Italian actress Isabella Rossellini says her role as a nun in Edward Berger's adaptation of Robert Harris' bestselling novel "is silent but very present" and admits growing up in Rome made her "very familiar with silent authority".
The 72-year-old actress plays the silent yet formidable Sister Agnes who is responsible for tending to the cardinals as they make their decision at the Vatican during the tumultuous process of electing a new pope.
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"I think that was so interesting about the character. She is silent but she's very present - and I loved that! It's true of the hierarchy in the Catholic Church and the difference between male and female is very marked - popes and cardinals can only be men, but still nuns can have a very strong role and presence," she said.
Rossellini is able to convey her character's grave disappointment and moral concern with very few words and admits she can relate to her resilience.
"I went to school with the nuns because I'm Italian. I grew up in Rome, so I was very familiar with this silent authority," she said.
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The veteran actress says the film's message about the evil of certitude intertwined with the moral wisdom of doubt was what led her to join the stellar cast, which also includes Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati, Brían F O'Byrne, Carlos Diehz, Merab Ninidze, Thomas Loibl and Sergio Castellitto.
Rossellini believes the papal thriller is "an ode to doubt" and says the movie's journey "feels like a spiritual or moral quest".
"Ralph gives a beautiful speech about certitude and doubt," she says. "The film is about that, and it ends on that note. He's very humbling remembering that all of us are human and we don't have the answers".
Conclave hits cinemas nationwide on 29 November.
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