“What happens behind these walls will change everything.”
After the unexpected death of the Pope, Cardinal Lawrence is drawn into the sealed ritual of choosing a successor. Confined with the Church’s leading figures inside the Vatican, he must keep the process moving while tensions rise around him. As the vote unfolds, he begins to sense that the election is being shaped by forces he cannot fully see.
Edward Berger directs this 2024 film, which runs 120 minutes and blends drama, mystery and thriller elements. Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence, the man responsible for overseeing the conclave and holding the gathering together. He is joined by Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Sergio Castellitto, who play figures among the cardinals and Vatican insiders surrounding the vote. Their roles help turn the election into a contest of discipline, persuasion and suspicion.
Set almost entirely within the Vatican, the film uses its enclosed spaces to create pressure and formality at once. The story draws on the strict rituals of the Catholic Church while also suggesting the strain that comes when power, faith and secrecy meet. Its tone is grave and suspenseful, with the locked-room setting making every exchange feel measured and loaded.
Edward Berger directs this 2024 film, which runs 120 minutes and blends drama, mystery and thriller elements. Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence, the man responsible for overseeing the conclave and holding the gathering together. He is joined by Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Sergio Castellitto, who play figures among the cardinals and Vatican insiders surrounding the vote. Their roles help turn the election into a contest of discipline, persuasion and suspicion.
Set almost entirely within the Vatican, the film uses its enclosed spaces to create pressure and formality at once. The story draws on the strict rituals of the Catholic Church while also suggesting the strain that comes when power, faith and secrecy meet. Its tone is grave and suspenseful, with the locked-room setting making every exchange feel measured and loaded.
Reviews
7.2 / 10