Movie Review: “Conclave"

Poised On A Knife’s Edge As A Powerful Leader Is Chosen

“Conclave” begins moments after the pope has died. We watch as nervous priests prepare for the selection of a new pope, a process under which the College of Cardinals will be sequestered until the Chair of Saint Peter is once again occupied.

The cardinals have separated into two opposing camps: a liberal, cosmopolitan faction that is gay-friendly, ecumenical, and willing to update its views on human reproduction; it is challenged by a cohort of hardline conservatives, openly racist, contemptuous of Muslim “vermin,” and advocating a return to the Latin Mass.