Conclave

 Phenomenal film, but the last 15 minutes needed work

This is a beautiful film. The shots are gorgeous. Stanley Tucci and Ralph Fiennes are strong actors with a powerful supporting cast. The classic themes of "man vs society" and "man vs himself" are played out very well as Thomas Lawrence (Fiennes) goes on a journey from a man who is desperate not to be pope to recognising that he may be the best option within a flawed (and very human) institution.  

If the film had ended with Pope John (Fiennes' intended name), it would have been a good story about a flawed institution trying to find its way through a difficult world. And then a terrorist attacks. There's a slightly-hammy scene where Tedesco (Italian conservative) calls for a holy war against Islam (in so many words). This is eloquently opposed by the Cardinal of Afghanistan whose speech is so powerful that the Conclave then votes for their new Pope Innocent. The pope is Intersex and Lawrence must wrestle with his conscience and God's will in the last five minutes. 

The plot ends with nonsense. The intersex point was fine; but I found it extremely difficult to believe that a Conclave of cardinals would vote for Pope Innocent. It's very clearly set out in the beginning of the plot that the Cardinal of Afghanistan is a secret Cardinal (for their own protection) and their existence is only revealed to the Cardinals at the very beginning of the Conclave. He then proceeds to do very little other than act as a sounding board for Lawrence for the film until his speech. We're then meant to believe that an institution would vote for an unknown leader based on one good speech - it strains credulity that this is sufficient to win an election, especially given barely 15 minutes earlier Lawrence had his own speech calling out corruption at the heart of the church. 

Apart from this, it's a wonderful film. We follow Lawrence as he and his fellow liberals plot to secure a liberal direction for the church, and their struggles, while also seeing Lawrence deal with dirty tricks played by leading candidates (revealing pre-marital sex) and unveiling corruption. It's tense, and reminiscent of the best of Game of Thrones Seasons 2 and 3 with deals and trades in the Vatican rather than the garden of King's Landing.  

The best part of the film is watching Lawrence get closer to having to take on the mantle of Pope. Fiennes plays it wonderfully; starting from desperately not wanting the responsibility to eventually accepting that he is the best choice to lead a human institution for God given the alternatives. That story of responsibility being thrust upon a capable but unwilling leader is timeless, and is performed wonderfully.   

Film viewed at Odeon Haymarket on 7th January