In light of the news of the passing of Pope Francis, it seems many people, including me, have been inspired to check out Conclave on Amazon Prime. I watched it for the second time, having seen it last fall when I made it an early frontrunner in my Oscar picks for a number of awards at the time. I thought one of those, Best Production Design, would be a sure thing. I didn’t count on Wicked, which eventually won.
Still, after re-watching it, I am very much in awe of the look of the movie. That’s not all, though; it goes deeper than that and touches on real life.
The Set Pieces In Conclave Are Amazing
I completely understand why Wicked won its lone Oscar for Set Design; it’s amazing. I’m still partial to Conclave, though. The Sistine Chapel is so well done that it seems impossible that the movie wasn’t shot on location. Anyone who has been lucky enough to have visited the Vatican and seen Michelangelo’s masterpiece on the ceiling knows just how breathtaking it is. For set designers Suzie Davies and Cynthia Sleiter to recreate it with such splendor in the movie is, pardon the expression, no less than a miracle.
The Domus Sanctae Marthae, where the Cardinals live during the Conclave, is also stunning in its own way. Though the designers did take some liberties here, the cold, bare nature of the accommodations is in stark contrast to the opulence and splendor of the Sistine Chapel, making it incredibly effective when the characters go back and forth. The chapel is where the Cardinals do their sacred duty, but the apartments are where most of the dirty work goes on.
It’s Not Just The Sets That Left Me In Awe This Time
I should say that I’m not Catholic and I don’t have any skin in the game, as they say, in who the Pope is. However, the unspoken politics of any Papal Conclave and the ecclesiastical process of the election of a new Pope have always been fascinating to me. Watching Conclave after the death of Pope Francis got me thinking about what is about to happen in Vatican City as the Cardinals begin arriving to choose their next leader.
Those sets in the movie gave me a stark reminder of just how momentous a decision these Cardinals must make from time and time and the immediate surroundings where they make it. Imagine an office like the Sistine Chapel. Not only is it an artistic masterpiece in every sense of the word, but it's a room where this decision has been made going back more than 500 years. Not every conclave has been held in the chapel, but all of them since 1878 have been there, and the first was in 1492.
No matter your politics, your view on the Catholic Church, or anything else, it’s hard to imagine that the weight of the moment isn’t taken incredibly seriously and earnestly by the voting Cardinals. It’s something I honestly can’t completely wrap my head around and probably never will be able to.
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