Has anyone seen the movie Conclave and would be happy to talk about the ending with me

Indeed. I go to the Vatican twice a year as I have family living nearby. The security is very tight and there are snipers on the roofs when the Pope appears at his window to address the worshippers.

I enjoyed the film up until the final reveal. I thought that it stretched credibility to the point of jarring me out of the story.

The car bomb being allowed to get so close that it blew big chunks out of the top of the wall was also very unlikely. I assume that it was supposed to be symbolic of ‘God’s judgement’ on Fienne’s character’s ambition (for voting for himself), but the reality is that the Vatican City would be locked down way too tightly to get a bomb that big in.

A really heartfelt post by PeggyMitchellsCameo.

A good film with a stellar cast and a really stupid ending

Well the last time I saw an on screen scandal of this nature was on Footballer’s Wives…. not exactly a BAFTA winner!
I watched the film last night. I am a lapsed Catholic. Fell out with the Church in the 80’s over contraception after asking my RE teacher about it. Apparently, God would rather all of those children in Ethiopia die rather than there be a way of women having less of them, and thereby there being more resources per child.
There were so many upsides to the film - the cast are superb.
I loved all of the symbolism and the rituals.
Would have quite enjoyed a slug it out political boxing match, which is what the first hour and 30 minutes were.
But then it felt like a mash up of The Da Vinci Code and The Traitors - by then I was expecting Claudia to circle the Cardinals!
You could see the Kabul Cardinal was going to be a grenade in there - and actually spoke some sense in terms of moving forwards.
I have no idea but I thought he was going to be HIV positive.
In real life, it ain’t ever going to happen. It was an interesting twist, though.
Then I switched the news on and the real Pope is very poorly.
Isabella Rossellini was magical and her sections felt very Handmaid’s Tale. She had a point as well.
I think even us lapsed Catholics remain so. It’s a Church I have issues with still, but there is much of it still woven through me.
And finally, what a nice job it was for the fella playing the deceased Pope! No lines, a nice lie down but gets to work with some Hollywood stars. And possibly be part of an Oscar winner!

I didn’t think there was a trans agenda, more that the ideal pope should display true Christianity and be neither a man nor or a woman (or both). Fascinating to see the operation of the Conclave when as a Catholic it was always shrouded in mystery. Thought Ralph Fiennes was excellent as ever, the cinematography just beautiful. The scenes with the black and then white umbrellas!

Ah, I only read the book.

Fair enough. Why didn’t they use a woman for the part?

I also agree with @DeepFatFried actually.

I agree, because of the character of the person.

I also agree with @DeepFatFried

No. That would’ve been nice. They’re pushing the trans ideology. It worked, they got an Oscar for best film. Meaningless these days of course.

I've been reading the Italian press. They think HF is a goner and asking everyone to pray for him.

I really enjoyed the film, hadn't read the book and felt like I had been tricked when the twist was revealed. Another woman in the audience at the cinema laughed so I think she had the same reaction as me.
I liked the character of the newcomer who won, and thought Ralph Fiennes played his part really well.

I thought the ending was an annoying plot twist that doesn't stand up to critical thought. To be generous to Robert Harris, I agree with @DeepFatFried that he was commenting on ordination of women/women's place in Catholic Church.

Was watching this again last night, chatting to a bishop friend on face time when he got a message saying that the HF was likely to die overnight. So he had to go and write a statement and a sermon.

Like Judi Dench winning Best Supporting Actress for Shakespeare in Love 😆

The Holy Father has stuffed the Vatican to the gills with Jesuits so they will be following the liberalising trend he has started in the event of his passing.

I think the twist is deliberately farcical. Although the movie is played ‘straight’, it’s really funny because the Ralph Fennes character is genuinely Ely trying to secure an acceptable compromise, and every candidate ‘fails’ for reasons beyond his control and his anticipation. You can sense his WTF fear when he emerges as the preferred candidate, and is desperately trying to convince Stanley Tucci that he’s not conniving to win for himself. I admit I didn’t analyse too deeply the accuracy of the biology, and didn’t see it as a Hollywood (or author) trans gotcha, but the film to me was about a man who really really doesn’t want a job trying to secure a compromise candidate who lives by an acceptable value system.

I just assumed it was a miracle. Like the windows blowing at the exact Second they needed to. God working in mysterious ways.

I read this recently and quite enjoyed it until the end - I guessed the twist anyway, and then it all felt very rushed and a bit pointless.

It did look very beautiful, and the setting is interesting - plus great actors, It is too bad that it couldn't be a different story. It's not like there isn't lots of compelling drama you could find in there.

I thought this was an amazing film to look at and no doubt followed the steps of the election of a Pope. I loved the rituals, the sets and the Latin. Like others tho, this ending disappoint seemed unnecessary but all the intrigue did seem to suggest a big twist and they had to come up with something. I predicted it as I'm sure others here did.
I'm surprised it has got quite the acclaim that I has. I haven't read a Robert Harris since Fatherland in maybe 99, which I really enjoyed.