Empire of Light (2022)

To say Olivia Coleman is amazing in her film feels a bit obvious and expected. She is in a rare league with few peers who consistently fills her screen with incredible performances. Yet still watching her in Empire of Light was a revelation despite any high expectations I may have had. Her role is filled with drama and subtlety, her character experiencing depression, love, exploitation, passion, self-loathing, fear, and even some confidence. And watching her experience it all is just, well... amazing. 

Empire of Light is a loving tribute to cinema, the story of the staff of an old movie house on the south coast of the UK in 1981. It is the mundane and magical, the lives of these working people, their friendships, their loves, their frustrations, all set against bringing us the magic of the movies. I admit I am a bit biased to stories about just how much joy movies bring to our lives. Mendes finds this spark. 

Gorgeously shot in a beautiful old movie house and filled with references to the films of that year, Empire of Light also touches on the UK of the time including the racism and financial hardships faced by the working class during Thatcherite England. But in the end, despite the lows his characters face, Mendes is telling a story of hope in the darkness, just like a movie. He maybe gives into some cliches a few times throughout, but his story still resonated for me. It is about people perhaps lost in their journey finding some solace and perhaps finding their way. The magic of the movies. 

Empire of Light

Starring: Olivia Coleman, Michael Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones

Writer/Director: Sam Mendes