Everything That Dies, Some Day Comes Back

You have to hand it to Robert Harris - he's a master at extracting drama out of very unpromising material, whether it be the 1938 Munich peace conference or as here the election of a new Pope. If this film is accurate then the successful administration of the election depends on the Dean of the College of Cardinals.  Likewise the success of the film depends on who plays said Dean.  Thankfully it is Ralph Fiennes so we are in safe hands. I had read the novel but naturally had forgotten pretty much all of it, including the shock revelation at the end, so I was able to enjoy the story all over again. It's well put together, with good supporting performances all round by the likes of John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, and Isabella Rossellini. So I don't really have any complaints except that I would have liked a few scenes of deep  theological discussion but I'm probably in a minority of one on that score. When I read the novel I don't think I found the shock revelation at th...

Listening to a recent episode of the excellent 'Screen Drafts' podcast which covered Grisham adaptations I was taken aback to hear the view expressed by all three drafters that this film is superior to both 'The Client' and (gulp) 'The Firm'.  So taken aback that I felt the need to check it out for myself. The first thing to say is that this is not really a legal thriller per se.  Admittedly things kick off with the somewhat unlikely assassination of two Supreme Court justices (performed in two different locations within a couple of hours of each other, by the same assassin!).  And one of the two main protagonists is a precocious legal student Darby Shaw (played by Julia Roberts). But essentially this is a conspiracy thriller, where the conspiracy might lead right up to the President himself.  And who better to direct this material than Alan J Pakula, who in the 1970s demonstrated his mastery of this subgenre?   The other protagonist is a reporter, Gray Gra...