Conclave

German-born director Edward Berger follows up his visceral, grunt's-eye-view telling of All Quiet on the Western Front with this reserved, stately melodrama set inside the Vatican during a gathering of high church officials to elect the next pope. Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, the man tasked with organizing the eponymous gathering after the unexpected death of the current Catholic leader. As the dignitaries arrive, we can see that camps have already been formed to support the expected candidates. There's the outspokenly progressive Bellini (Stanley Tucci), who wants to bring the Catholic church into the modern era, while the arch-conservative Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) believes the Church has lost its authority ever since Vatican II. The centrist candidate Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow) sees bridging these divisions as his opportunity, but few trust him. Some think Lawrence himself would make the best choice, but Lawrence not only doesn't want the papacy, he's looking to retire when this job is complete. As the days of voting drag on, rather than white smoke emerging from the Sistine Chapel, mysteries and potential scandals about each prospective candidate are what arise.

Conclave is a lot of fun. It's a bitchy soapy potboiler dressed in prestige-picture accouterments. It's based on a 2016 novel by the British author of fiction and non-fiction, Robert Harris. His easily relatable characters and constant table-turning reversals and revelations are played by actors who know exactly how to bring off material of this ilk. What a refreshing turn after the many tonally inconsistent, desperately over-the-top, and winky winky comedies we've had to endure of late. The picture misses the mark in its third-act transition because it forces us to suspend our disbelief too far to buy a key turning point. I'm not referring to the movie's ultimate narrative twist but rather to the event required to deliver that thematic climax. I wish screenwriter Peter Straughan had devised a way to make the last round of balloting a bit more believable.

While not a brilliant movie, I'm sure Conclave will get a lot of awards nominations and appear on many best-of-the-year lists since a papal election is not at all dissimilar to the awards procedures of many film critics' associations. And in such a weak year for movies, I'll be more than happy to see this one paraded around and overpraised.