User reviews

The movie "Empire of Light" is filled with metaphors about human relationships. Writer and director Sam Mendes does a beautiful and sensitive job of bringing two socially marginalized individuals together through the art of film, music, and poetry.

Hilary (Olivia Colman), a movie theater manager is suffering from mental illness and Stephen (Micheal Ward), a movie theater helper is suffering racial discrimination in the community. Two worlds apart that together manage to understand each other's pain.

Olivia Colman's interpretation is once again absolutely perfect, she manages to convey all the pain of her character without uttering a word, only through her body language.

A beautiful soundtrack that helps enhance the mood of the movie.

This film has a lot going for it. Colman and Ward have tremendous on screen chemistry portraying characters facing difficult yet different obstacles in their lives. Mental health and race are heavy themes in this film and it takes human connections and support from your friends to get through these obstacles. Hilary (Colman) was struggling to get through her every day life until she meets Stephen (Ward) and together they form a strong bond and help each other get through some difficult personal moments. I love this film taking place in a movie theater and the relationships between the workers was written perfectly. Genuine relationships provide us with a light in our life and helps us get by and this film is all about the importance of genuine friendships. The score was phenomenal as usually by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and Roger Deakins came through again with outstanding cinematography. Sam Mendes is a great director and he did a nice job with the script as well. Lastly, the production design was absolutely terrific, the movie theater where this was filmed was beautiful and the roof of the theater was truly amazing, truly stunning.

You're trapped inside a world of make believe, where people take their seats to be deceived, lose themselves in fantasy, reels conjure alchemy, this is no paradise or palace, that you perceive. Behind closed doors, torment and distress are at play, where advantages are taken day by day, but you plough your lonely furrow, cage the rage, the pain, the sorrow, then someone new arrives, projects a fresh pathway.

I spent two hours spellbound at the incredible Olivia Coleman, who takes you into the unstable world of Hilary in early 1980s Britain. More than ably supported by Michael Ward, the pair paint a picture of the challenges of the day, from different backgrounds and perspectives, that rollercoast your emotions to extremes. Great story, great direction and great performances - what more do you need from a film?

Empire of Light grapples with a lot of different themes and issues but struggles to do them all justice resulting in a mixed bag that at least offers an emotionally investing love letter to the power of cinema that remembers to show the problems of the time.

Olivia Colman gives a great lead performance that plays to her strengths with plenty of incredibly dramatic moments. Micheal Ward is really good with a calmness and earnestness that makes the romance more believable. Toby Jones is excellent in his small part, with a wholesome nature that hides a real sadness.

Despite a muddled screenplay as first time solo screenwriter, Sam Mendes' direction is still technically impressive with Roger Deakin's gorgeous cinematography enhanced by a typically evocative score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

At times, it's intimate and intricate. At others, it's strikingly hollow.

Firstly, highest praises must be given to Roger Deakins' lush cinematography and Reznor & Ross's ethereal, atmospheric musical score. Both these elements added such a rich sensory element to the film that elevates the experience high above what's on the page.

Because what's on the page is a disjointed collection of individually compelling pieces.

Olivia Colman and the rest of the cast really do give it their all and bring a great deal of life to their half-baked characters. Nearly all of them have backstory and struggles introduced, but not much, if anything, is ever done with it.

The "story" is made up of runtime-padding dramatic beats that always begin in a very strong manner but are always either resolved without any real struggle or conflict or are abandoned entirely. No consequences are ever seen or felt, and it dampens the impact of the whole film. I felt nothing when the credits rolled.

Also, Colin Firth is woefully miscast as the cinema manager; not because he's bad in the movie, he's great in the movie. But because he has such limited screen time and has such a thankless, undemanding roll. It's far beneath an actor of his calibre and experience. He's tragically under-utilised.

And that's how I would describe just about every element of this film: not bad, but under-utilised.

Anyone who goes to see "Empire of Light" expecting another cosy movie about the love of cinema, both the medium and the building, will be sadly disappointed since Sam Mendes' superb new movie is about so much more. Yes, it's a love letter to all aspects of 'cinema' but it's also about racism and mental illness, lonliness and our ability to connect and it works on all these levels.

The setting is an unnamed town on England's South Coast in the early 1980's and the Picture Palace in question, (the Dreamland Cinema in Margate standing in for the Empire), really is a Picture Palace of the old school, (well, the bits of it that are open to the public are, at least), and Hilary, (an Oscar-worthy Olivia Colman), is the unhappy, lonely and mentally challenged duty manager who has allowed herself to drift into a casual sexual relationship with her married boss, (Colin Firth), and who now finds herself drawn to a new young employee who happens to be black, (Michael Ward, excellent).

Today, even with the age difference between them, this wouldn't be thought of as a problem but this was the early '80's and the National Front were on the march and Mendes' 'romance' doesn't shy away from the racism directed at Ward's character or from Hilary's mental problems. But this isn't a glum picture. Gorgeously photographed by Roger Deakins it is indeed a love letter to the movies and if like me you don't go stir crazy over "Stir Crazy", the joys of "Being There" should draw you in. Beautifully written, (also by Mendes), directed and acted, (as another employee Tom Brooke is also outstanding), this moving and intelligent picture really shouldn't be missed.

...Well... at least that's what could have been. When the movie opens and sets us back into the late 70s and early 80s, seeing a classic cinema, with some craftsmanship behind it, that we forgot how to appreciate. With beautiful cinematography and lighting, this really makes you melancholic... that's the good part...

Unfortunately I checked my watch so many times during this movie, wondering when it would finally reach the 2h mark and therefore the end. It's easily 30mins to long and while it has a VERY important message that is still relevant today unfortunately, it somehow get's lost in its own melancholia, but not in a Lars von Trier way, just in "are we there yet?" way.

While it surely has its beautiful moments and lovely dialogues along the way, it did only drag me in for about 2, 3 mins and had me lost in the other scenes for some reason. It feels like this movie wants to be to many things at the same time and can't decide where to put its focus point.

"Sometimes people need stories more than food to stay alive." - Barry Lopez

The vintage Empire cinema is one of those rare places where people experience something magical to light up their lives in the cynical, broken world. Hilary, who opens the theater doors in the morning, does not care for such nonsense. To her, with a troubled past and anger issues, it is just a job and routine. Hilary goes about her business, does sexual favors for the boss in his office, and eats dinner alone at home. Things change when a young black man, Stephen, is hired at the Empire. Hilary takes Stephen under her wing and shows him interesting things about the theater and its employees. When they encounter a hurt bird, Stephen impresses Hillary with his kindness in helping the bird to fly again. Hilary and Stephen open their hearts to each other. However, it isn't long before Hilary's darker issues surface once more.

No one is going to give you the life you want, you must go out and get it.

This tender, inspiring, and compassionate film takes us to Britain in the 1980s. Star actors include Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, and Colin Firth, and the cinematographer Roger Deakins. Director Sam Mendes, Colman, and Deakins were present at this Canadian premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was a personal film for Mendes whose mother had "mental trouble." Deakins added that one of the good qualities of Mendes is that he likes to make films about real people. One of the main themes of the film is that each person has pain that they deal with. Ask about people, check on them, and don't turn your back on anyone.

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"Empire of Light works best as a love letter to the art of filmmaking and the theater experience. Brilliant performances. Astonishing to behold. Emotional to listen to - score is the technical highlight. Not so captivating narratively, considering that Sam Mendes' first solo script lacks depth in the most important themes.

It's a beautiful tribute to the magic of cinema that cinephiles will enjoy, but for viewers less passionate about the 7th art, it might be difficult to genuinely care."

Rating: B-

Positives first: the cinematography is quite beautiful and enjoyable, as is the scoring. The performances are great and holding the movie together - the cast does a great job.

At the same time I struggled with figuring out what this film was trying to be about.

A woman in her midlife crisis? Mental health? Racism? A movie theater gradually falling from glory (or finding its way back)? Unusual relationships? Abuse? (At one point there is a conversation that caught me off guard) And then there are some additional nuggets casually thrown in for a moment, but without any weight or meaning.

All these themes have great potential to start important conversations, but you have to commit to one and explore it fully - instead, this movie touches on all of them and dances around them, throws in a bunch of sex scenes (some of which being rather unnecessary).

That being said, watching the cast was still quite enjoyable, so i still had a reasonably good time.

I almost didn't go after reading the marmite reviews, not wanting to be disappointed with a film that the fantastically talented Olivia Coleman was in.

We were booked to see The Menu but due to a last minute technical hitch our tickets were cancelled and we decided since we were there we might as well watch it.

Olivia knocks it out the park again, she's ridiculously good. I loved every little understated detail about this film from the snow crystals on her boots at the beginning to the lipstick on her teeth later on. It was like going to Disneyland and realising there wasn't a crack on the pavement that wasn't meant to be there. The cinematography was exceptional. Such a talented cast - Michael Ward, Toby Jones, Colin Firth all created very credible characters that drew you in and made you sad, happy, and laugh.

Don't believe the negative reviews this is a really beautiful, poignant film. At the end we just kept repeating "I'm so glad we came to see this"

Sometimes a movie has all the elements of greatness in place but somehow just can't seem to pull all the pieces together. Such is the case with writer-director Sam Mendes's latest offering, an unfocused mélange of story threads that seem haphazardly strung together in a 1980s period piece love story about the staff of a British resort town cinema infused with elements involving mental illness and growing racial violence and intolerance at the time. Sound like a mishmash of unrelated storylines? You bet, and the picture probably comes off better than it should, given the strengths of Roger Deakins's superb cinematography, Trent Reznor's ethereal score, and the outstanding performances of its ensemble cast, most notably Olivia Colman, a virtual sure-bet for an Oscar nomination. As in other works, such as "Revolutionary Road" (2008), Mendes has a knack for getting the most out of his resources even when the material comes up short, a trick he successfully pulls off again here. It's unfortunate, however, that this obvious lover of film couldn't manage to combine these elements in a way here that matches the brilliance of his truly great works, such as "American Beauty" (1999), "Skyfall" (2012) and "1917" (2019). Had the script gone through another round of revisions, that might have been the case, given that the writing really proves to be the downfall of this offering. For all its strengths, however, "Empire of Light" nevertheless comes up a disappointing effort, one that, regrettably, doesn't live up to the pre-release hype showered upon it.

My least favorite genre in all of film is Oscar Bait. And this film is a very clear example of that. Sam Mendes' last film 1917 was one of the best war films I've ever seen. Such a fall from grace. The acting is decent, aside from Olivia Coleman who was great as usual. The drama was forced, manipulative and unearned. It didn't know if it wanted to be a romance, or if it wanted to be about loneliness or racism. It was mundanely all over the place. The other aspect that I really appreciated was the cinematography from the GOAT Roger Deakins. Overall, Empire of Light isn't that bad. But it was incredibly boring and unfocused which made it forgettable.

"Empire of Light" is a grandiose title for Sam Mendes' intimate new character drama, which unfortunately starts out slow and unfocused. The story is set in 1980-81 and centers around a palatial Art Deco theater in the seaside town of Margate. The cinematography by Roger Deakins is well done and the performances from the cast, including Olivia Colman and Colin Firth, are strong. However, the storytelling is jumbled and the characters are underdeveloped in the first and third part of the film. It takes time for the film to find its groove, but once it does, it becomes more engaging and illuminating.

Writer/Director Sam Mendes has made some good movies, and his recent "Empire of Light" is now amongst them. This is a multi-faceted drama that seems to take on maybe too large a scope in some ways, but that's a small quibble to what's good in the movie, which is its core focus to love, romance, and friendship between the main characters. Set in England during the 80s, the movie has a great look about it that reflects the past marvelously without focusing too much on it. Its an enhancement. There's also much reflection on time and space in a cyclical way, being older and younger, accomplishments and regrets to name a couple. Michael Ward has star written in bright lights - Mendes and he create an 'Old-Soul' character. I liked the movie with nice accompanying soundtrack. 7/10.

Despite the medicore reviews this is a gem that stands out and one of the best movies of 2022. I don't know why the fabelmans get all the credit and this one does not. Its certainly a movie you have to be in the mood for. Bittersweet and melancholic, but theres also joy and hope in it. Great location in Margate (england seaside), two people find eachother for a short moment in life. Coleman does what she can do best, playing a broken soul that overcomes her struggles and find hope in this younger black guy that enters her life. I love the scene with the pigeon steven mends the broken wing from. Great metaphor as hilary needs this healing so urgently. I was highly invested the story and those two protagonists. Yeah u get sentimental- i loved it!

I have loved much of Sam Mendes' filmography! From the very interesting yet masterful "American Beauty", to his excellent turn as Bond director for "Skyfall" and "Spectre", to his incredible one-shot war film "1917", he just hasn't missed! Unfortunately, with "Empire of Light", I think we may have just seen his first major misstep. It's not a terrible film by any means, but surely one of Mendes' weaker films. Perhaps this is because it's his first time directing a screenplay he wrote on his own, perhaps it is something else. Regardless, it did not fully work for me like I had expected it to. Heck... this movie was nothing like I thought it was going to be... I felt like the trailer advertised a very different movie than what I actually saw.

The film is unfortunately a muddled mess, so much that I feel I could barely tell you what it was actually about. The overall message was way too broad, leaving not much to chew on as none of the themes could be explored in depth. It just felt like it kept jumping all over the place and never focused itself, and that made me roll my eyes at the movie at times. There were a few flashes of brilliance, most especially in showing how cinema can connect everyone no matter who they are, but again, it really never explored that in depth. It was like an idea Mendes had to explore, but only touched on it throughout the film, while also dealing with complex issues such as mental health and racism (which also do not get highlighted properly). The actual story of the movie also felt like it was really going nowhere, it tended to meander along and never fully piqued my interest. Even the characters weren't compelling, I actually found most of them pretty unlikable. Overall I found the script was the biggest flaw of this film; Mendes clearly needs other screenwriters attached as I've never seen him have a film as messy as this. The problem is that he wrote the script, and then because he was also the director he had no one else to scrutinize the script, instead just directing what he had written on the page. His direction is strong, but when he is so reliant on his own lackluster script it comes off as weaker than it is. Frankly, Sam Mendes is way too good of a director to be directing scripts written by Sam Mendes.

Now, like I said there were some flashes of brilliance throughout the film. The things you would expect to be good were good! Roger Deakins cinematography, like always, is visually excellent. The lighting, framing, and overall crisp digital image looked quite nice, it just felt like there was no substance below that. As well, Olivia Colman of course delivers a stunning performance! It seems that is the only thing she knows how to do, she just can't seem to ever miss! She kills it with her monologues, I just there was a better script to back her up! Reznor and Ross also cooked up a great score, proving they are just unstoppable even without a great film to inspire them!

I don't think it is a stretch to say that I didn't like this movie. I really wanted to, and am disappointed that it ended up like this. It is frustratingly mundane from such a renowned director. Could've had awards chances, but I am doubtful of it... there's just much better films out there this year! Sam Mendes just tried to do too much with the script, which unfortunately weighed the film down. It just did not work for me. Maybe it will for you, I truly hope it does!

Empire of Light is such a beautiful piece of cinema, oozing class, poignancy and power.

The story follows Olivia Coleman's Hilary, who forms an unlikely bond with Micheal Ward's Stephen whilst working together at the Empire cinema in Margate.

This style of story is right up my street. A mismatched pair who find solace and comfort in each other. It is beautifully done and packs in so many themes and different angles. I do think that some of the themes are dealt with in a bit of a ham-fisted way, and a bit more refinement would have been welcome but this is a relatively minor criticism. On the whole the story is very well crafted.

The performances are top notch. Olivia Colman really shines and is pushed to the limit by the layers of her character. Micheal Ward is a more than worthy opposite for her with a great leading performance.

With the cinematography in the hands of Roger Deakins the film was always going to be a visual treat. There is a melancholic majesty to the cinema set that Deakins captures which is gorgeous. As always he photographs the characters with such sympathy and feeling.

To top it all off the soundtrack perfectly compliments the themes of the film and brings even more emotion to the piece.

I'm surprised this film isn't getting more love as it really blew me away and has so much power and emotion to it. Empire of Light is a real triumph in my opinion.

There are two main characters in Writer-Director Sam Mendes' EMPIRE OF LIGHT. The first is Hilary (Olivia Colman) a single 40-something woman. The other is her place of employment, the Empire Cinema in a coastal town in Kent, England. Set in the early 1980s (there are references to STIR CRAZY and CHARIOTS OF FIRE) the grand old theater is in need of upkeep and a makeover. So, too, it soon becomes obvious, does Hilary.

She is in a doctor's care and goes through mood swings, a major one is set off when a handsome young man, Stephen (Micheal Ward) begins working at the movie house. Hilary doesn't hide her desires. Stephen is black which only complicates the emotions.

All of this is inter-cut with a nostalgic look at the Empire Theater itself. The red carpeted lobby. Two huge auditoriums with chandeliers and luxurious curtains. Up in the projection booth Norman (Toby Jones) commands the projectors like a master. During that era, it was all shown of film, of course, and Norman is it's conductor. His little fiefdom. The staff all seem to get along well under the thumb of the oily boss of a theater manager (Colin Firth). Hilary is satisfied running the lobby and doesn't venture inside to watch the actual movies.

Colman is her dependable self navigating the awkward screenplay. There is little flow or cohesion in the story-telling. Ward also acquits himself well, even if one never truly believes in the relationship. Jones is superb in support. It's a fine looking movie with Roger Deakins' cinematography shining through - he is, after all, an Emperor of Light himself.

Mendes has said that this is a paean to the power of the movies. Unfortunately, the unwieldy screenplay subverts his own intentions. The social importance aspect never feels true, and Hilary's problems get swept about like so much spilled popcorn on the theater's floors. The different sections never work together. It's like seeing a double feature of a (mediocre) Merchant Ivory film with an overwrought horror film. They simply don't go together however stately the cinema it takes place in.

3 out of 5 stars.

Empire of Light is a fair romantic drama film with a love letter to 1980s cinema and its conflicted times during the 1980s. Director Sam Mendes does a great job building a romantic story of a lady who suffers from a mental illness and working at a cinema theater with supporting coworkers. And a manager that is taking advantage of her. Until she meets a guy who she falls in love with.

Its a film about finding connections. Even during rough times. The film does have a thin plot which does not do much with leaving its mark. Making it quite forgettable. Great acting from the cast. Overall, it is an okay film that is thin as ice with its plot and forgettable.

First of all - it's slow , not a slow burn or a build , it's just slow . I am still not really sure what the plot was , there was way too many elements trying to fit into one film and I think in the end it actually detracted from what the creators wanted the takeaway to be .

The relationship dynamics between the two main characters were too all over the place , and not in a way that was " life and relationships are messy " just in a way that left you feeling confused . Not a lot of chemistry , the race and age and personality and power dynamics and feminism and lost love and sex and mental illness - just too much .

There were however some amazing scenes - the scene where Norman is teaching Stephan about the projection equipment and explaining how it works and the idea our minds are able to ignore the darkness and focus on the light - absolutely incredible analogy . When Hilary finally watches a movie and escapes through the beam of light , absolute power in that . Normans speech about running away was another key moment .

I love film - so much and I wanted this to be a true tribute but instead it was just a story line with some random movie references and about people who happen to work in a cinema .

Honestly - I would say skip it and watch something else .

I guess it was always a big ask to continually keep getting better when your two big screen directorial debuts were the outstanding American Beauty (1999) and Road to Perdition (2002), and looking through Brit director Sam Mendes resume it's unfortunately been a slow descent into mediocrity ever since. Alas, this latest self penned effort from the Brit Hollywood heavyweight continues the slow downward spiral.

Oscar winner Olivia Colman takes top billing and although she is stellar as the mentally challenged duty manager of the piece, she ultimately can't save this one from flopping at the box office.

Despite some typically great cinematography from 12 times Coen Brothers alumnus Roger Deakins the whole feel and screenplay is like something you'd see as a watershed mini-series on the BBC back in the day. Aside from Colin Firth the rest of the supporting cast is also distinctly B-movie level.

The 80s setting mostly inside a stunning art deco Margate cinema amuses, especially if you were around back then, but the film itself meanders and drags failing to grab you and pull you in both spiritually or emotionally.

Things eventually peter out to a rather drab ending that much like stale popcorn and flat cola leaves you yearning for something much more substantial.... A one watcher at best i'm afraid.

I sat down to watch this picture without knowing anything about it. Now - 2 hrs later - I realize that I knew almost everything there was to know about this movie. There isn't anything ground breaking about the film; the story is told in a moving manner; the cinematography, art direction, sets, costumes all all skillfully executed; the acting is good, but since the story contains no deeply emotional moments, good is about all you're going to get. I worked in theatres for 20 years. All the characters I could relate to someone in the 30-35 theatres I worked at. The projection booth was very realistic in that it was usually a fairly grungy place that had a lot of movie stuff like pictures and posters on the walls. The one thing I will take exception to is this: in 1981 the use of carbon arc projecting was on the way out: it was expensive and needed to be replaced every 60 mins of playtime. Also this was a twin theatre, carbon arcs in a multi auditorium set up was long gone - they were using xenon bulbs where you didn't do film changeovers every 20 mins. I will say, the changeover sequence is very realistic, just not for a twin theatre. Other than that, the picture was satisfying on HBOMax; had I paid $10-$15 to see this in a theatre, I might feel a little let down.