Yes, Conclave is absolutely worth watching if you crave intelligent adult entertainment. The 2024 Vatican thriller earned a 93% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes with Variety calling its ending “one of the most satisfying twists in years” that “respects the audience’s attention.” Ralph Fiennes delivers what critics describe as career-highlight work, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor while the ensemble cast—including Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini—anchors a screenplay that treats viewers as sophisticated observers rather than passive consumers.
Director Edward Berger’s adaptation of Robert Harris’s novel succeeds where many mid-budget dramas fail by balancing procedural tension with genuine character study. The film earned eight Oscar nominations including Best Picture, won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards, and pulled in $128 million worldwide from a $20 million budget. This isn’t a film designed to reach the widest possible audience; it’s designed for viewers hungry for the type of serious, dialogue-driven cinema that blockbuster culture has partially displaced from multiplexes.
Table of Contents
- Why Critics Hailed This as Smart Political Thriller Entertainment
- The Performances That Earned Awards Recognition
- Where the Narrative Succeeds and Stumbles
- What Separates This From the Usual Awards-Bait Drama
- Technical Craft and Production Design as Narrative Language
- Awards Recognition and Awards-Season Trajectory
- The Specific Audience This Film Reaches
Why Critics Hailed This as Smart Political Thriller Entertainment
The Guardian awarded conclave five stars, with reviewer Wendy Ide calling Fiennes’ central performance “one of the performances of the year.” The New York Times and NPR both emphasized the film’s intelligence—NPR described it as “a clever thriller” while critics across major publications praised Peter Straughan’s screenplay for its intricate plotting. The critical consensus around the film centers on its refusal to condescend: the Vatican politics, papal protocols, and theological implications are presented with enough specificity that viewers unfamiliar with Catholic hierarchy still follow the threads of power and scandal unfolding across the conclave.
The film’s construction mirrors classic procedural thrillers—Cardinal Thomas Lawrence must investigate four cardinal candidates (an American progressive, a Nigerian conservative, a Canadian moderate, and an Italian traditionalist) while maintaining the appearance of neutrality as a new pope is selected. Unlike many contemporary thrillers that rely on action sequences or shocking twists for momentum, Conclave builds tension through conversation, argument, and the slow revelation of each candidate’s hidden scandals. Critics specifically noted this approach as refreshing in an era where adult dramas often struggle to find theatrical distribution.
The Performances That Earned Awards Recognition
Fiennes anchors the film with a performance that Oscar voters rewarded with a nomination—The Observer called it “mesmerizing” and critics repeatedly emphasized his ability to convey both procedural resolve and mounting moral uncertainty. Isabella Rossellini earned her own Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress as Sister Agnes, a nun whose role evolves from ceremonial protocol enforcer to active participant in Lawrence’s investigation. Her scenes carry unexpected weight precisely because the screenplay allows characters time to develop rather than cycling through exposition.
The supporting cast provides the ideological and personal friction necessary for a political thriller to function beyond plot mechanics. Stanley Tucci as Cardinal Bellini combines “profound gravitas and lightening humor,” creating a character who could easily be a villain in less careful hands but instead becomes genuinely sympathetic. John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Ralph Fiennes’ ensemble work with other actors demonstrates a level of theatrical discipline rarely seen in contemporary film acting—these are performers trained in stagecraft bringing that precision to screen work, and the difference is audible in every exchange. However, some viewers criticized the ensemble’s philosophical debates as occasionally slow or underdeveloped, with one critic noting the film functions more as a “glossily transferred airport novel first and a deeper drama about the world of religion second.”.
Where the Narrative Succeeds and Stumbles
The film’s middle sections execute the papal thriller premise with genuine proficiency. The screenplay methodically peels back layers of each cardinal candidate, revealing personal hypocrisies and institutional failures that complicate the simple question “who should be pope?” Writers familiar with political procedurals—think “House of Cards” or “The Crown”—will recognize the familiar architecture, but Conclave applies that framework to a specifically Vatican setting where theological commitment and political ambition aren’t always at odds. The ending, however, splits viewers and critics alike.
Variety’s Peter Debruge championed it as a “Hail Mary” that “surprises and restores one’s faith,” while other critics found it politically charged in ways that undermined the film’s earlier intelligence. Some viewers reported that once the narrative’s final reveal lands, scenes viewed earlier take on new meaning—a quality that invites repeat viewing. Others felt the ending’s shock value contradicted the measured intelligence of the preceding two hours. This divisiveness isn’t a flaw in the film itself but rather evidence that Berger and Straughan made specific choices about what their story means, choices that don’t sit comfortably with all viewers.
What Separates This From the Usual Awards-Bait Drama
Conclave grossed $128 million worldwide against a $20 million production budget—a 640% return on investment that places it among the most successful adult dramas of its release year. For context, many celebrated independent films and adult thrillers struggle to earn three or four times their budget. The film’s international gross ($95.5 million) substantially exceeded its domestic earnings ($32.5 million), indicating appeal beyond the typical American awards-season audience.
The commercial success reflects something the industry rarely discusses: audiences exist for serious entertainment that doesn’t require spandex or franchises to justify theatrical exhibition. Conclave benefited from press coverage, awards-season momentum, and critical goodwill, but these factors only amplify what the film itself offers—dialogue-driven plotting that keeps viewers engaged without relying on spectacle. The tradeoff is that casual viewers expecting Pope thriller entertainment or those seeking action-driven suspense may find Conclave slower than anticipated, particularly in its first half when the screenplay prioritizes character introduction over momentum.
Technical Craft and Production Design as Narrative Language
The film’s cinematography and production design function as careful commentary on papal tradition and institutional permanence. Conclave was shot in actual Vatican locations and other European architectural sites that carry centuries of religious and political weight. The visual consistency—heavy reds and golds, architectural spaces designed to dwarf individual actors—reinforces the film’s central tension: individuals navigate systems larger and older than their personal convictions.
One limitation worth noting: viewers seeking theological depth or genuine religious inquiry may find Conclave more interested in political mechanics than spiritual questions. The New York Times observed that the film’s stance toward the Catholic Church mirrors Hollywood’s approach as “lightly cynical, self-flattering and finally myth-stoking.” The screenplay uses Vatican settings and Catholic aesthetics primarily as framework for political thriller elements rather than as genuine exploration of faith. This isn’t a criticism if you’re seeking smart adult entertainment; it is a limitation if you hoped for something philosophically ambitious.
Awards Recognition and Awards-Season Trajectory
Conclave received eight Academy Award nominations at the 97th Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Fiennes, Best Supporting Actress for Rossellini, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing). Beyond the Oscars, it won Best Film at the British Academy Film Awards (with four BAFTA nominations total), Best Screenplay at the Golden Globe Awards, and Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. This recognition reflects voting bodies’ assessment that Fiennes, Rossellini, and the ensemble cast delivered performances worthy of industry-wide acknowledgment.
The Specific Audience This Film Reaches
Conclave appeals most strongly to viewers who actively seek character-driven narratives with ensemble casts, who appreciate films that demand intellectual engagement from audiences without demanding advanced degrees, and who miss the theatrical experience of serious adult dramas. The film proved especially popular with audiences in their 45-plus demographic, suggesting it fills a theatrical niche increasingly underserved by studios focusing on superhero properties and prestige television.
If you watch films for plot mechanics alone, Conclave’s pacing during establishment scenes may feel deliberate rather than propulsive. If you value theological authenticity or Catholic perspective, the film’s cynical approach toward church institutions may feel reductive. But if you seek filmmaking that trusts viewer intelligence, casting that showcases seasoned actors delivering subtle ensemble work, and a screenplay that builds tension through dialogue and revelation rather than action, Conclave operates at the level of craft it promises from opening frame.
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