Conclave

The Pope dies and the College of Cardinals must go into conclave to choose his successor.  The task of heading up the process falls to Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), who is on the more liberal wing of the church, and favours Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) to get the job, however reluctant he may appear to be to put his name forward.  There are other contenders of course, either slightly less liber, or far further to the right, and Lawrence and Bellini are joined in opposing the possibility of that backward-looking arch conservative Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) becoming their boss.

Preventing that, and navigating all the other challenges involved, requires a lot of backroom negotiating, skullduggery, and a few dirty tricks.  Added into the mix is a mystery cardinal who none of the others were aware of, Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz) from Afghanistan.  Why had the Pope kept him hidden away, and what views does he adhere to?  Who will win through in the end, and how many will be disgraced along the way.

An excellent cast, a reasonably gripping plot and some excellent cinematography.  Fiennes is at his best, despite one hammy moment of 'looking shady' as he investigates the secrets of the dead man's bedroom.  There are even a few laughs along the way, and it certainly has a surprise twist to the ending.  So it's not as dull as the subject matter might suggest.

But.  I found myself lacking any empathy for, or emotional engagelemnt with, any of the characters.  A bunch of old men choosing another old man to issue diktats to millions of people?  It's hard to sympathise with any of them, even those who are protrayed as more 'liberal'.  Maybe it was because the last film I went to see was Small Things Like These , but have any positive feelings for officials of the Catholic church were impossible to dredge up!

One element did make me laugh though, and I am still wondering if the image was coincidental or deliberate.  There were several visual references to The Handmaid's Tale, with the mass of Cardinals often looking like so many Offreds.  It certainly helped to poke fun at some of the more sinister aspects of the closeted plotters.

Dean Owens and the Sinners, Traverse

The annual pre-Xmas Dean Ownes gig is not to be missed.  Tis year, to allow a (much) bigger audience in, it moved from the usual cafe-bar location down into Traverse 1.  Dean confessed he was nervous about the switch, worrying that not enough tickets would sell to justify it.  It was a sell-out!

With good reason.  This is always a December treat for Dean's big local following.  On this aoccaison with full band.  Dean on guitar and vocals (and whistling), long term sidekick Craig Ross on lead guitar, Adam McMillan on bass, Andy Duncan at the drum kit, and Philip Cardwell blowing trumpet.  The latter indicating that Owens is still very much in his TexMex phase.  The first half was mostly newer material, much of it from the album to be released next year, including several songs no live audience had yet heard.  The second set dived more into the back catalogue, with some very familiar singlaong numbers included (such as Raining in Glasgow).    

Dean was as good as ever, Craig Ross in fine form, and the crowd loved it.  I'm already looking forward to next December...