Interview by Elisa Leonelli
December 18, 2024
Isabella Rossellini was nominated by the international journalists who vote for the Golden Globes among the Best Supporting Actresses for having played a nun in the new movie Conclave, directed by Edward Berger from the 2016 novel by Robert Harris, starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto.
What discussions did you have with the director about how to build the sister Agnes character?
I had read the book, which was very useful to me, and I also spoke to the screenwriter, Peter Straughan. During the conversations with Edward, we decided that, although the patriarchal society of the Vatican gives the sisters a role of invisibility, and they must serve as domestics and respect the men, this does not prevent them from having great authority and quite a voice, even in their silence.
Did you find it difficult to remain silent on the set, given that in life you do not hesitate to express your opinions?
Sister Agnes is not oppressed, she chose to be a nun, no one forced her. She accepts her role, but has great strength and dignity, commands respect from the cardinals who are intimidated by her presence. She cannot vote for the new pope, but this gives her perhaps more power, because she is not part of the brawl. As an actress, on a set with 120 men, between director, actors and crew, although I was worried and nervous, when I finally speak, I must be resolute. Even though I don’t have a lot of lines of dialog, my monologue falls like a bomb on the conclave.”
Before making the film, did you already know how the Pope’s election at the Vatican worked?
We had two religious consultants on the set who made sure every gesture was correct, but I was born and raised in Rome, so I was familiar with the Catholic Church. In those days, it was pope John XXIII who was beloved by everyone, and in Italy the pope appears almost every day on television news. I remember that every evening at 8:30 p.m., before we went to bed, he wished goodnight and sweet dreams to us children, he asked us to say our prayers; it was like having a grandfather. My father (Roberto Rossellini) was Catholic and my mother (Ingrid Bergman) Protestant; they did not go to church, but my grandmother (Elettra) was very religious. As a child, from middle school to 16 years old, I went to a school run by nuns (Falconieri Institute), so I knew how much authority they had.
Is it true that during the shooting of the film you took Stanley Tucci to dinner in a restaurant in Rome run by nuns?
Yes, because Stanley knows everything about restaurants in Rome, but he didn’t know this one, the Eau Vive. It’s a restaurant that my mother used to go to in order not to be bothered by paparazzi, and the sisters protected her privacy.
Did you ever think what kind of nun you would be if you chose this path?
I don’t think I could have been a good nun, because I was married and divorced twice (with Martin Scorsese 1979-1982, Jon Wiedemann 1983-1985), and I have two children (Elettra, born in 1983, Roberto, adopted in 1993). Anyway, I remember asking my favorite teacher how her family reacted to her decision to become a nun, and she said it was very difficult, that her mother was sad because she wanted to be a grandmother, and in the family they kept telling her that she could have faith, go to church every day, but also get married and have children. So it was a battle for her, but this was her calling, as for my mother to be an actress was a calling.
Isabella Rossellini-Conclave (c) Focus Features 2024
Women do not yet have an important role in the Catholic Church, but are you satisfied with the progress they have made in society in general?
Of course, I am very happy to have been born in this century and not in the twentieth century. At least now I can vote, have a bank account in my name, buy land, decide the career I want to do. So as women we have won a lot of rights, even though sometimes we take a few steps back. In Italy, in 1952, when I was born, there was still no separation between church and state, the Constitution was based on the Catholic religion until 1976, divorce and abortion had not been legalized. My parents had a complicated relationship that was then called extramarital, and they were able to get married only after my father obtained an annulment of his previous marriage. But you can’t stop people from falling in love.
What changes have you noticed in your generation and that of your daughter Elettra, born in 1983?
I’ve seen tremendous progress. There was no doubt that my daughter would go to university and could choose the career she wanted. In my case, I was an exception, my sister (twin, Isotta) and I were the first women in our family to have gone to university. I went on to get a master’s degree and she got a Ph.D. While my aunt (Marcella) did not go to school; she was very educated, but she studied at home as a self-taught student. Since then the laws have changed and now in Italy there are 8 years of compulsory education for children. So we’ve made a lot of progress, albeit slowly. In America, on the other hand, a step backwards has now been taken with the revocation of abortion rights. I understand the moral conflict, but women have to be able to control if and when they want to become mothers, because having children requires a lot of sacrifice and they have to decide when they are ready to do it.”
Conclave is out in Italian cinemas on December 19, 2024.
Click here for Italian text, written for Best Movie