Conclave is a thoroughly engaging political thriller hidden in the election of a new pope.

Directed by Edward Berger, the film is never more than one misstep away from its airport novel source material, but it is hard not to get swept up in the grandeur.

Set behind the scenes of a papal election, Conclave takes us into the world of one of the Catholic Church’s longest standing and most secretive traditions.

Here we meet a global group of cardinals who are tasked with picking the church’s next leader from within their ranks. Naturally some politicking takes place.

There’s hardline traditionalists, religious liberals and everyone in between – all of whom foresee a different direction for the church once they ascend to power.

If all of this is sounding vaguely familiar to the endless coverage of America’s upcoming election, then you are absolutely right.

There are political allegories around every shadowy corner of the Vatican, where past secrets and scandals help and hurt the cardinals in equal measure.

So too are there grandstanding speeches from frontrunners who hope to sway allegiances as the momentum ebbs and flows through multiple days of voting.

This is a ‘men monologuing in rooms’ movie which is rarely made anymore and lands somewhere between the intrigue of a John Grisham adaptation and the illusion of secretive access from a Dan Brown book. Imagine The Firm meets Angels and Demons.

It is certainly pulpy, but Berger’s steady hand behind the camera and a deep bench of great actors, including Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini, John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci, make it more than the sum of its parts.

Keep an eye out for Fiennes’ name when the end-of-year awards roll around. Conclaveis well worth the watch, even if a few of the twists do not fully land.

Rated 13 for some scenes of Violence.

4/5.

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