Conclave (2024)

I never thought that I would rate a movie all about religious figures trying to form a majority vote for the new pope as highly as I have rated Conclave. I don't care for religious institutions, especially not the greedy and notably-prone-to-moral-corruption Roman Catholic Church. I view that particular entity as an appalling blight on the modern world, considering the wealth it has amassed over the years and the abuses that it has covered up. So, before I started hearing good word on this, I initially thought that I would much prefer to watch The Pope Must Die.

Based on a book by the excellent Robert Harris, this is a surprisingly gripping and intense drama that makes great use of a very talented cast, all helped by Peter Straughan's superb screenplay (and a quick look through his filmography shows him to be, while far from infallible, a writer with a selection of features well worth your attention). Playing out like a legal drama, it also manages to comment on the image of the church, and what can be done to improve relations between those who want to best serve their god and the public who may no longer have trust in them.

Ralph Fiennes is Cardinal Lawrence, a man who ends up leading a sombre and vital voting session when the Pope dies of a heart attack. A new successor must be found, and they have to be in a good position to lead the church forward in the modern world. Top contenders are Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), a liberal choice, Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow), a moderate choice, Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), and Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto). There's also a surprise addition in the shape of Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), someone the Pope seemed to favour, although nobody in attendance was previously aware of his existence.

While it would be almost impossible for director Edward Berger to surpass, or even equal, his previous film, he has at least managed to show that he's a consistently interesting and formidable talent. There's no world war onscreen this time, but we still get a number of important skirmishes between opposing factions. Making great use of some twists and reveals to help the pacing, as well as a sense of the outside world heating up in a way that reminds all of those present of just how important the church figurehead is, Berger allows the talented cast to enjoy Straughan's dialogue without needing to add too many bells and whistles to every scene. There's enough to keep viewers hooked in the performances and the small details of the process.

Fiennes is quite flawless in his lead role, a potentially one-note character turned into a well-rounded and fascinating heart hoping to keep life pumping through the veins of a body in serious need of the right medical treatment. Tucci is equal to him, all the more enjoyable for showing some of the frustration that Fiennes seems to somehow keep harnessed deep within himself. Lithgow livens things up a bit, and has a bit of fun with the development of his character, and Msamati, Castellitto, and Diehz all do well just to share the screen with some of the bigger names. Isabella Rossellini seems to be a bit unnecessary, but only until she isn't, and I'm glad there was room for even the smallest of female roles in this male-dominated space, and Brían F. O'Byrne does great work as the assistant to our leading man.

Quiet and contemplative for most of the runtime, but also punctuated by moments of blustery anger, Conclave is a confident and beautiful chamber piece. There's lovely music from Volker Bertelmann and beautiful cinematography by Stéphane Fontaine, but the whole thing really boils down to a talented cast making the most of a smart and interesting script. Some viewers may not appreciate the very last scenes, but I think it all felt like a wonderful way to illustrate the huge chasm that currently exists between the old ways of the church and the new world all around us. Highly recommended, as long as you know that you're going to be watching a film based around a group of men voting on who will be the next Pope.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: La Chimera (2023)

Another film from celebrated writer-director Alice Rohrwacher, La Chimera is best, or most pithily described, as a dour look at the realities of tomb raiding. People seek their fortunes in nefarious ways, but that fortune isn't necessarily the key to happiness.

Josh O'Connor plays Arthur, a young man who has spent some time in prison for his crimes. The thing he remains best at is also the thing that could ruin his life, but that's less of a concern since the disappearance of a woman he loved, Beniamina (Yile Yara Vianello). Can he turn his life around? Will he go back to his old ways? Will viewers care?

This film has received a lot of love, which makes my dissenting opinion fairly irrelevant, but I was not a fan. One part did work for me, a potential relationship between Arthur and a young woman named Italia (Carol Duarte), and it's always good to see Isabella Rossellini in a role, however small, but I spent a lot of the 130-minute runtime wishing it would all be over sooner.

I know that others will get more from it though. It does have things to say - about love, loss, language, and the cost of spending so much time dealing with the dead. I just didn't appreciate the way the message was conveyed. While sold as a slice of magical realism, it feels neither magical nor realistic enough, and it's not helped by the fact that the lead character is almost impossible to warm to.

I have seen O'Connor do good work elsewhere recently, but this is not a role he shines in. The language barrier separates him from everyone else, but so does his apparent urge to stay away from any real connection with the live people around him. Duarte does better, helped by the fact that she seems to have a heart and soul, and there are decent turns from Rossellini, Alba (sister of Alice) Rohrwacher, and Lou Roy-Lecollinet. Few others feel worth watching though, and this is a film that makes use of a fairly large cast in some sequences.

Maybe something has been lost in translation (Rohrwacher had some help on the screenplay from Carmela Covino and Marco Pettenello), particularly when it comes to the attempts to intertwine some lightness through the dark, but while it's easy for me to see how others may like it more than I did . . . it's hard for me to see why it has received so much love. Rohrwacher has done much better with some of her previous work, and I recommend exploring her filmography (particularly The Wonders), but this ended up being disappointingly average, at best. I happily await the many people who can come along to tell me why I am completely wrong.

5/10

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Netflix And Chill: Spaceman (2024)

A sci-fi drama that makes good use of Adam Sandler in another of his impressive dramatic turns, Spaceman is an American film that feels like an ill-judged remake. It isn't an ill-judged remake, actually being based on the book, "Spaceman Of Bohemia", written by Jaroslav Kalfař, but it's very interesting to find elements here that weren't changed to keep the whole thing feeling more obviously American in origin.

Sandler plays Commander Jakub Procházka, a cosmonaut who is due to investigate a large dust cloud just beyond Jupiter. He is far from home, all alone, and suddenly not receiving any messages from his estranged wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan). There has been a message sent to him, one telling him that Lenka is leaving, but Jakub's commanding officer, Commissioner Tuma (Isabella Rossellini) decides to hold it back, figuring out what is best for Jakub's mental health and wellbeing. Maybe it's too late for Jakub though, considering that he starts to wonder if he's hallucinating when he encounters a telepathic spider-like creature that ends up being named Hanuš (voiced by Paul Dano). This encounter leads to a number of conversations that force Jakub to face the reality of his decisions and emotions.

The second feature written by Colby Day, Spaceman is a deep well of ideas and potential that is sadly never as good as it should be, and a lot of that feels down to the writing. Day doesn't do anything wrong by the characters, but the one idea being focused on is a bit too slight without adding more to it, making the 107-minute runtime feel overlong as a number of the main moments between Jakub and Hanuš feel repetitive and unconstructive, especially while the former fights against his own regret and sorrow.

Director Johan Renck has no other features in his extensive filmography so far, but one look at the many music videos and TV shows he has worked on shows someone who should have been given a film project many years ago (he's worked with Chris Cornell, Madonna, Kylie, and David Bowie, as well as being at the helm of episodes of The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Bates Motel, Bloodline, and all 5 episodes of the absolutely astounding Chernobyl). He assembles a solid cast here, gets some lovely cinematography from Jakob Ihre, and a fine score from Max Richter, so it's a shame that the material is lacking that special something.

Sandler is very good in the lead role, no surprise to anyone who has been appreciating his dramatic work throughout the past couple of decades, and Dano is an excellent foil for him, enquiring and commenting with a fairly flat and monotone voice highlighting their position as an impartial viewer keen to explore the loneliness of a fellow traveller. While Mulligan is also very good, she's stuck playing a woman who is often shown in memories and visions filtered through the eyes of the main character, making her feel like someone who is never fully real. Kunal Nayyar is also very good, playing a technician named Peter, and both Rossellini and Lena Olin are given just enough screentime to remind you that other people are trying to support both Jakub and Lena, and there is a wider world beyond our stranded cosmonaut and his, in a way, stranded wife.

Spaceman is good. It's worth one watch. But it's not one that I can see many people revisiting, and I don't think many people will love it. There's too much wasted potential, and it brings to mind one or two superior sci-fi tales, at the very least, that you could say cover very familiar territory. I know many people, like myself, who won't mind wandering through that kind of landscape though.

5/10

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Mubi Monday: Death Becomes Her (1992)

Although you may worry whenever you hear the words "a film directed by Robert Zemeckis that also serves as an FX showcase", there's really no need. In fact, it's worth remembering that Zemeckis spent many years perfectly marrying entertaining concepts to the latest technology that would help him best present things. Then he got a bit carried away with himself.

Death Becomes Her is the tale of a man (Dr. Ernest Menville, played by Bruce Willis) who leaves his girlfriend (Helen Sharp, played by Goldie Hawn) to embark on a life with a famous and beautiful actress (Madeline Ashton, played by Meryl Streep). This changes all three individuals for the worse. Ernest becomes bitter, and drinks excessively while he works on dead bodies. Madeline is afraid of ageing, and seeks solace in the company of at least one younger man. And Helen is just miserable at what she lost, and wants some revenge. When the day comes for that revenge to take place, everything is complicated by the fact that Madeline has managed to get her hands on a potion that will give her immortality. But being immortal means you really need to look after the one body you have.

Written by Martin Donovan and David Koepp, this is a wonderful black comedy that blends The Picture Of Dorian Grey with no small amount of Sunset Blvd. Although these three characters could have been from any walk of life, the fact that one is a doctor and one an actress allows for some more pointed digs at the notions of vanity, the pressures on so many in the entertainment industry to have cosmetic surgery, and the attitudes and failings of people who cannot find themselves content with all of their blessings in life.

Zemeckis does a great job here. Using the first half of the film to weave lots of fun jokes in between the character development (there's not much, but it's there) before treating the halfway point as a turnstile into the FX-laden second half, which leads to plenty of superb visual gags working alongside the dialogue. The special effects, a mix of practical gags and computer work, hold up brilliantly. Almost thirty years later, this is better than even some major films released in the last decade.

Although she didn't enjoy the experience of working with all of the special effects, Streep is on top form in her role. All three leads are great, with Willis being atypically schlubby and Hawn a bit more calculating and sharp than usual, but Streep stays just a little ahead of everyone, thanks to it being quite a different role for her and the fact that she's the focus of many of the memorable effects. Ian Ogilvy also raises a smile in his brief appearance, and Isabella Rossellini is the mysterious and alluring woman who offers up the chance of immortality before belatedly adding words of caution.

Not entirely dissimilar to many short tales that have warned us against the perils of trying to gain immortality (from the many miserable vampires who have found the experience lacking to the kind of stories you get from Ray Bradbury and Tales From The Crypt, to name just a couple), Death Becomes Her is slick, macabre fun that also proves to be eminently rewatchable.

7/10

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Mubi Monday: Enemy (2013)

Sitting in between the less mainstream, but no less interesting, films from director Denis Villeneuve, Enemy is a dark and strange film that boasts a fantastic dual performance from Jake Gyllenhaal, some interesting themes being explored, and a head-scratching ending that feels much more surreal and nonsensical than it actually is.

Gyllenhaal plays Adam, a teacher who seems to enjoy his quiet life. His weekdays are taken up with work and he usually sees his girlfriend (Mélanie Laurent) at weekends. His world changes, however, with the discovery that he has an exact double in the form of an actor, Anthony, and he decides that they should meet. But that may just makes things stranger, and may lead to a spiralling chain of events that include mistrust, anger, and arachnid-infused nightmares.

Based on a novel by José Saramago, Enemy is a dark and compelling psychological drama that rewards multiple viewings, and also retains enough ambiguity to allow viewers to have their own interpretation of events. There are clues, probably even pointers, generously sprinkled throughout the first half of the film, but they still don't point to any one, definitive, conclusion. Well, not in my mind.

Villeneuve knows exactly how far to push things, working with a fine script by Javier Gullón that takes time to observe the main character in between a number of defining moments. Everything has an air of menace and foreboding about it, emphasised by the dark visual style (not murky, but this feels like a film with a hell of a lot of dark brown used in the colour palette), and that doesn't disappear as you realise that a number of the external cues may just be representing the state of mind of the main character.

Although he has many performances that could contend for the title, Gyllenhaal once again proves why he's one of the most watchable actors of his generation as he portrays Adam and Anthony here, two men who may be physically identical but certainly seem poles apart when it comes to personalities. Laurent and Sarah Gadon (playing Anthony's partner, Helen) both do great work in roles that could have easily been further sidelined in favour of more screentime for Gyllenhaal. They're not big roles, or handled as well as they could be, but both actresses do excellent work, reminding you at all times that these are very important characters in the story, even when they're not onscreen. There's also a cameo from Isabella Rossellini, who provides more information that could help sway you towards one definite conclusion, yet once again proves far from definitive.

Enemy is a film I have thought about often, since I first saw it a couple of years ago. It's not one I will revisit often, but I WILL revisit it. And I doubt I will ever stop appreciating the little touches throughout - the character beats, the dialogue, the design work, etc. I recommend others seek it out, if you haven't seen it already.

8/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.