Conclave (2024) on Netflix
After the Pope dies unexpectedly, Cardinal Lawrence runs the conclave to choose his successor. Sequestered in the Vatican, he uncovers secrets and a conspiracy that could shake the Church.
- Netflix4.2/5
- IMDb7.4/10288,006 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes93%
Trailer
Plot summary
When the Pope suffers a fatal heart attack, Cardinal Lawrence must lead the College of Cardinals in a sealed election to choose a new pontiff. Four candidates emerge: Bellini is progressive, Adeyemi is socially conservative, Tremblay is moderate, and Tedesco is traditionalist. Lawrence opens the proceedings by urging the cardinals to embrace uncertainty, which some interpret as a sign of his own papal ambition. On the first ballot, no one obtains the required two-thirds majority; Adeyemi leads, while the progressive vote is split between Bellini and Lawrence. As the cardinals remain locked away in the Vatican, Lawrence uncovers hidden scandals and a conspiracy that could bring down the Church.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Conclave (2024)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Several cardinals watched Conclave to learn how a papal election works, according to Politico Europe. One of them, Robert Cardinal Prevost of Chicago, was later elected Pope Leo XIV, as the account of Prevost's brother states.
- The production rebuilt the Sistine Chapel as faithfully as it could, but deliberately made its version of the Domus Sanctae Marthae more prison-like, judging the real residence too dull for the tension the film wanted.
- Costume designer Lisy Christl dressed the cardinals in a red taken from 17th-century cardinal vestments rather than the scarlet of modern ones, because she found the older hue far more beautiful and far easier on the eyes.
- Composer Volker Bertelmann, scoring his fifth film for director Edward Berger, built much of the music around the Cristal Baschet, a crystallophone played with wet hands, after searching for a sound that was neither too ecclesiastical nor classical.
- Screenwriter Peter Straughan met a real cardinal to discuss how a conclave works and was given a private tour of the Vatican, where he said he felt no hostility and found the Vatican open to him.
- A parody Twitter account, Pope Crave, was created in December 2024 to post memes about the film and gained significant attention when the real 2025 conclave took place.
