Conclave
2024 · Directed by Edward Berger
Original language: English
- drama
- thriller
The story
After the unexpected death of the Pope, Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with managing the covert and ancient ritual of electing a new one. Sequestered in the Vatican with the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders until the process is complete, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could lead to its downfall.
What it’s like
Cool, tightly controlled frames of Vatican corridors, candlelit chapels and stone halls in muted ochre, grey and deep red, with the lit rooms often framed like paintings and the lighting shifting from soft daylight through tall windows to the dim, smoky glow of late-night conversations. Sound is sparse: hushed footsteps on marble, the rustle of vestments, the scratch of ballot papers, and a restrained score that swells only at moments of revelation. Its vibe is quiet, claustrophobic intrigue, the kind of thing to watch alone on a grey evening when you want to be absorbed by talk and glances rather than action. The pace is measured and deliberate, with long conversations that carry the suspense, and the tone is cerebral and wry, with real melancholy under the politicking. Intensity is low: there is no gore, and violence is brief and rare, with tension coming from secrets, doubt and moral compromise. A lonely, principled man is pulled into a machine of ambition and slowly confronts what he believes. It suits viewers who enjoy political thrillers, faith-and-doubt drama and immaculately composed period-free settings where dialogue does the heavy lifting.
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