Read the script by Peter Straughan

Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series, focusing on the year’s most talked about screenplays, continues ConclaveFocus Features’ high-stakes dramatic thriller from director Edward Berger. The screenplay is by Peter Straughan, who adapted the book of the same name by Robert Harris.

Set in the halls of the Vatican against the backdrop of a papal conclave, the film stars Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence, a man of faith plagued by personal doubts and delves into the secretive power struggles within the church.

The drama, which debuted at the Telluride Film Festival before hitting theaters in October, follows Lawrence, the conclave’s dean and right-hand man to the recently deceased pope. As the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders gather to vote, Lawrence, already struggling with his faith and thrust into a potential role as the next pope, confides in his fellow cardinal, Bellini (Stanley Tucci), who aspires to the papacy.

“I remember that moment when I thought, ‘Oh, I want to do this.’ That’s when Ralph’s character — he’s called Lomeli in the book — gives a sermon before the voting has started, and he basically says, “Give us a pope who doubts,” Straughan told Deadline.

“It was a few years ago, but we were already well on our way to the world we are in now. The world we are in now is a very polarized world. And I feel like as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become much more suspicious of certainty. It seems to lead all too easily to contempt for others and to the violence we see all the time now. So there was something about the reluctant hero — a doubting, insecure hero — that felt very interesting and likable to me.”

DEADLINE RELATED VIDEO:

The film’s pacing, unfolding over 72 hours, provides a gripping glimpse into the secretive world of the conclave as the cardinals cast their votes in each round, with unexpected obstacles emerging that shift the momentum of the election. Lawrence’s internal turmoil and the conflict of the cardinals mirror the external chaos unfolding in Rome and other cities, where terrorist attacks are used as a power play by openly racist Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) to secure votes. As secrets are revealed, even Lawrence is forced to make a difficult choice – one that could change the course of history.

The film also stars John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati, Brían F. O’Byrne, Carlos Diehz, Merab Ninidze and Isabella Rossellini.

Check out the script below.