, Columnist
And the Oscar for Political Truth Goes To ...
"Conclave" and "A Complete Unknown" offer viewers a hit — and a miss.
Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan and Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence (left to right)
Source: Searchlight Pictures, Focus Features
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The Best Picture nominees at this year’s Academy Awards include two movies whose main characters — a priest and a poet — embody a political truth that escapes too many Republicans and Democrats. Unfortunately, only one of the films allows viewers to see it.
In Conclave, a drama about the selection of a new pope, Cardinal Lawrence (played by Ralph Fiennes) delivers a brief speech around which the plot revolves.