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Conclave (2024)

SeanC

By SeanC
in Movies

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SeanC

SeanC

With the death of the Pope, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with presiding over the conclave to select the new pontifex maximus. While Lawrence is aligned with the liberal faction of the recently deceased pope and his presumed ideological heir Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), alternative candidates include ultra-traditionalist Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), social conservative Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), and moderate conservative Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow). Shenanigans ensue, involving, among others, a mysterious new cardinal created in secret by the prior pope (Carlos Diehz) and a nun who gives a lot of meaningful looks (Isabella Rossellini).

As has been widely remarked in the reviews, this is a lot more pulpily entertaining than you might initially expect. It's a fun movie, very well-acted and well-made. Some of the Oscar buzz surprised me to an extent (the Academy has certainly recognized worse), but based on the box office this is a successful film for adults, and those tend to get an invite to the table. I think Fiennes' character's spiritual crisis is a bit thinly sketched, but he's terrific in the role and his more managerial concerns are well-depicted.

I'd never seen Castellitto before, but he's a real scene-stealer in his heel role (and with a particularly fun use of a vape pen as a prop).

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StatisticalOutlier

StatisticalOutlier

  On 11/11/2024 at 2:51 AM, SeanC said:

As has been widely remarked in the reviews, this is a lot more pulpily entertaining than you might initially expect. It's a fun movie, very well-acted and well-made.

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I couldn't agree more.  I never expected a movie about picking a new pope to be such a rollicking good time. 

  On 11/11/2024 at 1:25 PM, Browncoat said:

there were some stunning visuals.

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I loved that frequent shot of the hallway with the row of doors on either side, angled just a little bit from the side.  And the sound design was fantastic, too:  those heavy doors closing.

But I have a question (and PLEASE don't spoil yourself if you haven't seen it; I'm a big fan of spoilers because I usually like to know how a movie ends so I'm not all nervous for the two hours leading up to it, but you do NOT want to be spoiled on this one):

  Reveal spoiler

 

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SeanC

SeanC

  • Author
(edited)
  On 11/19/2024 at 6:09 AM, StatisticalOutlier said:

But I have a question (and PLEASE don't spoil yourself if you haven't seen it; I'm a big fan of spoilers because I usually like to know how a movie ends so I'm not all nervous for the two hours leading up to it, but you do NOT want to be spoiled on this one):

  Reveal spoiler
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With regarding to this:

  Reveal spoiler
Edited by SeanC
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SoMuchTV

SoMuchTV

(edited)
  On 11/19/2024 at 6:09 AM, StatisticalOutlier said:

But I have a question (and PLEASE don't spoil yourself if you haven't seen it; I'm a big fan of spoilers because I usually like to know how a movie ends so I'm not all nervous for the two hours leading up to it, but you do NOT want to be spoiled on this one):

  Reveal spoiler

 

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  On 11/19/2024 at 8:08 PM, Browncoat said:

I have gone back and forth on that, @StatisticalOutlier, and can't quite decide.  I am leaning toward

  Reveal spoiler

 

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  On 11/20/2024 at 3:04 AM, SeanC said:

 

With regarding to this:

  Reveal spoiler
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  On 12/7/2024 at 6:20 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

@Browncoat Here's my thought on your thought:

  Reveal spoiler

 

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I just watched this (it's streaming on Peacock now) so it's fresh in my mind.  I definitely agree with @SeanC and @StatisticalOutlier on this.

  Reveal spoiler

And, I apologize for all the spoiler tags but in this case I think they’re warranted, and I appreciate that everyone else has been using them. 

Regarding the turn of events we’ve been talking around, I was thinking it would either be something close to what happened, or alternatively

  Reveal spoiler

 

Edited by SoMuchTV
Adding some thoughts
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DoctorAtomic

DoctorAtomic

I enjoyed the movie for most of the reasons here. I guessed who would be elected pope, but was surprised it was so early on. I didn't see the twist coming. 

I did laugh at how the movie would suggest that the selection of a new pope would cause bombings and strife. 

I also laughed at the Dean (Fiennes) being all 'we're sequestered; we can't have outside information affecting the voting' and then copying the report to hand out to everyone or looking up who brought in the African nun. 

You may not want to be pope, but you sure want more of a say in it. 

I liked Cardinal Stanley Tucci's realpolitik approach. 

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Sarah 103

Sarah 103

(edited)
  On 11/19/2024 at 6:09 AM, StatisticalOutlier said:

 

  Reveal spoiler

 

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  Reveal spoiler

 

  On 12/25/2024 at 3:55 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

I did laugh at how the movie would suggest that the selection of a new pope would cause bombings and strife. 

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I thought the reason for the attacks was that it was a high profile event. The eyes of the world were on the Vatican/Rome and there would be large media presence as well.    

  On 12/25/2024 at 3:55 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

I liked Cardinal Stanley Tucci's realpolitik approach. 

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This was one of elements of the movie that surprised me the most. It was like an old school political convention with factions, different candidates competing against each other within a faction, candidates trying to figure out who to tell their supporter to vote for when he dropped out or was no longer viable, and at the same time trying to stop the other faction from winning the ultimate prize. 

Overall, it was an enjoyable political thriller and I am glad I watched it. 

Edited by Sarah 103
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Anela

Anela

  On 12/25/2024 at 3:55 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

I enjoyed the movie for most of the reasons here. I guessed who would be elected pope, but was surprised it was so early on. I didn't see the twist coming. 

I did laugh at how the movie would suggest that the selection of a new pope would cause bombings and strife. 

I also laughed at the Dean (Fiennes) being all 'we're sequestered; we can't have outside information affecting the voting' and then copying the report to hand out to everyone or looking up who brought in the African nun. 

You may not want to be pope, but you sure want more of a say in it. 

I liked Cardinal Stanley Tucci's realpolitik approach. 

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I guessed who would be chosen, too.  My dad guessed the twist.  

Hanahope

Hanahope

Honestly, in this day and age, i was a bit surprised that the cardinals would vote for such an unknown, at least not until after a lot more voting and more and move votes that went in that direction.  but i guess once Adeyemi was out, then Tremblay, and you had Lawrence telling his people that he really didn't want it and did not think Bellini was strong enough, the only other person getting any votes that wasn't Tedesco was Benitez (who certainly showed fortitude being a cardinal in Kabul) and for those that didn't want Tedesco, an unknown was better than that.

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slowpoked

slowpoked

(edited)

I saw this on the plane while traveling, and I didn’t think I’d enjoy it, but I really did. I like political thrillers like this, and the director/writers may not have intended it, but it’s certainly a movie of our times, inadvertent as it may be.

I like the ironies of the movie - Bellini stating he didn’t want the papacy but when the voting started, he realized he actually did want it. Lawrence struggling with his own worth, and in the end embracing his own ambition, however reluctant he is. Stating he didn’t want anymore outside influence, but kept on pressing for info anyway.

I thought the twist at the end would be

  Reveal spoiler

 

Edited by slowpoked
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