When we last saw director Edward Berger, he led a 2022 Oscar-nominated adaptation of the World War I tale All Quiet on the Western Front. For his follow-up, Berger trains his eye on the inner workings of the Catholic Church via 2024’s Conclave.

After Pope Gregory XVII dies, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) runs the College of Cardinals conclave necessary to choose a new pontiff. From the outset, four primary candidates emerge, all of whom bring different beliefs and attitudes: American Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci), Nigerian Joshua Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), Canadian Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow) and Italian Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto).

As these figures jockey for position, a variety of potential controversies emerge. Cardinal Lawrence needs to navigate these challenges and help the Catholic Church find its new leader.

On the surface, a movie about the selection process used to determine the next pope doesn’t sound especially fascinating. Actually, I think I’d find it interesting to learn about the specifics, but it still doesn’t seem like a terribly cinematic topic.

Which almost certainly becomes why Conclave spices up matters via those snarls to which I allude in my synopsis. To gin up drama, the film demonstrates a mix of concerns that impact the main candidates.

Does this seem realistic? Probably not, as I suspect the actual selection process develops in a much less juicy manner.

But realism in a probably dull bureaucratic procedure doesn’t sell movie tickets. As such, Conclave goes for story that makes it more like a thriller than the subject matter would imply.

Although it does stretch credulity, Conclave manages to become a mostly engaging view of its topic. Though I doubt most gatherings of this sort revolve around so much backbiting and scandal, the end result still offers a reasonably compelling tale.

I don’t want to give the impression Conclave offers a soap opera style potboiler. While it does lean toward thriller territory, it keeps an even tone and doesn’t throw out sizzle just to titillate an audience.

Heck, for all I know, maybe papal selection committees work just the same as what we see here. That still sounds like a stretch, but I’m no Catholic Church historian and perhaps some – or even most – conclaves generate the same level of feuding as the one featured in the film.

Apparently no one really knows how these sessions operate – well, no one willing to spill the beans, at least. According to Berger’s audio commentary, the participants get sworn to secrecy, so the inner workings remain a mystery to the broader population.

Whatever the case, Conclave manages to create a fairly intriguing look at these matters, and it evolves in a positive manner. It does telegraph some twists in advance – which Berger freely admits in his commentary – but these elements never seem gratuitous or illogical.

Instead, the narrative evolves gradually and without self-conscious theatrics. While the tale may involve various scandals, Berger avoids the urge to paint this in a melodramatic manner.

This allows Conclave to seem realistic despite potential leaps of credulity. Though deep down it all seems a bit over the top, Berger depicts the tale in a way that allows it to seem believable.

Of course, an excellent cast helps. In particular, Fiennes delivers a rich performance that grounds the tale and seems highly likely to nab him an Oscar nomination.

I admit that the film’s tendency toward plot elements I don’t really buy holds back the success of Conclave. Nonetheless, it becomes an involving flick that achieves most of its goals.

Conclave appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Shot 8K and finished 4K, the image excelled.

Sharpness always looked great. Virtually no instances of softness ever manifested in this tight, distinctive presentation.

The movie lacked jaggies or moiré effects, and I saw no edge haloes. Source flaws remained absent.

With settings that leaned heavily toward less than bright interiors, colors veered toward reds, blues and browns. These looked rich and full, with extra punch from HDR.

Blacks felt deep and dense, while shadows – important given those aforementioned dim interiors – appeared smooth and concise. HDR added impact to whites and contrast. This became a fine reproduction of a challenging source.

No one would expect sonic fireworks from a chatty film like Conclave, and the Dolby Atmos audio maintained the expected low-key tendencies. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, though, it still managed some sonic kick at times.

The atmosphere around the titular gathering allowed for a buzz of activities like construction and general atmosphere, and the handful of louder bits brought good punch. The soundscape used music as an active partner too.

Audio quality worked nicely, with speech that seemed natural and crisp. Effects appeared realistic and accurate.

Music felt lively and full, with rich tones. This became a fine soundtrack for a film of this sort.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? This disc's Atmos audio opened up matters a bit, but the mix could only do so much with such a chatty affair.

A native 4K product, the UHD improved on the BD's delineation, colors and blacks. It became a solid upgrade over an already strong Blu-ray.

A few extras appear, and we find an audio commentary from director Edward Berger. He delivers a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, costumes, cinematography, and related domains.

Berger starts slowly but gets chattier as the film progresses. Though he still fades at times, he brings enough insights related to the movie’s creation to make this a fairly useful piece.

Sequestered goes for 16 minutes, 47 seconds. It involves Berger, production designer Suzie Davies, costume designer List Christl, composer Volker Bertelmann, and actors Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini, and Carlos Diehz.

This featurette covers what brought various participants to the project, story and characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, costumes, and music. This becomes a decent overview, albeit one without a lot of insights.

The set also comes with a Blu-ray copy. It includes the same extras as the 4K UHD.

A mix of thriller and examination of the Catholic Church’s inner workings, Conclave largely succeeds. While some elements stretch credulity, the movie still gives us a good ride. The 4K UHD boasts excellent visuals, appropriate audio and a few bonus features. Though it doesn’t knock it out of the park, Conclave still turns into an interesting drama.

To rate this film, visit the prior review of CONCLAVE