Conclave

critic Reviews

, 93% Certified Fresh Tomatometer Score
  • Carrying off papal pulp with immaculate execution and career-highlight work from Ralph Fiennes, Conclave is a godsend for audiences who crave intelligent entertainment.
  • , Rotten Tomatometer Score
    Jake WilsonThe Age (Australia)
    In the separate realm of fiction, my feeling is that a palace intrigue is dramatically most effective when the palace is rotting from the inside -- and that Conclave in particular would have gained from a pinch more cynicism.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Stephen RomeiThe Australian
    What unfolds as the cardinals go to war with each other… is as tantalising as a murder mystery. The candidates become suspects, leaks happen, and questions arise about who is telling the truth.
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  • , Rotten Tomatometer Score
    Heather SchwedelSlate
    Conclave does not deserve its drama queen reputation.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Mark KermodeKermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)
    ... Not just dramatically satisfying, but philosophically satisfying.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    David JenkinsLittle White Lies
    It’s all competently performed and executed, with loud booms of sound cued to each scene change as an attempt to ramp up the tension, and lots of behind-the-head tracking shots of cardinals anxiously pacing through corridors and stairways.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Danny LeighFinancial Times
    The tone is wry, the plot sturdy, the main course a thick porterhouse slab of grass-fed, richly marbled acting, delivered to your seat.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Gisela SavdieEl Heraldo
    The film highlights the contradictions between what is preached and what happens: while advocating for the equality of all, the institution is immersed in hierarchies, and strict codes that even its own members fail to uphold. [Full review in Spanish]
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Max GaoElle
    A riveting psychological thriller with an absurd final twist, the film depicts Cardinals as self-serving, power-hungry politicians who spend their limited time together attempting to convince one another that they are the lesser of two evils.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    A.S. Hamrahn+1
    This one is highly burnished and tightly wound, seemingly made by Fiennes and not the director.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    David NusairReel Film Reviews
    ...benefits from its superb production design and raft of above-average performances...
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