Oscar contenders make UK premiere at London Film Festival

A new film about a group of gossipy and scheming cardinals who must choose a new pope has had its UK premiere at the London Film Festival.

“Conclave” stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini and is based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris.

The film is considered a strong contender for best picture at next year’s Oscars, and several of its leading actors may also be in the running for individual acting awards.

“Conclave” is directed by the famous German-Austrian filmmaker Edward Berger, whose 2022 adaptation of “All Quiet on the Western Front” was nominated for nine Academy Awards.

After the death of the pope, a conclave begins, where cardinals gather in Rome to elect the new leader of the Catholic Church.

But behind the scenes, there’s deceit, trickery and intrigue as the front-runners try to improve their chances.

When reliable and conservative Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) finds himself tasked with overseeing an election, he gradually questions whether he should be involved in the process.

In a performance that could make waves during awards season, Fiennes’ character engages in a variety of maneuvers while trying to influence the outcome of the competition.

Berger, Harris and the film’s stars attended the London Film Festival premiere at the Royal Festival Hall on Thursday.

The conclave starts slowly—after the Pope dies in the opening scene, it takes a while to establish the film’s premise and introduce the contenders to replace him.

However, over the course of its two hours, the film becomes even more gripping.

“Don’t be fooled by how boring the premise of finding a new pope sounds on paper,” AV Club commentator Tomris Laffly suggests.

“In Berger’s diligent and elegant hands, every solemn vote of the cardinals, every reaction shot, every badly worn costume, and every quiet and eventful meal is filled with breathtaking, Skin-tingling suspense.

Conclave is “a complex, poignant, riveting thriller” Kristy Puchko of Mashable wrote, Describing it as “a film that understands the complexities of Catholicism”.

“Berger’s film is a very faithful adaptation of Robert Harris’ 2016 novel,” Vulture’s Bilge Ebiri noted, “It combines the colloquial speed of a great airport read with the dramatic gravitas.”

There is a small contrivance late in the film to set up the final scene, but it can be said to be a necessary contrivance to lay the foundation for the dramatic ending of the film.

“Even viewers who have guessed the identity of the next pope will be surprised by a final twist that fits perfectly with the film’s ambition to bring the certainties of the past into an unpredictable, dizzying but crucial new future,” said Hollywood Reporter Steven Farber.

“Those who have read the book will know the twist,” Maureen Lee Lenk of Entertainment Weekly said. But for others, she said, the ending was “the mark of a well-crafted thriller”.