‘CONCLAVE’ IS GRIPPING
The election of a new pope is one of the world’s most recognizable rituals. Conclave spins its tale with confidence because director Edward Berger and screenwriter Peter Straughan (adapting Robert Harris’s novel) know that we in the world outside the Vatican don’t have a clue as to what conversations go on before we see white smoke rise into the air. Can it be that the men in the college of cardinals are just human beings, subject to fits of jealousy and spite like the rest of us mere mortals? Conclave responds with a resounding “yes” and weaves its serpentine story with vivid character portraits enacted by the likes of Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and (in a minor but welcome supporting role) Isabella Rossellini. The narrative, with elements…