EMPIRE OF LIGHT REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

In 1999, director Sam Mendes found success with American Beauty, with critics describing it as a “ smart, provocative high point of late '90s mainstream Hollywood film”. At the 72nd Academy Awards, American Beauty received five Oscars for Best Picture, Best Leading Actor for Kevin Spacey, Best Director for Mendes, Best Original Screenplay for Alan Ball and Best Cinematography. Since the release of American Beauty over two decades ago, Mendes has continued to impress with his skills as a filmmaker with dramas such as Road To Perdition and Revolutionary Road and with two films in the action packed James Bond franchise, Skyfall and Spectre. In 2019, Mendes moved critics and audiences with 1917, which focused on two soldiers during the First World War. What was most impressive about 1917 was the decision to shoot the film using long takes in order to make it look like it was two continuous shots. At the 92nd Academy Awards, 1917 received a total of ten Oscar nominations, winning three for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Mixing. Because of this, expectations were high for Mendes’ film, Empire of Light, unfortunately, since its premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in September last year, it’s received a divisive critical response. Despite this, I was still looking forward to seeing what Mendes had created with Empire of Light. 

Hilary Small (Olivia Colman) is a cinema manager struggling with her mental health, and Stephen (Micheal Ward) is a new employee longing to escape the provincial town where he faces daily adversity. Together they find a sense of belonging and experience the healing power of music, cinema, and community.

Most of the drama takes place within the Empire cinema where the main characters work, greeting cinema goers and serving sweet treats such as popcorn and chocolate. As someone who loves going to the cinema, it was fascinating watching a film set inside in a small, independent theatre that only has two screens. Most multiplex cinemas nowadays boast about the many new ways to experience a film in formats such as IMAX and 3D. Because it’s set in the early 1980s, Empire of Light will probably make audiences of a certain age feel nostalgic as they remember a time when cinemas showed films in their original format. Cinemas are the perfect form of escapism for audiences of all ages and this is clearly shown in Empire of Light. Despite the intense drama of the outside world, Hilary finds comfort at her job at the cinema, although she never takes the opportunity to watch a film. I think that Empire of Light will be appreciated more by cinema lovers.

The strength of Empire of Light lies in the strong dramatic performances delivered by Colman and Ward. Since winning her first Oscar for her memorable role as Queen Anne in The Favourite at the 91st Academy Awards, Colman has continued to establish herself as one of the most versatile and talented actors working today and has impressed with roles such as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s hit series, The Crown, and in the compelling drama, The Lost Daughter. Although her role as Hilary doesn’t represent her at her best, Colman still delivers a powerful performance. At the beginning of Empire of Light, Hilary is lonely and struggling with mental health issues, however, her life is changed when she meets Stephen after he begins working at the cinema, with the two form a close and passionate relationship. With appearances in Lovers Rock, which was a film in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology series, and the television series, Top Boy, Ward has impressed with skills as an actor and that’s still the case with his performance as Stephen in Empire of Light. He handles the role really well and shares chemistry with Colman. What I admired about their relationship was, despite the age difference, Mendes doesn’t shame or judge them, instead, he portrays them as two individuals who form a close bond. Hilary and Stephen decide to keep their relationship a secret to prevent being judged from others. Although their characters are underused and underwritten, Colin Firth and Toby Jones provide solid support, with the former as Hilary’s boss who uses her for sex, and the latter as the kind hearted projectionist. 

Prior to the release of Empire of Light, there was a lot of “Oscar buzz” surrounding it. With the announcement of the nominations just a couple of weeks away, it does seem less likely that it’ll be recognised by the Academy, due to the underwhelming response it has received. I think that Colman may be nominated for her performance, however, I think that Empire of Light will miss out on the major awards such as Best Picture and Best Director. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Empire of Light is a bad film that deserves to be overlooked, it’s just not as great as it could have been.

Although it is disappointing when compared to Sam Mendes’ previous films, Empire of Light is an effective drama with Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward impressing with their performances.

7/10