November 1, 2024 – This high powered drama of faith, ambition and palace intrigue features a little bit of humor, and a stunning surprise ending. Based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris, it has quite a clever plot. It features some powerhouse performances by a very talented and experienced cast.

Ralph Fiennes (“Schindler's List”) stars as Thomas Cardinal Lawrence, Dean of the College of Cardinals at the Vatican, charged with overseeing a Papal Conclave following the death of the Pope. The Pope was a close friend of Lawrence. He is deeply shocked and saddened by the death of his friend and mentor. Lawrence doesn't want to oversee the conclave, and doesn't want to be Dean of the College of Cardinals anymore. He certainly doesn't want to be the next Pope, but he is determine to do his duty to the best of his abilities.

Suspicious events begin to come to light as Lawrence looks into events on the on the day the Pope died. He hears that Joseph Cardinal Tremblay (played by John Lithgow of “The Accountant”) a leading candidate for the Papacy (who was one of the last people to see the Pope alive) may be hiding a secret that could disqualify him from the office.

Another leading candidate for the Papacy, Joshua Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati of “The International”) has a dark secret from his past which comes to light during the conclave. The war for the papacy at the conclave is a battle between liberals, like Lawrence and Aldo Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci of “Spotlight”) and conservatives, like Adeyemi and Goffredo Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto of “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”).

Vincent Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz of “The Vegan Vampire”) the Cardinal of Kabul, Afghanistan, shows up at the last minute. He is completely unknown to the other cardinals, having been made a cardinal in secret by the late Pope due to his dangerous mission in Afghanistan. Lawrence turns to his trusted investigator, Monsignor Raymond O'Malley (Brían F. O'Byrne of “The International” to find out more about the mysterious newcomer, and other suspicious activities surrounding the conclave.

The battle between conservatives and liberals at the conclave becomes a deadlock, and it drags on for days, while Lawrence and O'Malley discover troubling secrets about several of the top papal candidates, including Lawrence's friend, Bellini. Events inside and outside the conclave bring emotions to a boil.

Although this is, by necessity, a talky movie, the story is compelling. There are plenty of plot twists to keep you guessing, although I was able to guess some things. A part of the plot of this movie reminded me of part of the plot of “The Shoes of the Fisherman” (1968) starring the great Anthony Quinn.

The acting by Fiennes, Lithgow, Tucci, O'Byrne and Isabella Rossellini (“La Chimera”) who plays Sister Agnes, is very powerful. The writing, by Peter Straughan and Robert Harris, is superb and the direction by Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front”) is very good. My only quibble with the film is the frequent use of very loud music and other loud noises on the soundtrack, which are a distraction. Part of that issue could be caused by the theater where I saw this, where the volume is cranked up so high that I often wear hearing protection at noisy action movies. This movie rates a B+.

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