Conclave

Ralph Fiennes in “Conclave.” https://www.imdb.com/video/vi4004497689/?ref_=ext_shr_em   Photo and trailer © 2/Courtesy of Focus Features. LLC via IMDb.com 

I was working on this blog when the fires started. 

Days later, the devil winds continue to spark inconceivable heartbreak across Los Angeles. 

The fear and trauma of the fires will linger with Angelinos perhaps forever, and be with the rest of us long into this new year. The fire's cost, when the reckoning comes, will be measured in currency more precious than the billions and billions of dollars needed to rebuild.

So many of the victims work in the film industry, the industry itself is collateral damage. Even though the Hawaii Film Critics Society prizes will be announced in this space soon, film awards season is in limbo. The announcement of Academy Award nominations has been postponed. Who knows if they will even happen now? 

But I was working on this blog when the fire started. Several more are waiting. Reviewing movies feels even less consequential now than it usually does in carefree time.

But life goes on. We do what we do. So if you're looking for a brief diversion from all the things falling apart right now, read on …

Long before it actually became a movie, “Conclave” had Academy Awards in its future. 

Nominations at least.

Just reading the cast list – topped by Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rosalini – is all it takes.

Everything about the project is natural born Oscar material – high-minded compelling suspense thriller; Oscar pedigreed cast and crew; profound religious undertones in its elegant screenplay; splendidly cinematic religious rites; and even a surprise after the surprise ending no one saw coming …

When a pope dies, scores of cardinals converge on the Vatican where they will be sequestered for a series of votes until a new pope is elected. An exercise in political arm twisting clothed in ornate Catholic symbolism, the ceremony is called a conclave.

It's all very ritualistic, very secret. The only clue the public gets about what's going on behind those locked holy gates is the color of the smoke coming from the copper chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Black means no candidate has received two-thirds of the votes of the gathered assembly.

White smoke signals the election of a new pontiff.

Oh to be a fly on the wall, right? 

That's the premise for Peter Straughan and Robert Harris's screenplay, meticulously directed by Edward Berger.

When a beloved pope dies following a heart attack in the opening scenes of the movie, it falls to Cardinal Lawrence (Fienes) to oversee the conclave to anoint his successor. As dean of the cardinals, Lawrence would seem the logical choice to become the new pontiff, but as he had confided to the late pope, Lawrence has been going through his own crisis of faith. He longs to get back to a humbler priesthood rather than continue at the center of Vatican machinations.

There are no shortage of men around him vying for the job. They cover a broad spectrum of beliefs, from liberal Bellini (Tucci) through opportunistic Tremblay (Lithgow) and the potentially first pope of color, Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), to populist demagogue Mendoza (Rony Kramer). There's also a dark horse or two.

Why, it's almost like American politics … except these are ostensibly men of God, civil and polite at least, who go through the motions of treating one another with respect.

As each candidate rises in the balloting, Cardinal Lawrence keeps uncovering disqualifying flaws. Feet of clay, you might say. Ironically, Lawrence is the first to acknowledge the fallibility of men. This would seem to make him the most holy of the bunch, even as his doubts deepen.

“Men” being a crucial word in the last paragraph. The Catholic patriarchy, with all of its centuries of abuse and corruption, is an undertone through the story. It falls to the nuns led by Sister Agnes (Rosalini) to occasionally reset the moral compass to true north. 

Ironically, for the various sins, not to mention all the failings it reveals in its characters, “Conclave” is an act of faith. Even though he's dead, the late pope has a key role to play in the story. In the process he embodies the almost supernatural qualities a pope is supposed to possess.

After all the villains he's played in his magnificent career, it's great to see Ralph Fiennes on such a heartfelt, humble hero's journey this time. It's also high time that Stanley Tucci emerges from the supporting ranks to join the names above the title.

Everything about “Conclave” is superbly done, which in a way, may be the film's single flaw. It is impressive to watch, provocative to contemplate, but feels a little distant.

Its flawless film craft illustrates the subtle difference between an excellent movie and a great one.