Fabrice Andrivon’s review: “Conclave”, the adaptation of Robert Harris’ thriller by Edward Berger

Shenanigans, Jarnac attacks and manipulation in the Vatican. Adapting a thriller by the always effective Robert Harris, Edward Berger kit with Conclave an honest suspense which has the merit of opting for an innovative and intriguing context: the election of the pope and the maneuvers of the pretenders to the throne.

What we remember first is the precise and, we assume, realistic description of the codes which govern this secret environment. Berger fully succeeds in the documentary part of the film, which lets us see a locked, very formal environment, where life and thought have little place in the face of very rigid rules.

We have the impression of a life-size reality TV game, with these progressive eliminations, this boredom which inevitably affects this group of isolated men, the tensions which arise between them. This veracity of form is undermined by the twists and turns of the scenario, which are somewhat improbable: Conclave is above all based on suspense and is obliged to build twists and turns and surprises.

A thousand low blows

Seeing them line up one after the other over two hours kills credibility, especially since the screenwriters had a heavy hand on some. However, we never get bored for a second watching these ecclesiastics do a thousand low blows while smiling politely and fighting to the death for power.

The photo is very beautiful, the mathematical staging as it should be, the interpretation impeccable: it would be wrong to shy away from the simple pleasure of this little Cluedo without deaths, despite the implausibilities and the ease of writing.