A One Mann’s Movies review of “Empire of Light” (2023).
My first film of 2023, and it’s a corker from Sam Mendes – – “Empire of Light”. The movie gets its UK release on January 9th, but I saw this as a #cineworldunlimited preview screening.
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
It’s 1980. Hilary (Olivia Colman) works as a deputy manager at the “Empire” – an art-deco style cinema in a seaside town on England’s south coast. While the close-knit cinema team lifts Hilary’s spirits during the day, she is struggling to recover from a mental illness and returns each night to her lonely bedsit. But then Stephen (Micheal Ward) arrives and the pair, both struggling against different forms of discrimination, form a tender relationship.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC: “Racism, strong language, sex”.) Note: Although the sex has no visible nudity, it is quite “strong”… one teens might feel uncomfortable watching with their parents!
Talent:
Starring: Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Tom Brooke, Tanya Moodie, Crystal Clarke, Hannah Onslow.
Directed by: Sam Mendes.
Written by: Sam Mendes.
Twitter Handles: #EmpireLightFilm; #EmpireOfLight.
“Empire of Light” Review:
Positives:
- Despite having a great ensemble cast (see below), Olivia Colman deserves specific praise for an astonishing performance. If her ‘outburst’ scenes don’t earn her Best Actress Oscar and BAFTA nominations then something is seriously wrong with the world. The lady manages to express SUCH a range of emotions with infintesimal changes to her face. It’s astonishing. I swear she must have twice as many facial muscles as everyone else!
- The rest of the cast also do a great job:
- The ever-excellent Toby Jones adds some comic-relief as the projectionist totally focused (no pun intended) on his job. (Comic-relief, that is, until he reveals a heart-breaking backstory in a standout scene on a fire-escape);
- As Stephen, Micheal Ward is marvellous as the black teen struggling against continual racial abuse;
- Colin Firth has fun playing an out-of-character sleazeball (as I’d like to think Hugh Bonneville recently did in “I Came By“); and
- Tom Brooke adds faith in humankind in the lovely portayal of Neil, the gangly but kindly cinema assistant with his finger on the emotional pulse. (It took me ’til this review to clock where I knew Brooke from: he played the Queen’s bedroom intruder, Michael Fagan, in “The Crown”.)
- Sam Mendes and his regular collaborator in cinematography, Roger Deakins, create some memorable images. The rooftop fireworks scene reminded me of Bond’s arrival in Macao in “Skyfall”. And Stephen and Hilary entering the ‘pigeon loft’ is a staggeringly emotive visual moment.
- Margate is one of the stars of the show. The seaside town makes the perfect backdrop for the action, and the wonderful old cinema (actually the entrance to the “Dreamlands” retro-amusement park) is a location to die for. (You can see the location via Google Maps Streetview here). The location makes it relatively easy for the production design team to pitch you straight back into the 80’s again (which they do wonderfully).
- As a lover of cinema, I could only be moved by the way in which Mendes tries to inject his own love of cinema into the film. From the lush interiors of the cinema; to the popcorn and sweeties (70p for a box of Maltesers!); to Norman (Toby Jones) waxing lyrical about sprockets, retinal faults and beams of light; to Stephen (Micheal Ward) extolling the joys of getting collectively absorbed in a movie among a bunch of strangers; and on to Hilary (Olivia Colman) finally ‘getting it’ (big time) while watching “Being There”. (The famous line “Life is a State of Mind” fits just perfectly).
- I originally saw the multi-layered story (Stephen’s search for respect and a place in the world and Hilary’s search for stability and sanity) as a “negative”, since it felt a bit disjointed and rambling. But the more I distance myself from the film the more impressed I am by it. Both Stephen and Hilary are outcasts in their own way, both facing discrimination and both drawn to each other to try to make sense of it all. Even the 80’s films featured mirror that topic: “Stir Crazy” – the unusual multi-racial pairing of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor; “Being There” – with Peter Sellers as the simpleton out of touch in a sane world; and even “Chariots of Fire” – with its undercurrent of anti-semitism.
Negatives:
- Although, as above, the script has grown on me, there still feels to be something not quite satisfactory with the overall story arc. (I need to go and see it again!).
- I haven’t downrated the film for this, but it’s quite an uncomfortable watch in places and not the happiest little movie. And although the ending doesn’t go straight down a black hole, it’s still a bit bleak and could definitely be described as a “Father Ted film“.
- Nitpicking, but Stephen uses the phrase “wicked” to describe the inside of the cinema. We (my movie-going companions, the illustrious Mrs Movie Man and the saintly Sarah) had a discussion on the way home about whether this was in keeping with the 1980 setting. The ladies thought not; I thought it might have been. This BBC resource seems to suggest it only came into use in Britain in the late ’80’s (so one up to the ladies!)
Triggers:
The subject matter concerning mental illness and racial abuse and violence might be triggering for some viewers.
Summary Thoughts on “Empire of Light”
This is a class film to kick off 2023 with. Although a tough watch in places, the film is exquisitely crafted and is a love letter from Sam Mendes to the cinema of his (and my!) youth.
I’ve given this 4*s, but it’s a movie I really want to see again, and reserve the right to edit this review to edge it up a notch.
Trailer for “Empire of Light”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdMPTgYi-0w .
