The death of a Pope is always a solemn time for Catholics, especially when it’s a Pope like Pope Francis, whose legacy includes dropping a prog-rock album in 2015. It also marks the beginning of a process that movie fans got a front-row seat for when watching the 2024 Oscar Best Picture nominee Conclave, which recently left its original streaming home of Peacock.
Conclave stars Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, tasked with overseeing the conclave of Cardinals who have come together to vote a new Pope into office. The action, as depicted by director Edward Berger and writer Peter Straughan (adapting the novel by Robert Harris), is a lot less spiritual than one might expect, as the balance of power between the men competing for the job (played by a stellar ensemble cast including Lucian Msamati, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, Carlos Diehz, and more) shifts with the speed of a rumor.
Berger makes a particular point of highlighting all the details involved in the rituals of a Pope’s passing, from the way the body is prepared to the paper ballots the Cardinals slide into a basin to cast their votes — stuff that theoretically is happening right now in Vatican City. So if there’s one time to watch Conclave, it’s now. (And not just because it’s a genuinely great movie.)
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Unfortunately, while Conclave began streaming on Peacock in December, it has just left the NBC Universal-owned streaming service. That’s pretty bad timing, though there are two pieces of good news:
Screenshot via Amazon Prime Video
Conclave will likely stay on Prime Video for some time — if nothing else, another Universal-produced movie, The Fall Guy, left Peacock at the end of December 2024 and is still on the Amazon-owned service today. So perhaps check it out there, especially if you’re curious about what might be happening behind closed doors right now.
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