Queer Film Club: Conclave
Last month, I did something very out of character for me. I went to see a film about straight men. My gay little eyeballs have been treated to an array of LGBTQ+ stories recently so I thought: why not check out what the straights are getting up to on-screen these days?
Directed by Oscar-winner Edward Berger, Conclave takes us inside Vatican as the highest members of the Catholic church lock themselves away to choose a new leader. Watching a group of straight men discuss religion, one of the most straight-laced topics in existence, you might not expect to find a drop of queerness. I was surprised to…
When Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with leading one of the world's most secretive and ancient events, selecting a new Pope, he finds himself at the centre of a conspiracy that could shake the very foundation of the Catholic Church. The events which follow are a devilishly entertaining watch.
I saw Conclave at the Midlands Art Centre when they kindly invited me to come and watch some of the films they were showing as part of the BFI London Film Festival 2024 (despite being located in Birmingham). I picked Conclave from a long list of screenings based largely on the fact that it stars Stanley Tucci (the gayest of all the straight actors) and Ralph Fiennes who both deliver predictably perfect performances as they play bickering besties.
Inspired by the 2016 novel by author Robert Harris, Conclave is the film equivalent of an easy beach read. A page-turner in moving image form. A dry opening (the death of a pope) is quickly livened up beyond belief by a series of scandalous plotlines, each juicier than the last. The sheer volume of twists brings the story closer to a Catholic Soap opera than a true-to-life depiction of the inner workings of a religious institution. A secret is waiting around every corner of the Vatican, all of which are miraculously unveiled over the course of just 72 hours.
As a queer atheist who spent every Sunday morning of his childhood in church, I have complicated feelings towards the topic of religion. Church is a subject and setting which I feel both familiar and uncomfortable with. This low-level discomfort was quickly soothed by how brilliantly camp Conclave is.
At its core, this is a film about a group of men in dresses trading cutting quips and stabbing each other in the back as they vote on who their next leader should be. It's not far from how I imagine they will decide who should head up the Drag Race franchise when RuPaul eventually steps down.
The stand-out moments from the film for me were, of course, the campest scenes. Shots of clergymen and nuns smoking and scrolling on their iPhones delivered visual comedy that would not look out of place at a drag show. And there is a scene in which one particularly soapy scandal is revealed which reminded me of the part in Mean Girls when the Burn Book is photocopied and distributed around the school. This high-level campery was a welcome surprise.
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Even though he propagates in the beginning, I’d love a pope of uncertainty, when he is suddenly confronted with someone who says I’m in between the two worlds, he just needs a moment to work through that.
Edward Berger
Spoiler alert: this next section includes major plot details about the film Conclave (obviously).
Amongst all of this silliness, a sensitive subject matter is thrown into the mix just as the film is drawing to a close. After several rounds of voting and endless gossiping, a new pope is finally appointed in Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), an underdog who manages to overtake the frontrunners without stooping to their level.
Immediately after his victory, it is revealed that Benitez is intersex. Due to the lack of intersex representation in the mainstream media, this final revelation required a much more delicate touch than any which came before it. While I’m sure not everyone will agree, I believe this plotline was handled with the correct amount of care.
The scenes which follow, in which Benitez explains his identity and decision not to have surgery, feature some of the most poignant dialogue in the film. The filmmakers could easily have omitted this plotline but they chose instead to include a discussion which is rarely played out on screen. Even as someone who follows a lot of LGBTQ+ media, these were thoughts I had never heard voiced before. This inclusion should be applauded.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, director Edward Berger explains how this finale was designed with sensitivity and subtly in mind as they were not going for “the big twist, sensational reveal”. The moment was meant to shock the film’s sheltered lead character, Cardinal Lawrence, but not the audience.
“From Ralph’s character’s point of view, this comes as a shock. This revolutionizes his way of thinking. It wouldn’t come to me or you as a shock. It would be interesting. But for a Catholic person, it’s a big thing,” Berger says. “Because even though he propagates in the beginning, I’d love a pope of uncertainty, when he is suddenly confronted with someone who says I’m in between the two worlds, he just needs a moment to work through that.”
Conclave is a melodrama in every possible way. From the dramatic colour scheme of deep reds, rich golds and pure whites to the bold instrumental soundtrack which pulses throughout, every detail is completely over the top. And the film is all the better for it.
The melodramatic style works because of the scale of the subject at hand: belief. Strip away all the pomp and ceremony (and there’s a lot to strip away), and you are left with an old building full of men who have devoted their entire lives to a cause they believe to be far bigger than any of them. Conclave packs it’s biggest punch when tapping into the emotion which is the driving force behind religion. You’re gripped by how desperate these men are to keep hold of something to believe in and find someone half-decent to lead them. Whether you’re a devoted Christian or a sinful queer, we can all relate to that.
Over the past few months, as I’ve been plotting this debut issue of Headless Friends and the launch of this new Queer Film Club series, I wasn’t sure which movie I would write about first. I didn’t expect it to be a film about Christian politics. And I most definitely didn’t expect it to be a movie which features conversations almost exclusively been men (shout-out to Isabella Rossellini and her scene-stealing performance as the formidable Sister Agnes).
Conclave took me by surprise. It is far more soapy and scandalous, camp and catty, tender and twisty than I ever would have imagined a religious romp to be. As a result, this token straight film has ended up being one of my favourite films of 2024. Who would have thought?