the end, the winner was someone the pope had secretly appointed (because he wanted him to win more than the other old geezers that he'd been working with for decades). This explains why the characters seemed to be so mechanical and one-dimensional, they were simply wound-up tin soldiers acting out the pope's precalculated plan.

Therefore the film was never about the "conservative" faction vs. the "liberal" faction (because neither were serious candidates), nor was it about spirituality (because like you said it didn't examine this theme in depth at all). It was all a big political maneuvre by the former pope to appoint the successor he wanted (and therefore not really about elections either because the whole plot resolves around the pope "playing against" the whole procedure). Now why does the pope go to such lengths to achieve this? I think there are 3 reasons:

1. The movie might be trying to say is that no matter how holy you are, the conclave is a political game and all the pious cardinals want to win more than anything (even Lawrence himself, who supposedly never fantasized about his pontifical name), therefore manipulations and political assassinations are absolutely fair game.
2. While people like to preach morality and spirituality, the church is bogged down in secrecy and bureaucracy, and that Benitez, who came from humble beginnings and worked all around the world helping people in the most dangerous places, was a better leader for the church than all the paperpushers who spend more time signing documents than helping sexual assault survivors.
3. Despite all the work the nuns do for the church (organizing the logistics of the conclave for example), they don't have the power to vote for the pope or get to enjoy any high ranking positions. The appointment of an intersex pope symbolizes the long overdue entrance of the female sex into the top ranks of the church, because after all the church should represent all of humanity, and that certainly includes both sexes. This is reinforced by the last shot of the nuns walking happily into the courtyard. Note that this has nothing to do with the liberal faction, because they would never in a million years entertain the idea of women rising up in the church.

So I can see that if someone saw Lawrence as the main character, they would be disappointed in how flat his character was. But he was merely a pawn (the main character in my opinion was the dead pope). And if the characters' words feel empty then I think the movie was made its point -- actions speak louder than words.

[nolongerthere]

This video needs to be kept as a brilliant way to write a bad review. It is easy to dismiss a film by personalizing it entirely, eg, i hated it, it was boring (to me), etc. Maggie incorporates her subjectivity honestly, but directs her view - and her re-view to what is in the film and what it lacks, and how this works or does not. No ad hominem attacks or show-offy snarky cleverness. Please keep up the great work!

[himanshukaushik]

I am very fond of watching your reviews. Your reviews are articulate, insightful and detailed. Keep up the great work.

[anthonyburn]

I also found it disappointing compared to the general enthusiasm for the film, with a talented cast let down by underwhelming writing.

[canadianinvinciblecomics]

I respect your opinion, but I think you completely missed the mark with this one. The ending is a little out there for sure, but the build up drama and score were just next level. We need movies like these that bring something different to the table.

[mariafurlong]

Wow. I had such a different view. The ending was a downgrade. But everything else was top drawer.

[charchar]

I totally agree. I found the script so weak and surface-level that I could not take the story or gravity of its implications seriously. I found Fiennes to be quite good wrestling with his crisis of conscience but again that is only dipped into slightly. Everything was on the nose and there was absolutely no nuance. If I had thought of the film as a pure melodrama or camp at the time I was watching it, I would have enjoyed it more.

[jinchoung]

i always trust your reviews and you deepen that with every vid. kudos.

[thebestwingsfan]

Fiennes used to play drama really well. He was incredible back in the 90s in both Schindler's List and Quiz Show.

[CallOfCutie]

I was absolutely baffled when the freshly baked Pope turned out to be intersex. Movie at least had me immersed until that moment

[kaleng.a_soneka]

Please review some Edgar Wright films. I've only heard you briefly speak on Scott Pilgrim in a topic video, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on films like Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead for example.

[NLANDXP]

One of the best reviews I've ever seen, Great job!
I'll check out your other videos.

[GizmoBeach]

Not sold on the premise but Berger’s previous film (All Quiet on the Western Front) was astonishing and Fiennes is always worth seeing no matter the role.

[FabledCity]

Absolutely spot on summation of this film. It felt too much like a present day Western progressivist macro allegory than a quasi timeless genuine delving into church intrigue irrespective of present day culture wars. But the casting and cinematography were incredible. The plot twist at the tail end felt more like a contrived last minute insert solely for dramatic effect than an organic, logical conclusion stemming from the already overstretched narrative.

[brentisverycool]

Aside from lacking subtlety in its messaging, where conclave really falls apart is in the complexity (or lack thereof) of the characters. All of the pope hopefuls outside of the two leads were just generic bad guys with no redeeming qualities to make them interesting

[DusanPavlicek]

I love your outfit, it's a nice change from the usual. This length of the sleeves goes very well with the length of your hair ❤

[TheCousinEddie]

Just finished the book and I'm curious to see how it transfers onto the screen. The book was more of a mystery thriller and very enjoyable right up until the end. The ending, at least for me, was a disappointment.

[rabrab]

Saw it today. Agree wholeheartedly. Cinematography is beautiful. Enjoyed Isabella Rosellini as Sister Agnes.

[janekent]

Spot-on review. Conclave is a silly film. It reminded me of The Real Housewives of Orange County, but a cardinal version. It’s rather a disappointing film, yet it will likely get a Best Picture nomination. I guess it’s a new low in current cinema