Gareth Crossley

Conclave is by far the best movie I’ve seen in many years. I was sceptical going in due to it being pretty long and the trailer not doing it justice. Many potential film goers could be put off by the fact that the trailer makes it feel a little niche and religious. This is far from the truth. The story arc is reminiscent of movies like the glass onion, and was consistently gripping, ducking a weaving with an escape room feel! Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci are simply outstanding as the relationship between their characters is put to the test. The only negative for me was that some may struggle to follow some of the nuances of the plot without a mild to moderate understanding of the structure and traditions of the Catholic Church. The directors seem to have made a deliberate decision not to fluff out the script with any explanation for the sake of the audience which I would applaud them for. There are a fair few chunks of dialogue in Latin and Spanish which are not subtitled, however this really added to the overall feeling of being a little lost in a system giving added empathy for the characters. The movie has a serious feel and feels like it honours the audience’s intelligence by not bowing to tropes of explaining too much through needless dialogue. They also play an outstanding hand towards the end revealing what is probably the main message of the movie without it feeling propagandist throughout. It treats the catholic church with respect at the same time as displaying the appalling underbelly of a corrupt system. It’s refreshing to watch a movie about a religious topic without feeling you’re hearing a tantrum from a disgruntled post-faith protester. Despite its length, the depth of characters and magnificent storytelling coupled with an artsy feel and reverent pace make this an absolute gem. I’d love to see this movie scoop up the many accolades it very clearly deserves!