Empire of the Light (2022)

                     

                        

Empire of the Light directed by Sam Mendes is a brilliant film about the cinema and what it means to us.  It's a love story of sorts between us the audience and what the cinema does for us & it is a love story between the two characters both struggling with their own problems.  I have to say here that I adore this film, and I am biased about it.  Its a very emotional film about how the cinema transports us out of our reality, and the way it magically does so.  Olivia Colman as Hilary is amazing and she should be nominated for another Oscar.  Ms Colman is brilliant as a women with mental health issues brought on by her past.  She shines as she descends into a schizophrenic break and we cannot feel but sympathy for her character as she descends into depression & her delusions.   But that's not what the whole film is about. Olivia Colman's character works in a seaside cinema in England.  A beautiful art deco type movie house that has seen better days.  It reminds me of the theaters of my youth where they were once entertainment palaces during the vaudeville era and then later turned in movie houses.  These movie palaces contained intricate architecture and were grand in their design, but as the years wore on they became a little less brilliant.  Yet these movie palaces were magical to us.  For a few hours we the audience were transported back away from our problems and into a world of celluloid dreams.  This is what the film is truly about & it is that which makes this film a triumph of cinema that hopefully will get some nominations in February when the Academy Awards come out with movie nominations.  Olivia Colman's character reads or recites poems throughout the film and in by doing so she shows a depth to the character she plays & and intellectual knowledge that few performers could achieve & show such vulnerability.  It is because of this that I really have to hope that the critics take note of this and in turn the Academy nominates her for best actress.  One can only hope.

That good you say.  Let me digress and tell you that the performances are stellar and I have to say that Roger Deakins cinematography is beautiful.  Every shot in this film could be used as a portrait in a painting on a wall.   I was keenly aware that what I was watching on screen was flawless in nature & that the cinematography not only captures the period but it capture the experience of the cinema.  Not in making movies but in watching them.  I would be remiss in not pointing out Michael Ward as Stephen.  His performance is so well done, and he has a lot to convey.  He plays a hopeful character who is stymied by peoples prejudices.  I was a bit taken aback by the events that transpired in the film.  Mendes takes from his childhood and shows us a Britain rife with riots and mobs and stepped in the old world prejudices, and it shows that no matter where you are from prejudices exist in every society.  Against this drum beat Empire of the Light is a movie that lifts us up and shows us that the individual who dreams can aspire to great things & be happy.  The cinema is a sort of allegory for our world where the best things in it can be revered & shouted about.  I do not think that this film would be as half as good as it is without Sam Mendes directing it.  In interviews he has said that it is based on his mothers fight with mental illness & for Mendes this film is personal and it shows, and it is why the film achieves such great performances from all.  He is the glue that makes this movie sing, and it is the reason why everyone on this production has given their all.  It is a film worth seeing & watching on the big screen so you can appreciate all it nuances.  

Colin Firth is also in this film and he plays the theater manager who takes advantage of his position.  Only Mr. Firth can play a character with such depravation that you feel sorry for him.  Its a wonderful casting choice and a very interesting performance.  But the man I really feel in love with was Norman the projectionist.  Played by Toby Jones the man who played the villain Zola in the Marvel films "Captain America: the first Avenger" & "Captain America: the Winter Soldier".  In this film he plays Norman the projectionist and he explains the magic of the cinema.  Having been trained by an old time projectionist I could not help but enjoy his performance and how he explained the magic & the science.  Towards the end his character reveals something form his past and shows us how we are all flawed & that our flaws can be overcome and that we are all in need of redemption.

I also loved the soundtrack to this film by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross.  Yes it is that Trent Reznor form Nine Inch Nails.  He is an Oscar winner for the films "Soul" (2020) & "The Social Network" (2010), and in this film the two create a fabulous & haunting soundtrack for the movie

So as you can deduce I really love this film.  If you are a lover of cinema as I am I am sure you'll enjoy the film.  Watching the performances in this film is amazing and it shows how well an actor can give a stellar performance when one is directed by such a skillful artist as Sam Mendes.  Try seeing this in the theater if you can the cinematography is breath taking, and like I said before every shot in this film can be a painting in a museum.   In the end it is a wonderful experience to watch and a hopeful film to see.