DramaRomance

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.

Release Date : 2022-12-09

Language :EnglishSpanish

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Searchlight PicturesNeal Street ProductionsTSG Entertainment

Production Country : United KingdomUnited States of America

Alternative Titles : Empire Cinema

Cast

Character Name : Hilary

Original Name : Olivia Colman

Gender : Female

Character Name : Stephen

Original Name : Micheal Ward

Gender : Male

Character Name : Norman

Original Name : Toby Jones

Gender : Male

Character Name : Donald Ellis

Original Name : Colin Firth

Gender : Male

Character Name : Neil

Original Name : Tom Brooke

Gender : Male

Character Name : Delia

Original Name : Tanya Moodie

Gender : Female

Character Name : Janine

Original Name : Hannah Onslow

Gender : Female

Character Name : Ruby

Original Name : Crystal Clarke

Gender : Female

Character Name : Rosemary Bates

Original Name : Monica Dolan

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mr. Cooper

Original Name : Ron Cook

Gender : Male

Character Name : Brenda Ellis

Original Name : Sara Stewart

Gender : Female

Character Name : Jim Booth

Original Name : Justin Edwards

Gender : Male

Character Name : Frankie

Original Name : Roman Hayeck-Green

Gender : Male

Character Name : Brian

Original Name : Brian Fletcher

Gender : Male

Character Name : Finn

Original Name : Dougie Boyall

Gender : Male

Character Name : Doctor Laird

Original Name : William Chubb

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mikey

Original Name : Spike Leighton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Colin

Original Name : Jacob Avery

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sean

Original Name : Jamie Whitelaw

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pogo

Original Name : Dylan Blore

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bill

Original Name : Adrian McLoughlin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Podd

Original Name : D.J. Bailey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Paramedic

Original Name : Tom Colley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ballroom Instructor

Original Name : Mark Goldthorp

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mayor

Original Name : Rod Arthur

Gender : Male

Character Name : Constable Bramah

Original Name : Mark Field

Gender : Male

Character Name : Receiving Doctor

Original Name : Tim Samuels

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nurse

Original Name : Dawn Murphy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Trevor

Original Name : Ashleigh Reynolds

Gender : Male

Character Name : Martin

Original Name : George Whitehead

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chas

Original Name : Sam Boskovic

Gender : Male

Character Name : Premiere Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Mark Collier

Gender : Male

Character Name : Premiere Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Caroline Glass

Gender : Male

Character Name : Brandy (uncredited)

Original Name : Eliza Glock

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ryan (uncredited)

Original Name : George Greenland

Gender : Male

Reviews

Manuel São Bento

@msbreviews

2022-10-23

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-

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2023-02-10

"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...