Brilliantly adapted from the Robert Harris bestseller, thriller Conclave is a knockout from start to finish

If you think a movie based on choosing a new pope sounds boring then think again – the gripping Conclave will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat, writes Leigh Paatsch.

With a top-notch adaptation of a best-selling thriller, the return of some Aardman favourites, and a couple of Oscar-winners in fine form, there’s plenty to choose from n at the movies this week.

CONCLAVE (M)

Ralph Fiennes is mesmerising in the thriller Conclave.

Director: Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front)

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini, John Lithgow.

Never, ever take your eyes off the tally

From the gripping first moments of Conclave, you will have no choice but to be down for the count.

There is no other way of putting it: this muscular thriller is a knockout from start to finish.

Based on the Robert Harris novel of the same name, this impressively mounted production unfolds within the walls of the Vatican in the days immediately following the sudden death of a pope.

There are rituals to be enacted. Protocols to be followed. Laws to be obeyed.

All of these matters will be overseen by one man: Cardinal Lawrence (a magnificent Ralph Fiennes), the dean of the College of Cardinals.

Owing to a crisis of faith, Lawrence recently tried to leave his post, and was only persuaded to stay at the explicit request of the late pope himself.

Now Lawrence must stand firmly in the eye of an electoral storm about to sweep through the Vatican in full view of a watching world.

Assembling all cardinals from around the globe at short notice proves to be the simplest of the many tasks undertaken by Lawrence. However, sealing off this scheming, self-serving mob from both exterior influences and interior manipulation proves to be almost impossible.

One of the leading candidates for the papacy is Lawrence’s longtime friend and ally, Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci). This plain-speaking progressive looks to have the numbers to be the nominal frontrunner, but he does have enemies opposed to his agenda.

After the first of what will be several intriguing vote counts throughout the movie, other questionably qualified candidates gradually come to the fore.

Conclave is intensely compelling and genuinely unpredictable.

From Africa, there is the arch-conservative Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati). From America, there is the deviously diplomatic Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow). From Italy, there is the old-fashioned agitator Cardinal Tedesco (a scene-stealing Sergio Castellitto).

As voting trends continue to shift – perhaps due to the quietly powerful influence of rookie Mexican Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz) – even Lawrence himself becomes a reluctantly conspicuous contender.

Considering how much of the movie is consumed by the writing of names on small pieces of paper, it is truly remarkable how intensely compelling and genuinely unpredictable Conclave turns out be.

While the performances across the board are of the highest order – watch closely for Isabella Rossellini’s fleeting work as a nun who knows more than she should – it is the sheer quality of the story itself (particularly via an astonishing final twist) that truly dominates and delivers here.

Conclave is in cinemas now

WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL (G)

Wallace and Gromit are back in Vengeance Most Fowl.

General release; also now streaming on Netflix

They’re back! Amazingly, it has been 20 years since the world was last treated to a feature-length adventure starring Wallace and Gromit. So what a pleasure it is report that the dynamic duo of claymation clowning have lost none of their mirthful magic whatsoever.

As we rejoin the action, Wallace’s fondness for less-than-necessary inventions has resulted in the creation of Norbot, a comically creepy automated ‘smart gnome’. Of course, Wallace’s trusty canine companion Gromit has seen so many similar gadgets come and go in the past. Nevertheless, he is understandably exasperated with the current state of affairs in his household.

Wallace has invented a “smart” gnome, Norbo. Picture: Netflix

With many distractions afoot, it is the perfect time for an old enemy of our heroes to re-emerge from a lengthy exile, hellbent on revenge. Remember Feathers McGraw, the wily penguin criminal from the classic W&G short The Wrong Trousers? While the local cops attribute a rising crime wave to Wallace’s ‘Gnome Improvements’ business, Gromit must figure out how to stop Feathers from completing his mischievous master plan.

As with all claymation movies produced by Aardman Studios, standards remain high while the big ideas (and irresistibly endearing jokes) just keep on coming.

THE ROOM NEXT DOOR (M)

Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore in The Room Next Door.

General release

Master Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar (Julieta, Parallel Mothers) has left it very late in his career to try his hand at shooting an English-language feature. Though the casting choices are highly effective – Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore are in their usual top form – the movie itself is only a moderate success. Many will point to the sombre subject matter for the middling outcome achieved here.

Swinton plays Martha, a writer of considerable renown who has recently received a terminal cancer diagnosis. Uninterested in prolonging her inevitable demise, Martha elects to take a way out of her own making. Unusually, she wants Ingrid (Moore) to be nearby when she finally takes the pill that will end her life. Ingrid and Martha were once good friends, but that was decades ago. Just why Martha has selected Ingrid for such a challenging and confronting experience is but one of several mysteries handled in a frustratingly angular fashion throughout. Co-stars John Turturro.

Originally published as Brilliantly adapted from the Robert Harris bestseller, thriller Conclave is a knockout from start to finish