‘Conclave’ Review: Ralph Fiennes And Stellar Cast Burn Up The Screen In Superb Papal Thriller That Is One Of Year’s Best
deadline.comThe drama behind the election of a Pope has been done to various degrees of success by Hollywood before, notably 1968’s pulpy The Shoes Of The Fisherman, and 2019’s wonderfully literate The Two Popes with Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins in an imagined story of the rise of the current Pope Francis and retiring Pope Benedict.
But now with Conclave, adapted from the Robert Harris novel by Peter Straughan and directed by recent Oscar winner Edward Berger (All Quiet On The Western Front) we have a papal election thriller that rivals anything a political party could dream up.
To put it succintly in literary terms, this one is a real page turner. In pure cinematic turns it is a barn burning thriller.
A superbly crafted – in every respect – stunning dramatic achievement, this is the kind of well-regarded praiseworthy adult drama that used to be a staple for studios but now is an increasingly rare bird.
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