Do you vote for the candidate you believe in? Or do you vote to keep a strongman out of power? The electorate at hand happens to be a group of cardinals, sequestered in the Vatican in Edward Berger’s “Conclave.”

Adapted from the Robert Harris novel by Peter Straughan, the handsomely rendered and meticulously acted “Conclave” encompasses these universal electoral struggles within the tightly controlled and rigorously regimented ritual of electing a new pope. But rife with backroom skulduggery among the cardinals, as well as a penchant for stairwell whisper campaigns among the power brokers, “Conclave” is less of a searching moral philosophy piece than it is a scandalously twisty papal potboiler.

Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is charged with stewarding the conclave after the death of the pope. The white smoke can only go up when one of the cardinals receives a 72-vote majority, and shepherding this bunch of squabbling, power-hungry backstabbers to that number is going to require a herculean feat of delicate diplomacy — and maybe even an act of God or two.

This would probably be an easier job for a less-principled cardinal. Alas, the burden to elect the right pope weighs heavy on Lawrence, and the task is complicated by the fact that unsavory rumors and controversy swirl around three of the most ambitious front- runners: the meddling Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow), the too-suave Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) and the ultra-traditional Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellito). Lawrence, however, would like to throw his support toward the quietly progressive Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), who shirks from the responsibility.

The conclave is also disrupted by a cardinal secretly appointed by the pope. The Archbishop of Kabul, a mysterious Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz) arrives unannounced, his presence sending a ripple through the familiar dynamic, a quiet bomb waiting to go off as he becomes a surprising dark horse candidate for the gig.

Lawrence himself refuses such ambition outwardly, citing a crisis of faith, but there are those who accuse him of harboring such desires for the job. Fiennes, who is so restrained in his performance it is almost pained, manages to let the shadow of hope cross his carefully composed face. This subtle subplot, performed so beautifully by Fiennes, is the true jewel at the center of the film.

This swirling whirlpool of interpersonal drama is grounded by the pomp and circumstance of centuries- old ritual; garments and smoke and hierarchy.

However, Berger takes a modern approach to the film’s style. Production designer Suzie Davies delivers a set of dramatic reds, whites and blacks; harsh, shiny surfaces with a certain coldness to the environs. Cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine utilizes the scale and scope of the Vatican to deliver breathtaking compositions. The slashing strings of composer Volker Bertelmann’s score offers the kind of high- tension drama that conveys the stakes.

The filmmakers present “Conclave” as a film that seems like it’s deeper than it actually is. In reality, it’s a bit of down-the-middle thriller filmmaking that flirts with tawdriness as it presents the inner workings of the highly secretive Vatican. While the screenplay’s themes can be extrapolated to broader sociopolitical questions, distracted by its own flashy revelations, it fails to impart any new or surprising insights beyond the basic notion that cardinals, they’re just like us.

MPA rating: PG (for thematic material and smoking)

Running time: 2:00

How to watch: In theaters