Neal Street Productions
Searchlight Pictures
TSG Entertainment
Not part of a collection.
Empire of Light
The duty manager of a seaside cinema, who is struggling with her mental health, forms a relationship with a new employee on the south coast of England in the 1980s.
- Original title
- Empire of Light
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $13,500,000
- Revenue
- $11,395,604
CinemaSerf
Feb 10, 2023 · via TMDB
"Hilary" (Olivia Colman) is the shift leader at a grand old cinema living a routine life and largely just going through the motions each day. When the young "Stephen" (a strong and engaging performance from Micheal Ward) arrives, she takes him on a tour of the building and that takes them to the upper echelons of the building - now disused - where they discover an injured pigeon. They also discover something else, and soon are having bit of a clandestine affair. Thing is, she's also having one of those with her boss "Ellis" (Colin Firth) and keeping secrets amongst her small team isn't the easiest! Things come to an head, however, when some fascist thugs are marauding down the local esplanade and they see the young man through the locked doors. Soon, he is in hospital and everyone is having to re-evaluate their relationships and priorities - and it's at this point that "Hilary" comes off the rails a little. Years of resentment and frustration - coupled with a bit of booze - all come to the fore just as her young friend comes to some conclusions about his own future too! Toby Jones is wonderful here as the projectionist, allowing the intensity of the personal stories to be diffused with a nostalgic look back at just how (even as recently as the 1980s) films were synched from a series of projectors, with cue dots and played from reels. He ("Norman") even demonstrates to the enthusiastic young "Stephen" as we go. The themes of racism, tolerance, ageism and ignorance are never far from the surface, though, and essentially this film is a cleverly nuanced piece of drama that uses a cinema - itself a conduit for so many different aspects of human life and behaviour - to serve as the focus for a brief observation of two lives that overlap for a while. It does have some sentiment to it - but for me that was about the old days of cinema gone by; otherwise this is a complex and thought-provoking look at life in Mrs. Thatcher's Britain long before she had had any real chance to mould it...
Manuel São Bento
Oct 23, 2022 · via TMDB
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/empire-of-light-spoiler-free-review-lff-2022 "Empire of Light works best as a love letter to the art of filmmaking and the theater experience. Brilliant performances. Astonishing to behold. Emotional to listen to - score is the technical highlight. Not so captivating narratively, considering that Sam Mendes' first solo script lacks depth in the most important themes. It's a beautiful tribute to the magic of cinema that cinephiles will enjoy, but for viewers less passionate about the 7th art, it might be difficult to genuinely care." Rating: B-
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Olivia Colman
Hilary
Micheal Ward
Stephen
Toby Jones
Norman
Colin Firth
Donald Ellis
Tom Brooke
Neil
Tanya Moodie
Delia
Hannah Onslow
Janine
Crystal Clarke
Ruby
Monica Dolan
Rosemary Bates
Ron Cook
Mr. Cooper
Sara Stewart
Brenda Ellis
Justin Edwards
Jim Booth
Brian Fletcher
Brian
William Chubb
Doctor Laird
Spike Leighton
Mikey
Jacob Avery
Colin
Dylan Blore
Pogo
Adrian McLoughlin
Bill
D.J. Bailey
Mr. Podd
Tom Colley
Paramedic
Mark Goldthorp
Ballroom Instructor
Tim Samuels
Receiving Doctor
Dawn Murphy
Nurse
Ashleigh Reynolds
Trevor
Mark Collier
Premiere Guest (uncredited)
Caroline Glass
Premiere Guest (uncredited)
George Greenland
Ryan (uncredited)
Mark Tildesley
Production Design
Véronique Melery
Set Decoration
Roger Deakins
Director of Photography
Alexandra Byrne
Costume Design
Naomi Donne
Hair Designer
Naomi Donne
Makeup Designer
Ita O'Brien
Health and Safety
Ben Cooke
Stunt Coordinator
Hayley Saywell
Stunt Coordinator
Sam Mendes
Director
Michael Lerman
First Assistant Director
Lee Smith
Editor
John Higgins
Gaffer
Lorenzo Bertolazzi
Assistant Location Manager
Nina Gold
Casting
Michael Lerman
Executive Producer
Pippa Harris
Producer
Sam Mendes
Producer
Atticus Ross
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Trent Reznor
Original Music Composer
Dominic Tuohy
Special Effects Supervisor
Sam Mendes
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