From senior editor Kate Lucky: Sometimes when a writer is reviewing a film—and needs to watch it before its release date—the studio will send what’s called a “screener,” basically an advance copy locked with a passcode and set to expire after a certain number of views.

But it’s more fun when you get the chance to watch the film early in a theater. For my review of Conclave, I was invited to Mill Valley, a beautiful little town in the redwoods north of San Francisco, where the movie was showing as part of a film festival. That was cool. Even cooler: The director, Edward Berger, and the star, Ralph Fiennes, were there! In his pre-show talk, Berger joked that Mill Valley was pretty enough to compete with Rome, where the movie was filmed.

Rush hour traffic before the show meant I didn’t have time for dinner, not even popcorn. On the drive back, I fortified myself with some BBQ chips and peanut butter crackers from a gas station. My late-night drive across the Golden Gate Bridge gave me plenty of time to munch and to reflect on the film’s themes of power and holiness.