ConclaveReview: Ralph Fiennes Deserves Hosannas (and Maybe an Oscar) for This Vatican Thriller

Mar. 15, 2025

Ralph Fiennes stars as a beleaguered British cardinal.Photo:Courtesy of Focus Features

Courtesy of Focus Features

Conclave,a marvelously entertaining film about a papal election, is something of a miracle, an immaculately polished production that satisfies on just about every level.

Without a doubt, it’s one of the year’s top films.

ButConclavewould amount to nothing more than the proverbial grain of sand if it didn’t star Fiennes as beleaguered Thomas Lawrence, dean of the College of Cardinals.

There are many aspects ofFiennes’s astonishingly subtle performancethat are worth analyzing — including those sad, worried, beseeching eyes. But everything really boils down to his thin, firmly pursed lips: Thomas is clearly wary of parting them and giving away his plans — he doesn’t allow access to his infinitely discreet mind (or its ephemeral companion, his soul).

He may open his mouth, alittle,to make some dutifully pious comment in a voice that’s a soft, crumbly mutter. (It’s like a cake left out in the rain.) Or he may issue a cautiously worded directive to an underling, asking him to probe into the behavior of the conclave’s power players. (For all their sanctity, theydohave power, and theydoplay.)

Always, though, Fiennes projects a nettled humility. Thomas probably wants the papal prize for himself, but he keeps his ambitions cloaked. Which is a pity. It’s as if Thérèse of Lisieux decided to throw a fire blanket over her spiritual flame.Conclave,based on Robert Harris’s bestselling novel, is as slick as mainstream movies come — and that’s not a complaint — but Fiennes lifts it to a different, even spiritual level.

Fiennes (left) and Stanley Tucci as an American cardinal.Courtesy of Focus Features

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Still, it’s not easy being a saint while serving as Vatican camp counselor. What a bunch of divas! Thomas has to cope with Cardinal Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci), who’d make a highly progressive pontiff if he only stopped fussing about his unworthiness. (Give it a rest,padre.)Then there’s Joshua Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati): He has an edge in the voting and would be a true breakthrough — the first Black pope — but his beliefs are too regressive.

As a result, Fiennes is left constantly trying to wriggle his way out of that tiny fissure you find between a rock and a hard place. Someone not in holy orders might call it hell on earth.

John Lithgow in “Conclave”.Philippe Antonello/Focus Features

Philippe Antonello/Focus Features

Director Edward Berger(All Quiet on the Western Front)has given the film a look of austere luxury — the cardinals’ marble-walled accommodations deserve at least one Michelin Key. And he ably tracks all the shifting alliances as the cardinals gossip and scheme in dimly lit conference rooms and handsome stone courtyards.Isabella Rossellinihas a small but crucial part as a nun who’s obediently serving in an administrative role but also knows every papal trick in the book. (Not theGoodBook! Some other book!) In a different era,shecould be pope.

Conclaveis in theaters Oct. 25.

source: people.com