Director: Edward Berger

Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, Isabella Rossellini, Lucian Msamati

'All Quiet on the Western Front' director Edward Berger narrows his canvas to a single setting for this enjoyably pulpy picture based on Robert Harris’s 2006 book. The Pope has died and it is up to the quietly authoritative Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes), the head of the assembled Conclave, to oversee the appointment of his successor. His friend and confidante Bellini (Tucci) reluctantly enters the race, and Lawrence hopes Bellini, with his liberalism and tolerance of diversity, will see off more traditional and reactionary Italian candidate, Tedesco (an entertainingly blustery and flashy Castellitto). Also in the running is the ambitious Canadian, Cardinal Tremblay (Lithgow) and the increasingly popular Nigerian candidate Cardinal Adeyemi (Msmati), who, if elected, would be the first Black Pope, but whose intolerant views would impede progress. It’s a keenly paced yarn which nods towards notions of power, inclusivity and tradition, and cinematographer Stephane Fontaine elegantly frames the red robed cardinals against the stark bright Vatican interiors, recreated at Cinecittà studios, as if they were pieces in a board game. The top tier cast, which also includes Rossellini as a wily watchful nun, keep the drama steady, even through the plot’s more fanciful turns. Volker Bertelmann’s Hitchcock-era Bernard Herrmann-style score hypes up the tension.

David Willoughby

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