A few men become the voice of reason inConclavewhile others risk losing their papal candidacy from past misdeeds, andaudiences can’t seem to get enough of the politics.The Vatican thriller remainssuccessful at the box office, steadily climbing to $30 million to date. While the men on-screen get most of the good meat to play, so doesIsabella Rossellini, the most famous of the actresses in the cast. It may appear her character is meant to stay in the background, but you don’t hire Rossellini to keep her on the sidelines without a good reason. When her character steps forward,her big scene could be what gives her the first (and overdue) Oscar nomination of her career.
Isabella Rossellini’s Career Is Full of Unforgettable Roles
Among the famous “nepo babies"is Isabella Rossellini, whose parents, Swedish actressIngrid Bergmanand Italian directorRoberto Rossellini, are legends in the film industry. For over forty years, Isabella has established a legendary career of her own,picking unexpected rolesand hopping genres.She was a resilient mother brutalized by a monster inBlue Velvet, and her guest cameo in aFriendsepisode was a hilarious collab withDavid Schwimmer.In the latter part of Rossellini’s career, memorable supporting roles saw her reprimandingJennifer LawrenceinJoyorproviding voice acting to bring life to a hamsterinCloset Monsterand anunusual grandmother inMarcel the Shell with Shoes On.The range of Rossellini has led to her powerful yet downplayed role inConclave, and buzz is growing around it being award-worthy.
Varietyreportedthat Rossellini’s seven-minute appearance within the 120-minute runtimecould give the actress her first Oscar nomination.WhileBeatrice Straighthas kept the record of winning the Oscar for Supporting Actress with the shortest performance with only five minutes on-screen, Rossellini doesn’t waste the extra two minutes she has. It could be a tough part to play, given the others in the cast —Ralph Fiennes,Stanley Tucci, andSergio Castellitto, to name a few — get the flashier material, but as the Cardinals plot against one another in competition to become the new Pope,the film’s most recognizable actress emerges from her place in the background to become a pivotal character.
Isabella Rossellini Is the Standout in ‘Conclave’
Fiennes as Lawrence requires him toportray his frustration and grief internally.Bellini (Tucci) is vocal, (with a great moment of anger revealed in the trailers). The vape-smoking Tedesco (Castellitto) is unwavering in his traditionalist approach. Rossellini’s Sister Agnes does not appear as complex at first, but afterConclavebrings her to the forefront,her quiet demeanor is merely one side of this nun in charge.She is cold and bluntwhen Cardinal Lawrence intrudes on her authority, in opposition tothe fierce protection she has for the younger nuns she presides over.
WhenSister Agnes and Cardinal Lawrence work togetheron exposing possible deception fromCardinal Tremblay(John Lithgow), it brings an electrifying charge to the slow-burn plot, especially since there remainsuncertainty in Rossellini’s performance about whether she can justify helping Lawrence.At a critical moment for the Church, Sister Agnes breaks away from her duties to cater to and serve the men,and with that comes her decision to reveal a bombshell revelation.The attention of the camera and every Cardinal in the room is on the nunfor what could be the scene that secures nominations for Rossellini during the awards season.
Sister Agnes Holds Damaging Secrets in ‘Conclave’
The monologue where Sister Agnes takes down the shady Cardinal Tremblaybegins with a commanding statement. “I know my role is to be invisible,” she says. “Nevertheless, God gave me eyes and ears.So, therefore, I see and hear.”The curtsy she does at the endwill have viewers applauding her control of the room,but it also shows how she isn’t attempting to be too defiant of the Church’s patriarchy. She proves to be an integral part ofthe film’s main theme of progress clashing with tradition.The elected Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz) is from a younger generation of Church members who can pass among the men in the conclavewithout Benitez’s intersex secret being easily known.
‘Death Becomes Her’ and So Does 4K This Fall
“She was a homebreaker. She was a man-eater. And she was a bad actress.”
On the other side of the patriarchy,Sister Agnes is a woman from the older generationwho must push aside her hesitation in speaking up. Progress is inevitable, despite others fighting to push it back. It can’t be by accident that bothSister Agnes and Cardinal Benitez have doubtsabout their involvement in the papal election— a word Lawrence uses for his homily early on. “Certainty is the enemy of unity,” he says. The silent turmoil within Isabella Rossellini’s character and her monologue that shifts the election is more thanan underrated performance ofConclave; it’s another surprising turn by the actress in an already impressive career.
Following the unexpected death of the pope, Cardinal Lawrence (played by Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with overseeing the secretive conclave to elect the next pope. As the process unfolds, he uncovers a conspiracy that could shake the very foundations of the Catholic Church.
Conclaveis playing in select theaters across the U.S.
Buy Tickets Here
