Director Edward Berger on How Universal Doubt and the Allure of Power Inspired His Gripping ‘Conclave’

Alci Rengifo

German filmmaker Edward Berger returns to a war zone with “Conclave.” After receiving much acclaim and Academy Awards recognition for his visceral “All Quiet on the Western Front,” set in the blood-soaked fields of World War I, Berger now casts his eye on a war for power within the Vatican. His new film is also a literary adaptation, taking a page-turner by Robert Harris and turning it into a powerful meditation on honesty and faith’s endurance tests. Ralph Fiennes has the perfect face to lead the cast, focused and strong, yet vulnerable. He plays Cardinal Lawrence, who is tasked with convening a new conclave when the Pope dies. What this entails is a secretive gathering of cardinals at the Vatican who will then elect the new head of the Roman Catholic Church.

What ensues is a dynamic drama where all the tension and even violence is experienced through backdoor conversations, alliances, ideological clashes and schemes uncovered by Lawrence. Berger makes the Vatican feel like a den of vipers, no different from Washington, D.C., or any other center of power. His visual style is recognizable while paying homage to classic political thrillers. Fiennes’ fantastic performance is complimented by a cast that includes Stanley Tucci, as a liberal cardinal trying to fend off right-wing conservative factions, John Lithgow as a Canadian who is so deceptively docile, and Isabella Rossellini a Sister Agnes, a wise witness to the power plays going on. Edward Berger’s “Conclave” is gripping until the very end. Berger sat down with Entertainment Voice to discuss the making of the film.

You did “All Quiet on the Western Front,” an adaptation of a renowned classic and had much success with it. Now you have adapted Robert Harris’ “Conclave.” In a sense, they are both combat stories. What drew you specifically to this book?

You said it. It felt like we could go from a physical war to an intellectual war. It felt like one of those great political conspiracy thrillers from the 1970s.

Like Costa-Gavras, Alan J. Pakula, etc.

Yeah! It felt like “The Parallax View” or “All the President’s Men,” that kind of claustrophobic, paranoid conspiracy thriller that locks a cast, in this case into the Vatican. Then we can watch all the strings get pulled and all the political agendas behind the scenes. I really liked all the topics that were intellectualized in the film. But what really drew me was that I could tell this story through the eyes of Ralph Fiennes and creep into his mind as he’s going through this crisis of faith, as he’s belaboring his doubts and trying to get over it. It’s something I can relate to very much and I felt it was a wonderful way of making that relatable to the audience. Everyone goes through doubts at some point in their lives and so I think it’s a great way of showing that on screen.

Do you mean loss of faith theologically, or in the system in general?

It could be faith in anything, faith in yourself, faith in the system, in politics, faith in society, in humankind. In Ralph’s case, he’s a cardinal and says, “I have difficulty with prayer.” Think about that. Prayer is the main act of this man’s life, it means communication with God. If that is the essence of his job, it’s the equivalent of you saying you’ve stopped believing in journalism and can’t write anymore. It’s like me saying I’ve stopped trusting the camera. To go through an existential crisis like that as well, as in what you chose to do with your life, it’s a great topic for a movie, whether in the Catholic world or journalism world. It doesn’t matter much to me. I wanted to capture this world I don’t know much about, but which is mysterious.

The cast is meticulously constructed. They are also such heavy hitters who disappear into their characters. How did you assemble this cast and fill each role?

We developed the script for over a year and kept an open mind over where the main character could be from. He could have been French, Italian, Spanish, American, German, it didn’t matter as long as he was believably Catholic. The character is actually Italian in the book. We didn’t cast anyone right away. Eventually, I woke up one night and thought about it. I called my producer and said, “It should be Ralph Fiennes because he’s someone who invites us into his soul.” He takes us by the hand and invites us in. He has that piercing stare. Whatever’s going on in his face is pure magic. He can also make himself very vulnerable and it’s a beautiful thing. So, I felt it should be him. We called him. In two weeks, he said, “yes.” It was a quick process. Once you have someone like that, I mean everyone likes to play with Ralph. Stanley Tucci adores him. Then I started thinking Lithgow could be a great option. We called him and he wanted to do it. Isabella was a great addition being from Italy and having this natural appearance. Her character is so quiet in the movie, so you need someone with a lot of charisma. And, who has more of that than her? 

You described being inspired by classic political thrillers. We also get their sense of detail here in how you depict the rituals and traditions that take place during the conclave. How much of what we are seeing is accurate in terms of the processes and how things operate inside the Vatican?

We had this wonderful religious adviser. He’s a religious teacher in Rome and he knows a lot about what happens when a Pope dies. How they seal the room, what they do with the ring, or hold hands around the body. How they organize the conclave. However, we obviously can’t know everything because it is secret and no cardinal will ever tell you what happens inside. We talked to a lot of cardinals and they would give us information but not about the conclave (laughs). So you have to sort of rely on your instinct and put together all the cornerstones of what you do know. Harris’ book is very well-researched and some things we do know, like how they put in their ballots and what they say when they deliver the ballot, who walks up first. That’s all research. Whatever happens in-between is open to interpretation. I used to be obsessed with realism but movies are never real. In the end, they’re always manufactured reality. They create a reality and take you into this world and make you believe it. “Star Wars” is, of course, not real, but you go in there and you believe it. I see this in the same way. It’s wonderful to have the costume, production design, and photography departments create the illusion of reality.

You’re directing the next “Bourne” film. What can we expect from what you are preparing for that movie?

Oh, that is not a conversation yet. I really don’t know what I’ll be doing next. Up next I have a movie I already shot titled “The Ballad of a Small Player” with Colin Farrell and Tilda Swinton. It’s coming out in a year. I’m sitting here editing it. Anything that’s coming after that I would happily talk about but I don’t know yet. Every movie you make changes you and your goal posts change afterwards. Suddenly you say, “You know, I thought I wanted to do this, now I want to do that.” That’s a wonderful thing. I always want to make the movie that picks you. The one you can fluctuate towards naturally, the one that feels like something new. Everything else is completely up in the air. 

“Conclave” releases Oct. 25 in theaters nationwide.