Behold a noise of tumult - "CONCLAVE" Review

Reviewed by Matt Lambourn

How would you wring yet another story out of the tired old catholic church, especially in such a recent glut of pope-ular material (Young Pope, New Pope, Two Popes…)?

Well, if you were director Edward Berger, you’d cast some of the best actors of our age, in some of the most sumptuous costumes; frame some of the most exquisite architecture into your shots. Of course you’d also give them some deliciously thought-provoking dialogue and weave in an intensely nail-biting story. Throw in some shocking twists, a background of intensely political manipulation and machination, replete with the back-stabbing, deceit, undermining, fence-hopping and fence-sitting that you would expect from such an ambitious bunch of old men and you’d come up with something approaching Conclave.

Although we may have heard about how a College of Cardinals elect a pope when the current passes on, it will always be something of intense intrigue on just how it is achieved. As many characters observe in the film, those who seek power are generally those who are the least worthy of it. Just look at politics the world over; the Vatican being a nation state and a formidable business as well as a church, is no different.

Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) as Dean of the College, finds himself in the unenviable position of trying to wrangle the contenders and electors of the papacy. Naturally he has his own ideas about who it should NOT be, particularly those who want to undo all the progressive work the church has done in recent decades. His mental conflict is made worse by wrestling with what he should be doing to influence the decision and what should be left to the inevitable will of God. The cardinals who consider themselves worthy of the top gig, Tremblay, Bellini, Adayemi, and Tedesco (delivered through excellent performances by John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, Lucian Msamati and Sergio Castellitto) are continually in Lawrence’s face, trying to sway him in their own respective favour. Like all great political thrillers, the more you find out about each of them, the less suitable any of them appear. And the higher their status, the less they think rules (like blasphemy, covetousness and deceit) apply to themselves. If only Lawrence hadn’t publicly appealed for a pope with flaws, it wouldn’t have given them such boldness to revel in their imperfection. Does this imperfection-as-virtue sound familiar in modern politics?

Isabella Rosellini has lost none of her magnificent beauty and fierce onscreen mana as Sister Agnes, as she deftly counters the egos and inadequacies of the jostling cardinals. It is surely no mistake that I found myself wondering whether she would make a better pope than any of them, even at the cost of rupturing one of Catholicism’s fundamental tenets.

The strength of the sound department in this film is in the capturing of the performances. The dialogue recording department was huge, testament to the need for crisp and delicate work as we are invited into a secret huddle, or made to witness the public fallout of one or more humiliating scandals. It remains a quiet film for the most part; silence and quietude having very pertinent religious symbolism. With such rich waters to draw from, the soundtrack should have been nothing short of divine. And yet…

There was no reason for the film to feel quite as ‘long’ as it did; but it dragged. Why? Firstly, there was almost little-to-no contextual ambience. Yes, the Vatican is a ‘cloistered’ state, but relying on actual silence to convey filmic silence is fraught with risk. All it does (and did) is make me aware of the cinema aircon buzz and the rustling of the other patrons. For instance, more use could have been made of subtle, distant winds or evocative room tones. And this would have solved another sound problem: the reverbs felt unfinished, sometimes having nothing (or not enough) background ambience sound to sit in. Often they worked, with lovely rich tails invoking a grand, sacred space. But just as often there wasn’t any reverb where there should have been, as in the dining hall scenes. Hence that contrast of a closer verb, which should have made the scene claustrophobic and awkward, was absent.

Sadly I was left wondering about all this instead of being caught up in the movie. Then began the dreaded chain-reaction thought process: what else was missing? Why only the occasional bell leaking in from outside? Should I be hearing traffic, or birds? Why were the foley feet not quite expressing their associated characters’ nature and mood? Was that the best-sounding door close that it could have been? Was enough made of the surround speakers? What else could have further embellished the plot; what would I have done differently?

Brilliant acting, cinematography, costume – these can take you only so far; they need the support of superb sound. The audio capture of great performances alone does not a perfect soundtrack make. Filmmaking is the art of illusion: a few technical shortcomings like those mentioned above can put that whole house of cards in jeopardy. Even if it doesn’t collapse the film completely, it can short-change the audience, robbing them of the maximum gratification they deserve. As is often the case with sound, people will struggle to recognise quite why they feel unfulfilled, there will only be this lingering sense of dissatisfaction. Since sound is so often subtle and subconscious, “something” about the film just “feels” off; when really the whole experience should have been heavenly.