Conclave

So many thrillers this year. Among them is Conclave, another religious based thriller. I’m not opposed to them inherently, I just think using religious based thrillers is a little easy as religion is inherently creepy. Its ritualistic nature makes it extremely easy for a writer to build a story. Also, it's not like religion has always been some pure, unblemished thing. As a writer, it just seems simplistic, which can be a good thing when executed properly.

So the whole story centers on the cardinals choosing a new pope after the last one dies. And as anything that involves politics, it's gonna get a little ugly. And because religious people, specifically catholics aren’t exactly known for their open-mindedness and progression or ability to handle opposing viewpoints this is going to be a very interesting progression of events.

There are a few candidates that are clearly being considered. Most of whom don’t want the appointment, which in of itself makes them desirable candidates. And then the one guy who does seem to want it and was apparently fired by the last pope before he died…so that’s gonna end well.

It's coming down to progression in the church, same-sex marriage and women’s roles. But there is an undertone of something else. There is a great undercurrent of tension in literally every scene. Like someone has a plot that is about to come to a head. The cardinals are sequestered so it would be really easy for someone to sway the group.

They are not shying away from highlighting the issues within the catholic church. One of the pope candidates has an illegitimate child that he conceived with a 19 year old when he was 30. Another sexually assaulted young boys. And most of these men are just brushing these things off as “human error” which is super gross but unfortunately it's about right.

The entire story takes place over this election process, we have witnessed 5 ballads so far. You would think that a story like this would get repetitive and maybe a little boring but damn they are doing a really good job of keeping it interesting. Perhaps it's because they are bringing up real world issues. Perhaps it's the drama that is taking place among these cardinals. But it is very intriguing and I am fully invested.

This 2 hour run time is going by really quickly. It seems that the conclave is finally going to reach a decision when there is an explosion. And the regressive candidate is using it as a way to start a religious war and get himself elected.

Awesome twist ending here. The new pope is the Mexican cardinal that led in war-torn countries. That was definitely the correct decision or so we thought but we find out immediately after that Benitez has a uterus which we know the church just LOVES. Especially as their highest position, I think this is hilarious. He’s not even transgender. He was just born with both sets of organs, but he’s different and the church hates that shit. Lawrence decides to keep his discovery to himself and allow the election to stand, as he should.

Damn. Conclave was incredible. I know that because of the genre it is probably not going to be nominated for any major awards but the reality is that the writing is phenomenal and should absolutely be nominated for best original screenplay. Ralph Fiennes was AMAZING and deserves his flowers as well. I doubt that this movie will get the recognition that it deserves but it is a must watch and it easily one of the best movies of the year. 10/10.