Best Adapted Screenplay Nominee: Conclave

Conclave is my favorite film and my favorite screenplay of the year. Director Edward Berger created a film in such a way as to make something that most people would find mundane into a riveting drama that felt so compelling that it felt like the fate of the world was at stake. That isn’t necessarily hyperbole, as the Pope is the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. That’s a sizeable portion of the world’s population using one man as their spiritual advisor and role model.

Screenwriter Peter Straughan crafted a screenplay based on the novel by Robert Harris that was tight, layered, and kept the audience wondering who wanted the papacy and for what reason, and showed a group of men, some of whom were very good, but all of which were deeply flawed, who sought this power for different reasons. The irony of the film and of the papacy is that those who do not want it are the most deserving, and those who want it the most are the ones who should be kept farthest from it.

This film is 100% drama. There are no action sequences in it, although there is an explosion. However, the drama holds the audience’s attention far better than any car chase or CG-laden action sequence could. The screenwriting in this script tells a story about loyalty and betrayal and about who the future will belong to. Will it belong to a few elites who view themselves as the arbiters of morality? Or will it belong to all of us? Will God grant salvation to those who follow strict dogma? Or will He show mercy to all? ?Conclave is about much more than a group of Cardinals electing a new pope. It is about all of us deciding what our future will be.

Unlike many other films this year, Conclave’s message is one of hope.

Many of the films that received this year’s most prestigious nominations were tonally pessimistic. Not all of them, but many of them were. Conclave, on the other hand, starts out with Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) as the Dean of the College of Cardinals. He is in charge of organizing and managing the Conclave, but he is struggling with his faith. He doesn’t know where he belongs, and he believes the deceased pope had lost faith in him before his passing. Over the course of the film, his faith is resurrected as he once again feels the presence of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Conclave is that it told a spiritual story in a secular way and in a way that both believers and non-believers will appreciate and enjoy.

But on to the screenplay.

Conclave works so well because it is dramatic. It is dramatic because Straughan gave the script a tight Hero’s Journey and a story structure that is subtle but heightens drama, conflict, and intrigue to captivate viewers and hold tightly to their attention. Here is a rough outline of Conclave’s Hero’s Journey.

Ordinary World – The Pope is dead.

Call to Adventure – Lawrence is called to organize the Conclave to select a new pope.

Refusal – Lawrence doubts his faith and his abilities, and he doesn’t want to be Dean of the Conclave. ???????????????????????????

Meeting the Mentor – Cardinal Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci) impresses upon Lawrence the importance of a progressive getting elected to continue the work of the previous pope and threatens that a conservative like Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) will undo the work of the previous 50 years (high stakes). Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini) is introduced here and will become a mentor and an ally later in the film. We also meet Cardinal Benitez, who was only known to the late pope and was secretly the Cardinal of Kabul

Crossing the First Threshold – The Conclave Begins.

Tests, Allies, and Enemies – Lines are drawn. It’s clear who will be a good pope and who will not. Different factions form. Lawrence gives a call to action at the conference about certainty in one of the most brilliantly written and brilliantly performed monologues I’ve ever seen. The script could win the Oscar for that monologue alone. The ballots don’t go their way. Lawrence receives information about Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow) that leads to suspicion.

Approach – Lawrence learns of a terrorist attack in another part of the city, but being sequestered, he keeps that information from the other Cardinals for fear that it will influence how they vote. Then, a confrontation between frontrunner Cardinal Adeyemi Lucian Msamati) and a young nun leads to...

Supreme Ordeal – Lawrence disqualifies Adeyemi, opening the door for Tedesco and throwing the Conclave into more uncertainty. The direction of the story shifts here from the goal of getting Aldo elected to simply preventing Tedesco from ascending to the papacy, even if it means pushing Tremblay’s candidacy.

Reward – Lawrence puts his faith in God to select the Pope. “Let God’s will be done,” he says. They decide on Tremblay but then Lawrence gets evidence of Tremblay’s corruption from Sister Agnes. Lawrence breaks the seal of the deceased pope’s apartment and discovers how deep Tremblay’s corruption goes.

The Road Back – Lawrence must decide whether to share the information with the other Cardinals. Lawrence realizes Aldo lacks the moral courage to be Pope because he’s willing to sit on the information for fear it will turn the Cardinals to Tedesco. Lawrence decides to share the information. It appears Tedesco will win, and Lawrence is the only one who can stop him. He even admits he would choose the name John if elected when he previously said he never gave any thought to what his papal name would be. Then, a terrorist attack blows out the windows of the cathedral as Lawrence is about to cast his vote for himself.

Resurrection – Tedesco uses racism to show why the church should be more conservative. Cardinal Benitez stands against Tedesco and says the Church is in our hearts and should be looking towards the future. Back in the cathedral, the wind blows the Holy Spirit in through the broken window. Benitez wins on the next ballot and takes the name Innocent.

Return With the Elixir – The twist. “I am what God made me. I know what it is to exist between the world’s certainties.”

This film has been out for a while, but I’m not going to spoil the ending in case the reader hasn’t seen it.

Conclave is about a man rediscovering his faith. Not only that but in an archetypal way, his faith is resurrected through the tests he faces as the story’s hero. His character arc was subtle but powerful. The drama in the story is also subtle and powerful. Conclave?is a quiet but powerful movie, and its layered screenplay, with its emotional character arcs and thoughtful storytelling, is the best adapted screenplay of the year.

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