The genius of Conclave is in how it disguises the mystery at its core until the very end.  In the interim, the movie presents a series of ancillary mysteries that, as they are addressed, combine like puzzle pieces to reveal what the story was actually about.  Only then do we understand that the story was about how the pope did everything he could to ensure that the right man succeeded him.  In other words, the pope works in mysterious ways.

(If you’re looking for my traditional review, click here.)

Before it arrives at that point, the movie adopts the formula of a traditional murder mystery to build intrigue and suspense.  Cardinal Lawrence acts as a detective searching for answers as to what happened during a secret meeting the night the pope died as well as his activities leading up to it.  Throughout his informal investigation, Lawrence utilizes Monsignor Raymond O’Malley to follow-up on leads for him.  In addition to confronting several suspicious characters over their perceived impropriety (Cardinal Tremblay, Cardinal Tedesco, Cardinal Bellini, Cardinal Adeyemi and Cardinal Benitez), Lawrence questions witnesses and looks for clues.

The mystery meeting

The initial mystery Lawrence tries to uncover is what took place during the meeting between the pope and Tremblay.  As we learn, the pope confronted Tremblay with hard evidence that he was paying Cardinals for their support.  The pope doesn’t trust those around him to deliver the physical report to Lawrence, so he hides it in his chambers.  He is confident that Lawrence will break with tradition and break the seal on his chambers to find the report.  From their years spent together, the pope knows that Lawrence is not a person who will let things go unresolved.  With that in mind, the pope hides the report in a spot that only Lawrence would be comfortable looking, which is near the bed where he died.

The Church’s reputation must be protected

The pope also knows that regardless of Lawrence’s issues with his faith, Lawrence is a staunch institutionalist.  Whereas someone like Bellini would prefer to destroy the report to protect the church’s image, Lawrence sees the lack of transparency as the fundamental issue people have with the church.  The pope knows that Lawrence would rather the church get a black eye from the report than allow Tremblay’s machinations to be successful.  Sure enough, Lawrence distributes the report internally, effectively thwarting Tremblay’s ambitions.

Dark secrets must come to light

Before the pope confronts Tremblay with the report into his simony, he uses Tremblay as a pawn in his master plan.  The pope learned that Adeyemi fathered an illegitimate child with Sister Shanumi Iwaro, which disqualifies him from ever becoming pope.  The pope asks Tremblay to arrange for Iwaro to be transferred from Nigeria to Rome without providing him with an explanation.  For his part, Tremblay never asks for a reason because he’s driven by ambition and wants to remain in the pope’s good graces.

The pope knows that Iwaro’s presence will cause Adeyemi to make a scene, which will in turn make everyone aware of his sins.  Additionally, the pope knows that when Tremblay’s payments come to light, nobody will believe him when he says that her transfer to Rome was the pope’s idea and not his.  The pope didn’t want to confront Adeyemi about his indiscretion directly, so he cleverly used Tremblay as a dupe to keep his hands clean.

A battle tested cardinal, with an unexpected twist

Then, there’s the mystery of Cardinal Benitez, the man the pope appointed in secret.  As the movie reveals, the pope secretly chose him as his heir for several reasons.  Benitez proved his courage as the leader of the ministry in Kabul.  From their interactions, the pope knows that Benitez is a humble man who will always serve the church and not his own desires.  Additionally, the pope saw Benitez, who was born intersex, as being uniquely qualified to be a proponent of the progressive ideals supported by Lawrence and Bellini.  

Put your trust in Cardinal Lawrence

Considering that the pope would be dead when the conclave is in session, how does the pope ensure that Benitez will be the one chosen?  This goes back to the close relationship between the pope and Lawrence.  The pope knows that Lawrence doesn’t want to become pope.  He also knows that Lawrence will have no qualms over squashing the troubling candidacies of Tremblay and Adeyemi.  Furthermore, the pope believes that Lawrence will be as impressed by Benitez as he was and will support his candidacy over the mercurial Bellini and the racist and regressive Tedesco.  Basically, the pope knows that Lawrence will do the right thing and put his support behind Benitez after his death.

What has my boss been up to?

This is when the genius of the story became clear to me.  Conclave isn’t about Lawrence, Benitez, Bellini, Tremblay or any of the other characters who participate in the events depicted.  Instead, it’s about how the actions of a dead man determine the fate of everyone involved.  Even though he was in poor health, the pope was actively digging up dirt on the men who would seek his position after his death.  Furthermore, the pope was so clandestine that not even his right-hand man knew what he was doing.  The pope truly works in mysterious ways.

The right person for the job

Although the revelation that Benitez is quite a surprise, it fits perfectly with the underlying theme of the story.  As Bellini states early on, the struggle over who gets to become pope is a war requiring those like Lawrence to pick a side.  On one side are the progressives, which includes Lawrence and Bellini.  They want the church to evolve its positions on LBGTQ rights, abortion and so on.  The conservatives are Tedesco and Adeyemi, who would prefer the church retain its restrictive positions on those topics.  The movie implies that regardless of who wins, the victor will not be a person who can directly relate to someone who is not male.  A progressive pope can show compassion and empathy for women, but won’t understand what being a woman is like.

Benitez, however, does know what it means to be a man and a woman.  In borrowing from Greek literature, he’s the modern equivalent of Tiresias, a person who has a unique perspective on humanity because he walked the Earth as a man and a woman.  Benitez never says why the pope discouraged him from having an operation in Switzerland to remove his non-male organs.  However, it’s reasonable to assume that the pope viewed Benitez as a person of high moral character who could also help bridge the divide between men and women in terms of church policy if he became pope.  Considering how unlikely it would be for the church to ever elect a woman for the role, Benitez is the next best option.  

There’s a scene early in the movie where Lawrence offers the pope’s chess set to Bellini.  Taking into account how many moves the pope was ahead of everyone in this story, I’m guessing that nobody ever beat him.