2020-2029, Film Review

Conclave (2024)

Posted on December 8, 2024January 1, 2025 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

**© Black Bear UK, Focus Features, FilmNation Entertainment and Indian Paintbrush**

Conclave – Film Review

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, Isabella Rossellini, Lucian Msamati, Carlos Diehz

Director: Edward Berger

Synopsis: After the death of the Pope, a cardinal is tasked with organising the vote to elect a new leader of the Catholic Church…

Review: In a year when many people worldwide have gone to the polls to cast their ballot in elections, Edward Berger’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front, couldn’t be timelier. Like the outcomes of these general elections, the election of a leader for an institution like the Catholic Church – an important pillar of faith for millions – is highly consequential. While the process is conducted away from the eyes of the watching world, Berger swaps the trenches of World War I for the halls of the Vatican and peers through the black or white smoke, at one of the most secretive and oldest elections in human history.

The film opens with Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) pacing through the streets of Rome late at night, arriving at the Pope’s private chambers in the Vatican. There, he receives the solemn news that the Holy Father has passed away from a heart attack. As the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Lawrence is tasked with organising the papal conclave, the election process to select the new pope. As the election begins, four leading contenders emerge: the liberal Cardinal Bellini (Tucci), the socially conservative Cardinal Adeyemi (Msamati), the moderate Cardinal Tremblay (Lithgow), and the hardline traditionalist Cardinal Tedesco (Castellitto), who threatens to reverse decades of reform. As the election unfolds to determine the most powerful figure in the Catholic Church, startling revelations emerge, threatening to overshadow the process and could cause catastrophic damage to the Church’s reputation, if they became public knowledge.

In the same vein as the elections the public participates in, with politicians desperately looking to either attain power or hang onto it by any means necessary by appealing to their respective electorates, Conclave is a fascinating exploration of humanity’s innate and almost selfish desire for ambition and to obtain power whenever they can. These are traits you wouldn’t expect of religious men in the service of a higher being and the institution to which they have devoted their lives. Peter Straughan’s script, adapted from the book of the same name by Robert Harris, lays this for all to see as these four men desperately look to play their hands and outmanoeuvre their competitors. It is all the more difficult for Lawrence, who shares the same political mindset as Bellini but must position himself as neutral given his position as the one who is overseeing the election. Yet, he knows of the damage that would be dealt to the Church and the Papacy if someone like Tedesco ascended to the papal throne. All the while, as the election takes shape, the revelations that come to light cause Lawrence to doubt his faith in the institution to which he has devoted his entire life.

The hallways of the Vatican, featuring men in fancy garments writing some words on a bit of a paper to choose their next leader, might seem the most unlikely ground for a pulsating, edge-of-your-seat thriller. Yet, for a gripping 120 minutes, as agendas begin to shuffle, the scheming commences as support for the various candidates fluctuates as some uncomfortable truths are revealed. It never fails to be utterly captivating, in no small part due to the phenomenal performances across the board. As the cardinal at the centre of this, Fiennes has consistently had a consistently captivating screen presence across his 40-year career, and he is utterly masterful once again. He must balance the difficult task of remaining objective in the running of the conclave, while desperately trying to prevent the election of a pontiff that would in his mind, cause considerable damage to an institution that has already had plenty of issues to contend with that have damaged its standing with the public. While Bellini ideologically aligns with Lawrence, he emphatically rejects any desire to become Pope. However, he may find himself reluctantly drawn into it to prevent Tedesco, or the devious Tremblay from winning the election, the latter of whom may also have some secrets he desperately tries to keep hidden.

While these cardinals scheme, bicker and devise plots throughout the process, the nuns in the Vatican remain mostly anonymous and silent observers. This is until Sister Agnes (Rossellini) is called upon when a decades-old secret comes to Lawrence’s attention. Fleeting though her screentime may be, with every word or gesture, she makes the most of her screentime in no uncertain terms. Reteaming with Berger after their combined Oscar success, Volker Bertelman’s string-heavy score is enough to get your heart racing with its intensity as if there wasn’t fraught enough with the events of the election playing out before our very eyes. The brisk editing by Nick Emerson ensures the film’s pacing never lags while Stéphane Fontaine’s cinematography is with several scenes boasting such visual splendour, that they wouldn’t look out of place in the Sistine Chapel. 2024 has been a significant year for vying for power at the highest positions of government, perhaps more than some would have liked it to be, given the outcomes of certain elections. Yet, it serves as a stark reminder, that absolute power corrupts absolutely, and no man, religious or not, can hide from that inescapable truth.

Through the divine work of an impeccably acted ensemble, featuring some of the best performances of Fiennes’ illustrious career, who would have thought a film about the election of a leader of the Catholic Church could be so thrilling?

2010-2019, Film Review

Bombshell (2019)

Posted on January 24, 2020January 24, 2020 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

**Image is property of Lionsgate and Annapurna Pictures**

Bombshell – Film Review

Cast: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Malcolm McDowell, Allison Janney

Director: Jay Roach

Synopsis: As the United States gears up towards the 2016 Presidential Election, one of the country’s most prominent TV networks, Fox News, is rocked by allegations of sexual harassment allegations against its chairman Roger Ailes…

Review: Back in 2017, the shocking details of the sexual behaviour of powerful men like Harvey Weinstein, and his appalling conduct of sexually harassing women became public. The disclosure of such appalling revelations gave life to such powerful and important campaigns like Time’s Up and the Me Too movement, which have started vital discourses about sexual harassment. Yet, one year earlier, thanks to the brave courage of women, an equally loathsome dynasty, deservedly fell from grace.

The attention of the entire United States, and the wider world alike, is focusing on the 2016 Presidential election, with controversial candidate Donald Trump emerging as the front runner for the Republican Party. But behind the scenes at the conservative leaning Fox News, the company’s chairman, Roger Ailes, is perpetrating a rampant scheme of sexual harassment against his employees. With employees so often powerless to do anything about it, it goes unchallenged for a significantly long period of time. Until some decide, that it’s time to drop an explosive bombshell on their employers.

Thanks to the work of the makeup team (lead by Darkest Hour‘s Oscar winner Kazu Hiro) Charlize Theron puts in an excellent, transformative performance as notorious Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly. She’s one of network’s greatest assets, but in the wake of wake of some sexist comments that are fired her way by following one of the televised debates, she becomes the centre of attention of not just Ailes the Fox News audience, but of the country as a whole. Kelly initially seems willing to let the matter slide, in order to further her career. But as time goes on, amid the rampant nature of the abuse that is going on, means that she has to take a stand.

The film approaches the matter from three perspectives, that of Megyn Kelly, Gretchen Carlson (Kidman), and fictionalised producer Kayla Pospisil (Robbie). The contrast between Carlson and Pospisil could not be more apparent. The former is starting to get extremely tired of the culture that she’s witnessing at the network, and is preparing herself for a possible legal showdown. Meanwhile the latter is determined to forge a career at this network, an approach that begins to waiver when Ailes himself (a brilliantly slimy John Lithgow) takes a liking to Kayla, and subjects her to the sort of demeaning treatment that he almost certainly subjected many women to. It’s a deeply uncomfortable moment that puts this whole scandal into perspective.

While it would have made quite the statement had this film been written and directed by women, writer Charles Randolph and director Jay Roach approach this tricky and emotional subject matter from an empathetic standpoint. Pitching this as a satire ran the risk of negating the heavy subject matter and making light of the abuse that these women suffered. The approach taken is at times, rather sensationalist and is scratching at the surface. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take lightly the awful abuse that these women endured. Regardless of political persuasion, it serves as a necessary reminder that there’s the bigger picture to focus on. Specifically, that women to this day experience this sort of harassment in workplaces across the world.

It could have been overtly gratuitous with some decisions it makes, but it chooses to keep the awful treatment that these women were subjected to front and centre, and never is that more apparent than in a heart-breaking scene between Kayla and a co-worker. Ailes and Weinstein have deservedly fallen from grace, but the bigger picture remains that predators like them almost certainly remain very much at large, in workplaces all across the world. Crucially, women must not be afraid to speak out, because when they do, it can shine a light on individuals who perpetrate such loathsome schemes. Change won’t happen overnight, but we can kickstart efforts to stamp out this repugnant behaviour.

Combining such weighty subject matter with satire is always risky. However, with a broadly empathetic approach to its storytelling combined with three strong performances, it’s a timely reminder of the vital importance of initiatives like Time’s Up and the Me Too Movement.

2010-2019, Film Review

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Posted on July 10, 2017May 18, 2024 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

**Image is property of 20th Century Fox, Ingenious Film Partners and Chernin Entertainment**

Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Film Review

Cast: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo

Directors: Rupert Wyatt

Synopsis: Whilst carrying out some tests to research a cure for Alzheimer’s, a determined scientist discovers a young ape who after experimentation, develops remarkably advanced intelligence.

Review: As a species, humanity has had the dominion of Planet Earth has for the past two millennia. Of course, the idea that one day something else could come along and take that away from humanity is a theme that has been explored a considerable amount in cinema. There’s the classic alien invasion films, but the idea of super smart apes taking over the planet has been around since the 1960s and the original Planet of the Apes film featuring Charlton Heston, spawned four sequels. Then came Tim Burton and Mark Wahlberg in 2001, to which a sequel never materialised and after another decade, the franchise was rebooted once more.

In this new take on the franchise, Will (Franco) is a scientist aiming to discover a cure for Alzheimer’s. His research leads to the development of a drug that is given to some Apes, which leads to one particular ape developing unprecedented abilities and super advanced intelligence that Will decides to adopt and name Caesar. As we watch Caesar grow up, and his intelligence becomes apparent, he begins to start questioning himself. All the while, the development of the drug begins to create tensions for the humans and as you might imagine a conflict between the humans and the apes starts to brew.

The wonder of modern technology meant that the apes were brought to life via motion capture work, and it’s just remarkable how advanced the technology has become. The technology is so impressive that it could almost make you forget that there is an actor who’s bringing the character to life. Though there are a handful of actors who bring the apes to life, the main man is the King of Motion Capture, Mr Andy Serkis himself. His work here is flawless, giving Caesar a very distinct personality, and a character you absolutely can empathise with. Given that it is in fact Caesar who is the main character in the film, writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver give him the most back story out of everyone by far, which does mean the back story of others does suffer a little bit.

As Caesar’s main father figure, Franco is excellent in his role as one of the few humans that Caesar trusts, along with Will’s ailing father Charles (Lithgow) and love interest Caroline (Pinto). There’s not a great deal of development on them, but they’re characters you care about. There’s one human who doesn’t quite view Caesar the way Will does, and that is Tom Felton’s Dodge Landon. Channelling his inner Draco Malfoy, he’s a man who relishes mistreating apes and putting them in their place, and when he meets Caesar, he’s certainly got his hands full, as it’s all well and good telling the audience that Caesar is a smart ape, but actions sometimes speak louder than words, and this is definitely the case with Caesar.

Under Wyatt’s direction the film is visually crisp with action scenes that are absolutely exhilarating to watch. With scenes that take place on California’s Golden Gate Bridge stand out as a particular highlight. The film’s pacing isn’t perfect, there are a few lapses in the plot where the film does drag. However, there are one or two moments “holy shit” moments that more than makeup for this. If a franchise has been dormant for a decade, any reboot’s key purpose is to reinvigorate interest in the franchise in a substantial way, and in that sense, it certainly was mission accomplished.