Let’s deconstruct this big twist – hassteveclarkresignedyet

Spoiler! This story details a shocking twist at the end papal thriller “Conclave” (in theaters now), so look away if you plan to see the movie first.

“Conclave” is less than a movie about catholic church than it is a gripping procedural in the vein of the legendary tick-tock epics — think “All the President’s Men,” about the 1972 Watergate break-in and cover-up — long admired by its director, Edward Berger.

but “Conclave” differs in one way considerable way: its shocking ending, which echoes the 2016 Robert Harris thriller on which it is based. For anyone who is a fan of the 1992 crime thriller The Crying Game, the opening near the end of the film left moviegoers gasping, at least at one festival screening a few weeks ago.

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Although “Conclave” ends out of left field, Berger says the big reveal shouldn’t be the centerpiece of the film.

“You certainly don’t want to spoil things for people, but whether it (the end) is a secret or not is not that important,” he tells USA TODAY. “The movie doesn’t depend on that opening because each character has their own twists and turns.”

How does the plot determine the ending of “Conclave”?

In the film and book, a College of Cardinals of more than 200 gathers in the Vatican after the death of the Pope to elect his successor. The process is called a conclave and is steeped in ritual and tradition.

As the voting begins in the solemn Sistine Chapel, several high-ranking cardinals are vying to become the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, some making rather strident claims, including Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) and Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati). One cardinal who does not want the position is Cardinal Lawrence (Raife Fiennes), the Dean of the College of Cardinals, despite the encouragement of Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci).

Who is Cardinal Benitez in “Conclave”?

The wild card that ultimately turns the conclave upside down is the mysterious and contemplative Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Dietz), who is late for the meeting. Although he appears to be from Latin America, Benitez explains to his fellow cardinals that he has been sent, apparently by the Pope himself, to various remote and usually dangerous locations. Most recently, he served Catholics under siege in Afghanistan.

Benítez repeatedly votes for Lawrence, who shares his growing anger at the gesture, given his own questions about his faith and desire to possibly even leave the church. But Benitez insists, explaining that Lawrence has the virtues needed to lead the faithful, unlike some of their fellow cardinals who appear to want the position because of their power and status.

Why is Cardinal Lawrence investigating Cardinal Benitez in the Conclave?

Cardinal Benitez comes under the scrutiny of Cardinal Lawrence, who presides over the conclave. Lawrence is baffled by unearthed documents that show the late Pope approved Benitez’s trip from Afghanistan to Switzerland for a medical procedure.

This fact comes to the fore after a series of literal and philosophical outbursts that rocked the cardinals, and a few days before the conclave, they finally and overwhelmingly elected their new leader: Cardinal Benitez. Lawrence is happy with the result, but worried that perhaps the medical trip hints that the newly elected Pope is ill and won’t last long. Secretly, he insists on his direct subordinates to understand the details of this trip.

What is the shocking finale of “Conclave”?

If you’ve made it this far and still haven’t seen the movie, you definitely want to know what happens at the end of The Conclave. Let it be so.

Lawrence interrupts Benitez’s preparations to be proclaimed the new Pope and demands an explanation as to why Benitez was allowed to travel to Switzerland, even though he never made the trip. Lawrence thinks that maybe Benitez has a terminal illness, but instead he is told that the procedure would have removed his uterus. Benitez is intersexhaving reproductive parts that do not conform to the traditional definition of male or female.

“What are you?” Lawrence asks.

Benitez smiles and replies, “I am what God made me to be.”