Conclave: Commit to a Side

Stanley Tucci is Cardinal Aldo Bellini

There was no doubt that my blog had to begin with Stanley’s most recent and so far my favourite film of his, Conclave. Set in modern day Italy, Stanley plays Cardinal Aldo Bellini, a liberal cardinal who is presented early on as a favourite to become the next pope during the conclave. He is a stubborn, passionate and vulnerable man who despite his reluctance is presented with the idea of becoming the Holy Father, only to have the prospect taken from him when he is unable to obtain enough votes. This film spoke to me on such a personal level, the message that there is value in uncertainty and that ultimately kindness will prevail. I found Bellini strangely relatable too, someone who wants desperately to find the courage to fight for something but cannot find it within themselves to do so. I think that is why I watched Conclave so many times, and also read the book, and why I began to delve into Stanley’s filmography.

This film is a story about how ambition, no matter how concealed it is to yourself, can naw away at you and expose itself in unflattering ways, and Bellini’s character represents that in the most interesting way. He does not actively campaign for himself, Cardinal Sabbadin does it for him, and he expresses multiple times that the papacy would be a huge burden to him. Yet it is a burden he has prepared himself to take. The media outside the conclave reports he will be the next pope and Sabaddin predicts a high number of votes for Sabbadin but when the first ballot comes around he gains less than twenty votes, and reality starts to kick in that Aldo may not be the liberals’ answer.

The scene that follows is one of my favourites of the whole film, and had me crazily yelling ‘this is a war, and you have to commit to a side’ to my cat constantly too. Bellini is presented as someone who cared deeply for the late pope and fights for the marginalised in society, and yet in the scene he becomes someone who is petty and frustrated. To his best friend and protagonist Cardinal Lawrence’s surprise, his lack of votes makes him lash out. In this moment he believes that every cardinal secretly wishes he could become pope and that denying this fact is simply a lie, completely contradicting his earlier reluctance. You see his true colours, his deep down ambition and competitiveness. But the audience is also exposed to his fear here, the true consequences of a conservative cardinal becoming pope and the snide tactics of his rival Cardinal Tedesco. The stakes have never been higher for Aldo, and the sequestered conclave is taking its toll already.

In the book Lawrence thinks to himself ‘he prayed for Bellini, who reluctantly had been prepared to accept the chalice, only to have it dashed from his lips so humiliatingly’. The discussion Bellini and Lawrence have once Bellini has accepted that his chances of becoming pope are gone is such an interesting reflection upon oneself. The experience Bellini had, expecting to become the most important man in the Catholic Church and then having this opportunity slowly fade away is a soul crushing one, and as Lawrence says, humiliating. Yet it allows Bellini to reflect upon what this prospect did to him as a person. He apologises to his friend and encourages Lawrence’s chance at becoming pope, and says to him ‘its shameful to be this age and still not know yourself’. This conclave turned every favourite into the worst version of themselves, into someone that they did not even realise was within them and evokes the most desperate of emotions.

Sabaddin says ‘we serve an ideal, we cannot always be ideal’, to remind us that ultimately the cardinals on our screens are people and despite their holy position they have all committed one sin or another. Bellini is just another example of this idea in action, how the competitive nature of the conclave will inevitably bring out the mortality of these pious men. What stands out about Bellini however is his ability to admit his mistakes and gracefully bow out of the race with quiet dignity. Lawrence says in his homily that the next pope is someone who sins and asks for forgiveness, Bellini knows he won’t the next pope but he is brave enough to follow this statement anyway and that is what makes him so endearing. I cannot imagine anyone but Stanley bringing this role to life, portraying this incredibly complex character in both his pettiness and also his warm-heartedness. It makes me so excited to revisit this film after watching more of his roles and getting to see both sides of this dichotomy in full force.