What's The Movie About?
Ralph Fiennes is a cardinal leading a conclave to elect a new pope, and is investigating the candidates to see who is worthwhile to fill the position.
What I Like.
This movie is cool. It's basically what if Sherlock Holmes had to guide the choosing of the next pope. Ralph is constantly investigating and maneuvering around the various candidates to guide the choosing without getting caught breaking the sequester. Not only that, I was interested in watching and learning how the election process was done for selecting the pope. The characters were very well written, and all the acting was spectacular. I really like Ralph Fiennes's character, I like that he's driven in his motives even if he is full of doubt spiritually. I also like how he's not vindictive, he feels like he has the people of the church's interests and wellbeing at heart. There's a part where he reveals that one of the candidates is guilty of simony by giving all the cardinals a copy of a report that passed on holy father had hidden away, but he specifically redacts the names of all the cardinals who were bribed and refuses to reveals who they are as to not cause more division in the conclave than the report already did. Stanley Tucci's character was also a lot of fun, even if he did turn out to be a bit of a liar. I even kinda like the cardinal who ended up being a little bit of a pedo. (Okay I didn't like the character, but I liked the way they handled his storyline.) What really elevates this movie, however, is two things. One is the score. It is full of strings that give an oppressive atmosphere to most scenes. And the second is the ending. There is a twist about the identity of who gets elected that blew my mind.
What I Don't Like.
So the first thing I have to complain about is something you probably already noticed. This movie is interesting in the same way a war documentary is interesting, which is to say it's interesting to boring people. I'm a boring person. It's a bit hard to articulate what exactly makes this movie an interesting watch beyond the fundamental craftsmanship for all involved without sounding like a dullard. My second complaint is less a complaint about the movie and more about my assumptions, but I thought this movie was based on a real conclave which elected a real pope. That was why I was so hyped about the ending. But no, it was fictional. I guess it makes sense based on the fact that the main characters are the "woke" hippy liberals who want women to have equal standing in the church and don't want to kill all the homosexuals. Like any of the higher ups in the Catholic church are actually like that. At least the new-age liberal cardinals still were interesting and had layers to their characterization, unlike what is ostensibly the main villain. The closest thing he has to depth is using a digital vape despite being a major "things were better in the dark ages" person.
Final Summation.
I was greatly enjoying the movie throughout, but it got elevated by that ending. Maybe my love of the movie has something to do with real world events, but I was highly entertained throughout. If you check it out, I urge you to stick with it! And with that little disclaimer, this is an easy recommend!
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