February 13, 2023
Hilary Small (Olivia Colman) worked as a manager at a vintage movie house called Empire Cinema located in a seaside town in England. She mostly kept quietly to herself, but was well-liked, nevertheless, among her co-employees. Her married boss Donald Ellis (Colin Firth) would occasionally call her into his office for sexual favors. She had maintenance pills to keep her delicate psychiatric condition under control.
One day, there was a new employee who started work at the Empire named Stephen (Micheal Ward), who was a young black man. Because of the bond they shared caring for an injured bird, Hilary and Stephen get close and eventually fell in love with each other. However, this was the early 1980s, and Stephen still experienced a good deal of racism from white people, which also affected their secret romance.
The creative team had impressive Oscar pedigrees. The director is Sam Mendes (winner for "American Beauty" 2000) on his first solo writing credit. The musical score is by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (winners for "The Social Network" 2010 and "Soul" 2020). The editor is Lee Smith (winner for "Dunkirk" 2018). The cinematographer is Roger Deakins (winner for "Blade Runner 2049" and "1917" 2020), nominated again for his work here.
Two Oscar winners are in the cast. Olivia Colman (winner for "The Favourite" 2018) played Hilary, an odd sort with mental health issues. However when her meds fail her, she had a very public breakdown scene which will keep you at the edge of your seat. Her sensitive performance here deserves award consideration. Colin Firth (winner for "The King's Speech" 2011) played it offbeat as a mild-mannered employer yet lecherous adulterer.
Like "The Fabelmans" and "Babylon" also released in 2022, "Empire of Light" was also about movies. But unlike the other two which were about the people making movies, this one is more about two misfits who worked and found love in a movie theater. The Empire Cinema was very much a character of its own here, as its secret abandoned rooms served as the backdrop to the development of Hilary and Stephen's relationship.
Sam Mendes gave cinephiles some interesting and nostalgic sidelights to enjoy. Toby Jones's character Norman brought Stephen inside the projectionist's room to show him (and us) what happens behind the beam of light we see at the back of the movie house. One key scene was set during the premiere screening of Oscar Best Picture-winning film "Chariots of Fire" at the Empire. Most importantly, it also showed how cinema could be valuable therapy. 7/10.
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