SPOILER ALERT!
This article discloses the WOKE premise of the plot
Unlike the recent Netflix film “Mary,” this is not my personal review of CONCLAVE. I have not seen the film/movie but am noting relevant facts with snippets from several reviews in the faint hope that unsuspecting Catholics do not pay good money without being aware of the WOKE ending.
PLOT
Conclave is a tabloid-level fictional representation of a Conclave — the process to elect a pope. It is full of conniving characters, intrigue and machinations, but ends with a non-binary/intersex priest (who has a uterus & “identifies” as male) becoming pope.
Like…really?
LOCATIONS
Small mercies — though they used some locations in Rome, the movie was NOT shot in the Vatican!
CAST
This is a glossy production though with a modest budget of only $20 million as reported by Wikipedia. It has a remarkable cast, including Ralph Fiennes; Stanley Tucci; John Lithgow; Lucian Msamati & Isabella Rossellini. Many say that the acting is excellent.
Below are snippets from several reviews. The first 4 are secular, and the latter 2 from Catholic sources. (Links to the full reviews are appended.) Some don’t even mention the final twist!
Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church's most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets left in the dead Pope's wake--secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church.
Lawrence discovers Benitez's canceled medical visit was for a laparoscopic hysterectomy, suggesting the new Pope may be transgender. When asked by Lawrence for a private explanation, Innocent explains that he is in fact intersex and was assigned male at birth, but he did not know he also had a uterus and ovaries until a recent appendectomy. The late Pope knew about it but hid the secret, making Benitez a cardinal in pectore regardless of his condition. Benitez goes on to explain he chose to keep his female organs, stating, "I am what God made me." Agreeing to keep Benitez's secret and entrust God divinely inspired the results, Lawrence listens to the crowds cheer the new pope's election.
The movie takes on an almost door-slamming farcical tone. Even in the sequestered quarters, rumors, revelations, and events take the characters on a breathing, Rubik’s Cube-style series of twists and turns. The final surprise may seem outrageous initially, but it is crafted to fit the story as satisfyingly as the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
Before long, the college will devolve into a cesspool of backbiting, infighting and ruthless smear campaigning.
The director Edward Berger is in it mainly for the intricate puzzle-box plotting and the relentless political backstabbing. Berger previously directed All Quiet on the Western Front, and he stages Conclave as another kind of war movie, where words become weapons and even the cardinals’ seating arrangements begin to resemble battle formations.
Berger is clearly having fun ushering us into the shadowy, cloistered world of the Vatican, complete with detailed re-creation of the Sistine Chapel. And Conclave is undeniably engrossing to watch as it shuffles and reshuffles the narrative deck and serves up one juicy cardinal-red herring after another.
While the story may be a parlor trick, there’s nothing phony about Fiennes’ performance as the movie’s troubled conscience, a thoughtful man of God experiencing a genuine crisis of faith. Fiennes makes Lawrence’s psychology intensely compelling, whether he’s stepping in to reprimand a wayward colleague or reluctantly considering the papacy himself.
Conclave has a cynical, criticizing tone towards Catholicism. Rooted in this negativity, the film centers around the idea that there is no certainty in the church, that uncertainty is in fact a good thing. Every cardinal in this film is only working towards his own selfish gain. It displays the church as filled with self-centered, corrupted clergy who are all untrustworthy and egotistical.
While running away from this movie is certainly a valid option, I would add that sitting down to watch it is also acceptable. While it is a ridiculous portrayal of Catholic doctrine, there is some merit to be found it watching it and taking time to discuss it with fellow Catholics.
BISHOP BARRON [posted on 𝕏]
Just saw “Conclave.” If you are interested in a film about the Catholic Church that could have been written by the editorial board of the New York Times, this is your movie. The hierarchy of the Church is a hotbed of ambition, corruption and desperate egotism, Conservatives are xenophobic extremists and the liberals are self-important schemers. None can escape this irredeemable situation. The only way forward is the embrace of the progressive buzz words of diversity, inclusion, indifference to doctrine, and the ultimate solution is a virtue signaling Cardinal who takes the Papal name of Innocent and who is a biological female. Since it checks practically every woke box, I’m sure it will win a boatload of awards, but my advice is to run away from it as fast as you can.
CONCLUSION
As advised by Sara KS in her Catholic365 review, I might see this film when available for free on a streaming platform, so I am able to make my own assessment. Till then, I refuse to put any money in their WOKE-tainted coffers!
Dr. Kevin Hay
You can follow Kevin on 𝕏 (Twitter) @ kevinhay77