Sam Mendes can do no wrong. He has crafted some of the best pieces of cinema throughout his career, from American Beauty to Revolutionary Road, all the way to Skyfall and 1917. He’s a filmmaker with the pedigree and the talent to tell a story on a truly cinematic level, something that not a lot of filmmakers can do. So that brings me to his latest film, which is a love letter to cinema and is also a deeply personal film too, with Empire of Light. The title alone suggests another piece of cinema, but does it match the same quality as his previous efforts? Not exactly.
Cinematographer Roger Deakins re-teams with Mendes with Empire of Light and as a result, we are treated to a true cinematic delight. From the coasts of Margate to a dazzling display of fireworks on New Year’s Eve, the film looks and feels like the perfect ode to 1980s England. The sepia-coloured costumes and props bring a sense of authenticity to the era and it captures the spirit of the time period beautifully, and this is something Mendes is repeatedly good at with his other films, he captures the time and the place of his stories perfectly.
Empire of Light is a little hard to describe in terms of tone, it’s kind of a romance and kind of a drama, and the film slips between the two genres from romantic encounters in an unused auditorium to a very tense riot in the foyer of the cinema rather swiftly. Luckily the chemistry between the two lead characters are strong with Olivia Colman and Michael Ward playing Hilary Small and Stephen respectively. Hilary is the deputy manager of the local cinema, the Empire, with Stephen coming in as a newly hired assistant. What starts as friendship does develop into something more over the course of the film and it soon gets complicated along the way too, especially with the affair Hilary has with Colin Firth’s character who is the manager of the cinema. Stephen is living in a period of time where racism was rife and Hilary has history dealing with depression, with both themes of mental health and racism being dominant plot points within the film.
Hilary and Stephen are the lifeblood of the film and the story magically and whimsically flows between their secretive encounters with each other. With their differences in race and age preventing them from displaying any public affection, but luckily they have the confines of the cinema to keep them together and in fact is the only thing keeping them together. Outside the realms of the cinema is where their relationship gets fractured and their dreams and ambitions get in the way.
Sadly, for a film centred around a cinema there isn’t a lot of scenes that delve into the magic of cinema. There’s a very small sub-plot regarding the premiere of Chariots of Fire and Toby Jones plays Norman, a projectionist who truly loves and admires the mechanics behind the moving image, but these moments are fleeting and are often disregarded with the film instead focusing on the “will they” “won’t they” romance between Stephen and Hilary. Although saying that the music, set design and look of the film does make you fall in love with cinema all over again.
★★★☆☆
3/5
Final Verdict:
Empire of Light looks and feels like a beautifully captured snapshot of 1980s Britain, but the film falters when it comes to what the story should focus on. The soul and essence of the cinematic experience is a minor point in the film, even though it is marketed as a love letter to cinema, and instead focuses on a jittered romance between Olivia Colman and Michael Ward’s characters. The performances are strong, the visuals are impressive but there’s not enough meat on the bones in terms of story. Mendes has crafted a filtered look at an unsung age of British cinema.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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