Back-to-back screenings at the Herzog Theatre in Telluride launched this year’s award season.
First up, Edward Berger’s “Conclave” (Focus) is a taut, sharply written and gorgeously mounted Vatican thriller revealing the arcane process that goes into electing a new pope. The “dean” is appointed to supervise the balloting among the cardinals, and Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) has his hands full. The film is told from his point of view, and we see him suffer under the strain of sundry revelations about the ambitious men who seek the papacy. The two sides line up as conservatives looking to restore the past vs. liberals looking to move forward. The movie based on Robert Harris’s 2016 novel is dominated by Fiennes, who was nominated for two Oscars (“Schindler’s List” and “The English Patient”), but has not been recognized since 1997. He’s getting the headlines in the reviews from Telluride, and the handsome movie could gain some craft recognition.
Finally, “Conclave” is elevated from its melodramatic literary roots by its canny ensemble (John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci) and ace production values. But it’s a straightforward narrative, in stark contrast to the second movie of the night, RaMell Ross‘s “Nickel Boys” (MGM/UA), adapted from the 2019 Pulitzer-Prize-winning Colson Whitehead novel, which he based on Florida’s infamously abusive Dozier School. Producer Dede Gardner (Plan B) approached documentary filmmaker RaMell Ross (Oscar-nominated “Hale County, This Morning, This Evening”) to tell this horrific story in his own inimitable way. His roving camera literally adopts the point of view of two incarcerated teenagers, Ellwood and Turner (Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson) at Nickel Academy, who are forced to do hard labor and are abused in hideous ways. Oscar nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (“King Richard”) stands out as Ellwood’s grandmother, desperately trying to save him from hell. This immersive approach to cinematic storytelling (“The Lady in the Lake” it’s not) should be embraced by critics and Academy actors. Will audiences go along for the ride? The film’s singularity should be a strong selling point.
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