Oscars 2025: ‘Conclave’ wins ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’
Conclave has won the Oscar for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ at the 97th Academy Awards, beating fellow nominees A Complete Unknown, Emilia Pérez, Nickel Boys, and Sing Sing.
Edward Berger’s thriller stars Ralph Fiennes as a cardinal in the Vatican who is overseeing the voting process for a new pope after the death of the previous pope.
“A huge thank you to everyone involved in making Conclave,” Peter Straughan said as part of his acceptance speech. “Connie, I love you; this is for you. That’s not the same as saying ‘this is yours’, this is mine,” he joked.
It touches on questions of faith, the democratic process, and greed, with supporting performances from John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, and Isabella Rossellini, who is nominated for ‘Best Supporting Actress’.
Based on the novel of the same name by Robert Harris, the screenplay was written by Staughan, who was nominated for the same award in 2012 for his adaptation of John Le Carré’s novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He previously earned the same award for Conclave at this year’s Golden Globes. He also penned the scripts for Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank, David Gordon Green’s Our Brand is Crisis, and the television series Wolf Hall.
Conclave is nominated for eight Oscars, including ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Actor’ for Fiennes, ‘Best Editing’, and ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for Rossellini. It has proven to be an awards favourite this season, taking home the top prize at the Baftas last month after earning 11 nominations, and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for ‘Outstanding Performance by a Cast’, which is often a precursor to a ‘Best Picture’ win.
Far Out also named Conclave as the best movie of 2024: “The film is gripping from minute one, carrying the audience along with intrigue, great acting, and Volker Bertelmann’s pulsing, stirring score. Ralph Fiennes is customarily superb as the constantly conflicted Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, and he is supported by a murderer’s row of character actors doing some of their best work.”
Sometimes, the Oscars can throw up some major surprises. However, there’s nothing wrong with the clear favourite taking home the prize, which is exactly what happened with Straughan and his impeccable screenplay for Conclave.
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