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'Conclave' is a potboiler that starts bubbling in its opening moments

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

If you think presidential elections are unpredictable, wait until you catch the selection process for a new pope in the movie thriller "Conclave," based on a best-selling airport read. It is, says critic Bob Mondello, a pot-boiler that starts bubbling in its opening moments.

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE: A throbbing score accompanies Cardinal Lawrence - played by Ralph Fiennes - as he walks briskly through the Vatican to join fellow cardinals at the pontiff's bedside, where John Lithgow's Cardinal Tremblay makes a somber affirmation.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")

JOHN LITHGOW: (As Cardinal Tremblay) The pope is dead. The throne is vacant.

MONDELLO: This means convening a conclave, sequestering all the world's cardinals in the Sistine Chapel while they select a new pope. Lawrence will be the organizer.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")

RALPH FIENNES: (As Cardinal Lawrence) The supervision of this election is a duty I never thought I'd have to perform.

MONDELLO: He is briskly efficient, taking care not to play favorites, though he's friends with Stanley Tucci's liberal American cardinal, who some think has an inside track.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")

STANLEY TUCCI: (As Cardinal Bellini) Have you seen the papers? Apparently, it's already decided - it's to be me.

FIENNES: (As Cardinal Lawrence) And I happen to agree with them.

TUCCI: (As Cardinal Bellini) What if I know in my heart that I am not worthy?

FIENNES: (As Cardinal Lawrence) You are more worthy than any of us.

TUCCI: (As Cardinal Bellini) I'm not.

FIENNES: (As Cardinal Lawrence) Well, then tell your supporters not to vote for you - to pass the chalice.

TUCCI: (As Cardinal Bellini) And let it go to him? Then I could never live with myself.

MONDELLO: "Him" is an Italian conservative who wants to take the church back a few decades. There's also a candidate from Nigeria who's angling to be the first African pope. And just to throw a wrench in things, there's a wild card.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Another cardinal has turned up. He was never on our list.

FIENNES: (As Cardinal Lawrence) He has to be an imposter.

MONDELLO: At which point, things get squirrely fast. There's a secret letter...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")

TUCCI: (As Cardinal Bellini) Where did you get this?

MONDELLO: ...Suggesting intrigue...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")

FIENNES: (As Cardinal Lawrence) The Holy Father was spying on all of us.

MONDELLO: ...Threats...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")

LITHGOW: (As Cardinal Tremblay) You should be careful, Thomas.

MONDELLO: ...Watchful nuns who weigh in.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")

ISABELLA ROSSELLINI: (As Sister Agnes) Although we sisters are supposed to be invisible, God has nevertheless given us eyes and ears.

MONDELLO: Fiennes investigates...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")

FIENNES: (As Cardinal Lawrence) What did you discuss with the Holy Father in that final meeting?

MONDELLO: ...Which raises hackles.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")

LITHGOW: (As Cardinal Tremblay) I should pretend this conversation never took place.

FIENNES: (As Cardinal Lawrence) But it has taken place.

MONDELLO: It's starting to sound like an episode of "House Of Cardinals," right?

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")

FIENNES: (As Cardinal Lawrence) This is a conclave. It's not a war.

TUCCI: (As Cardinal Bellini) It is a war. And you have to commit to a side.

MONDELLO: Wars, let's note, are something director Edward Berger knows a bit about. His last film, 2022's "All Quiet On The Western Front," laid out the German side of World War I so effectively it was nominated for nine Academy Awards and took home best international feature. In that one, he trafficked in mud and blood. In "Conclave," he's got mud-slinging and scarlet - ceremonial robes swirling in a persuasively reproduced Sistine Chapel - along with a bit of purplish prose.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")

FIENNES: (As Cardinal Lawrence) There is one sin which I have come to fear above all others - certainty. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery, and therefore no need for faith.

MONDELLO: It's all terribly serious and a bit silly in the way the plot twists pile up - you'll see some of them coming. But the screenplay lobs one Hail Mary that'll knock viewers sideways, which means "Conclave" has made the transition from a good airport read to what will someday be a good in-flight watch. In the meantime, it's going to fill a lot of the pews at your local cinema. I'm Bob Mondello.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Bob Mondello, who jokes that he was a jinx at the beginning of his critical career — hired to write for every small paper that ever folded in Washington, just as it was about to collapse — saw that jinx broken in 1984 when he came to NPR.