Academy Award winning filmmaker Edward Berger’s highly anticipated follow-up project to his critically acclaimed All Quiet On The Western Front focuses on the mysterious Catholic ceremony known as the Conclave, which is also the film’s title. Vanity Fair has the first images featuring stars Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini and Stanley Tucci.

Fiennes plays Cardinal Lawrence. He starts to uncover dangerous secrets within the institution he serves, the Catholic Church. He and his fellow cardinals are at the Vatican to vote on who the next Pope should be after the previous one’s suspicious death. The movie will premiere in theaters Nov. 1.

Two-time Oscar nominee Fiennes most recently played Macbeth in a live performance production. On screen, he was in Netflix’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More. The actor will next be seen in Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later with Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

Robert Harris’ Conclave on screen

Conclave is based on Robert Harris’ 2016 novel of the same title. It also refers to the papal conclave, a gathering of the College of Cardinals to elect the bishop of Rome, otherwise known as the pope. The most recent conclave was in 2013, when Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to become Pope Francis, succeeding Pope Benedict XVI, who chose to retire.

The film centers its story on Fiennes’ Cardinal Lawrence. As he tries to investigate a burgeoning mystery, he bumps up against his ambitious, cunning and secretive peers. Lawrence is the Dean of the Conclave, whose job it is to preside over the College of Cardinals in choosing the next pope.

The papabili (or cardinals considered as prospects for the papacy) include the staunchly conservative Tedesco (Sergio Castellito), the possibly corrupt Tremblay (John Lithgow), the modest and progressive Bellini (Stanley Tucci) and the newest addition Benitez (Carlos Diehz).

Hanging above the College of the Cardinals is the previous pope’s suspicious death. Berger tells the story from Lawrence’s perspective. During the conclave, the College of Cardinals is prohibited from speaking to outsiders. They also stay inside the Vatican, moving between Domus Sanctae Marthae (St. Martha’s House) where they reside and the Sistine Chapel where they vote.

Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence

Berger said of Fiennes’ performance, “He finds himself in a crisis of faith — it’s really about a quiet man surrounded by men who vie for power as he tries to rediscover his faith.

“[Ralph’s] diligence of learning Italian and Latin — he wanted to be super accurate. He took a lot of pride in that, and a lot of pride in his craft. He wanted to get to the truth,” the director added.

For his part, Fiennes said about Berger, “Edward is very enthusiastic. He’s a real listener. He’s a real collaborator. His preparation is formidable — he immediately has the respect of everyone, actors and crew, because not only is he listening and human and inclusive, but also he knows what film he wants to make.”

Straughan made a few changes from the book, namely Sister Agnes. In the novel, she was a minor character. However, in the movie she’s played by the indomitable Rossellini, the role has been expanded for her to become Lawrence’s ally.

This sounds familiar…

“The difficult thing about this role is that she embodies staying in the background, staying invisible, serving the men — the oldest patriarch in the world still ruling, and she’s at the core of its crumbling foundations,” Berger explained.

“For the most part in the movie, she’s quietly sitting in the background, and yet we keep looking at her — because it’s Isabella,” he added.

If the plot seems familiar to you without having read any of Harris’ books, that’s because you’ve seen the conclave sort of play out on screen before… in 2009 with Tom Hanks in Angels & Demons based on Robert Langdon’s 2005 novel of the same name. The big difference is that in Berger’s Conclave, we’re staying with the actual conclave instead of around the Vatican.

Fiennes’ Cardinal Lawrence will have his hands full of corralling his peers in the College of Cardinals and figuring out why and how the previous pope died.

Conclave will be released in theaters Nov. 1.