Conclave: Ralph Fiennes offers Oscar-contender performance in Vatican drama

Ralph Fiennes's character deals with power and corruption at the top of the Church in this 'mesmerising' film

(Image credit: BFA / Focus Features / Alamy)

published 5 December 2024

Ralph Fiennes is electrifying in a way only he can be – "patiently, painstakingly, powerfully" – in this adaptation of Robert Harris's 2016 bestselling thriller, said Tom Shone in The Sunday Times.

He plays Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, the dean of the College of Cardinals, who finds himself presiding over an election – or conclave – in the Vatican following the pope's sudden death from a heart attack. Lawrence would like his fellow reformist Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) to prevail, but Bellini has rivals: a "bombastic traditionalist" (Sergio Castellitto), a "mild-mannered Canadian" (John Lithgow), and a virulently anti-gay Nigerian (Lucian Msamati). Then there's "the dark horse" contender (Carlos Diehz), who was made Cardinal Archbishop of Kabul "in pectore – that is, in secret – by the late pope". The film "is basically '12 Angry Men' with incense and some Latin argumentation", and it's the best adaptation of Harris's work to date: "brisk, smart, and propulsively plotted".

"This is a tale of power (and corruption) at the top of the Church, and even though the cardinals go to the ballot five times, and watching people write names on paper is hardly exciting, it's so tightly woven it never gets boring," said Deborah Ross in The Spectator. "It is also filled with fascinating procedural details and moments of humour", and is visually "dazzling. Just the way the cardinals in their rich crimson robes cross a courtyard en masse may make you yelp with pleasure." Fiennes, meanwhile, "is in practically every shot"; if he doesn't win an Oscar for his "magnificent" performance, "I'll eat my hat and also yours".