EMPIRE OF LIGHT – Review

So could an underlying theme connect several film releases over the past year? Quite possibly, as this new work arrives right between two works that embrace the nostalgia of cinema itself. A few weeks ago, audiences got a glimpse into the early inspirations of one of our most celebrated filmmakers in THE FABELMANS, which reflected on the artist’s influences from the early 1950s into the next decade. And in a week we’ll get another director’s look back into the late 1920s and early 1930s when Hollywood was thought of as a modern-day BABYLON. Now, this drama jumps ahead in time from both, as it takes place during the early 1980s, just a few years before another blockbuster that would spawn a sequel this year. Another big difference is that this new flick is more about the finished products rather than the making of the movies. In fact, it’s about a movie palace that showcased them, a towering EMPIRE OF LIGHT.

That theatre is really called the Empire, and in 1981 it’s the jewel of the seaside boardwalk in Margate, on the Isle of Thanet, Kent catering to many Brits on “holiday’ along with throngs of “locals”. The staff is mostly comprised of college-aged teens looking for a job before their big careers. But for two workers there it’s almost become their “legacy”. High above the “broom-pushers” and “popcorn-fillers” is the aloof prickly projectionist Norman (Toby Jones), but keeping the guests happy is long-timer/co-ordinator Hilary (Olivia Colman). Unfortunately she’s also “tasked” with keeping her boss “happy” as she becomes a sexual plaything for the theatre’s married manager/director Mr. Ellis (Colin Firth). Hilary never complains as she spends her days shuffling from the theatre to her lonely apartment. And then her routine changes when she meets the newest “hire”, a sensitive and smart young man named Stephan (Michael Ward). With the changing social and political climate, the small-town thugs and “skinheads” place a target on black men like him. And though they’re from different backgrounds and eras (the whole May/December thing), Hilary begins a passionate secret love affair with Stephan. However, when the local hooligans storm the Empire and attack him, this shatters her delicate psyche, sending her into a mental health crisis. Not long after Mr. Ellis announces that the Empire will be part of a “shared” nationwide premiere of the new “prestige” picture CHARIOTS OF FIRE. Can Hilary control her inner demons and join Stephan for the big event?

Thsi heartfelt “memory piece” provides a powerful showcase for the always superb Ms. Colman, adding another complex character to her impressive resume. She projects a real warmth as Hilary to her co-workers, almost becoming their “work mum” while being the consummate “team player. This adds to our shock as we see her abused and exploited by her selfish “superior”. When she meets her “soul mate” Colman lets us see that the spark in Hilary’s often tired eyes as be rekindled, then we see it neatly snuffed out when the intolerant outside forces intrude and push her into an abyss of despair and delusion. Ward is soulful and sympathetic as the kind newcomer who touches Hilary’s fragile heart, merging with her rather than using her like the detestable Ellis, given an arrogant sneer and pompous demeanor by the talented Firth who treats the big “premiere” as his big chance to elevate his social and economic status. For him, Hilary is a mere “stress reliever’ who must toil in “the trenches” until his urges take control. Some much-needed comic relief is provided by Jones whose Norman sees himself as the king of his tiny “nerve center” of the cinema priding himself over his attention to perfect focus and split-second “reel changes”.

Writer/director Sam Mendes takes a hiatus from his big blockbusters like 1917 and the Bond franchise for a “deep dive’ into 1980s film cultures and the swirling political landscape of the time. We get the impression that he commenting about the current “climate”, but he “hammers” away at it, often intruding on the character study at the story’s center. Mendes sets us up for a whimsical nostalgic romp, then abruptly switches gears into a “forbidden” love story which leads to a plunge into madness. Of course, an exploration of mental health issues can illuminate, but here it seems to provide several big dramatic and awkward sequences with little insight, as with Hilary’s intrusion into Ellis’ premier triumph. It also chips away at the romance between her and Stephan which has little direction and appears to “spin its wheels” during the last act. As stated earlier, Colman is superb, but the script structure really leaves her adrift. Finally, her big elevation feels forced and more than a bit contrived when she finds her “sanctuary”, not a church but a true EMPIRE OF LIGHT.

2.5 Out of 4

EMPIRE OF LIGHT is now playing in select theatres