Empire of Light
Year: 2023
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Olivia Colman & Micheal Ward
Runtime: 113 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 30/03/23
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Olivia Colman & Micheal Ward
Runtime: 113 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 30/03/23
Growing up on the north Kent coast felt like life in the slow lane. Nothing exciting ever happened, and everything around me seemed like it was just fading into nothingness as paint peeled on the neglected buildings and the high street became more and more boarded up. No place felt like this more than Margate, once a thriving tourist destination in the mid twentieth century, only to become a desolate and dangerous place by the time the 00’s rolled around. Since having moved away from Kent, the area has started to be revitalised in small ways and that has attracted artists and film crews to the area. The biggest one of recent memory being the recently released Empire of Light, directed by the legendary Sam Mendes. I missed it at the cinema because of how few showings there were of it near me, but it dropped on Disney+ recently and I jumped at the opportunity to watch it.
Hilary (Olivia Colman) is duty manager at the Empire Cinema on Margate’s seafront. Having struggled with bipolar disorder, Hilary is depressed, lonely, and engaged in an affair with her manager Donald (Colin Firth). When Stephen (Micheal Ward) joins the Empire, he and Hilary become friends. Both outcasts in 19080’s Britain, with Hilary struggling with mental health issues and Stephen being black, the two begin a romantic relationship together at the cinema, the one place where they both feel safe and as though they belong.
Hilary (Olivia Colman) is duty manager at the Empire Cinema on Margate’s seafront. Having struggled with bipolar disorder, Hilary is depressed, lonely, and engaged in an affair with her manager Donald (Colin Firth). When Stephen (Micheal Ward) joins the Empire, he and Hilary become friends. Both outcasts in 19080’s Britain, with Hilary struggling with mental health issues and Stephen being black, the two begin a romantic relationship together at the cinema, the one place where they both feel safe and as though they belong.
Empire of Light got a pretty rough rap from the critics on its release, and I have to say I found myself struggling to see where they were coming from. That being said, I had a lot of problems with Empire of Light, just seemingly different ones to what the masses seemed to be saying. I suppose the biggest problem I had with the film is that for something that is as driven by its performances as this film, nobody seems to bring their best. Colman is sufficient, Ward is endearing but generally flat, and Firth is there for the money. The only actor that stood out in any way was Toby Jones as the Empire’s projectionist, Norman. But Norman isn’t in the film much, and even then, when stacked up against Jones’ other impressive back catalogue of work he doesn’t bring the same quality performance you’d expect of him.
Surprisingly the star of the show really is the Empire. Mendes has imbued the building with life in a peculiar way. A relic from the past living out its final days. The building feels magical almost, seeped with love and history, with those who work there really caring about the old place. Even when moving to the dilapidated upper floors where Hilary and Stephen share their romance, it feels like a really special place.
I must admit that as a local I got a kick out of seeing Margate and the surrounding towns shown on the big screen. Whilst I wasn’t a resident of Margate, it’s a town I spent much of my childhood in with family members living there, and it only being twenty minutes up the road from where I lived. Turning back time to when my mother would have been a young woman, slightly older than Stephen would have been, made me appreciate Margate so much more than I ever did whilst I lived there. Roger Deakins cinematography goes a long way in illustrating just how beautiful the area can be, and there are a few moments throughout the film where the shots really do take your breath away.
Surprisingly the star of the show really is the Empire. Mendes has imbued the building with life in a peculiar way. A relic from the past living out its final days. The building feels magical almost, seeped with love and history, with those who work there really caring about the old place. Even when moving to the dilapidated upper floors where Hilary and Stephen share their romance, it feels like a really special place.
I must admit that as a local I got a kick out of seeing Margate and the surrounding towns shown on the big screen. Whilst I wasn’t a resident of Margate, it’s a town I spent much of my childhood in with family members living there, and it only being twenty minutes up the road from where I lived. Turning back time to when my mother would have been a young woman, slightly older than Stephen would have been, made me appreciate Margate so much more than I ever did whilst I lived there. Roger Deakins cinematography goes a long way in illustrating just how beautiful the area can be, and there are a few moments throughout the film where the shots really do take your breath away.
Despite the film looking pretty it doesn’t have the story to back it up though, and Empire of Light flounders with its shallow characters and general lack of direction. Hilary’s mental health issues are only given the briefest of exploration, without any level of depth or complexity. Stephen’s battles against racism, likewise, only scratch the surface of the issue, and it feels as though Mendes tries to have Hilary and Stephen acknowledge that they share similar trauma. Now I’m not here to quantify what’s worse, suffering with a mental illness or being a victim of racism…but the two are simply incomparable. I think had the film picked one of these two avenues then it might have been better and allowed for the chosen subject to be given more depth. It’s not like Mendes didn’t have the time to explore those topics further though given the film has a two-hour runtime, his interests just primarily lie in telling a love story, which is fine but then there’s all this extra baggage which just isn’t addressed properly.
I did enjoy Empire of Light, but I think I may be getting more out of it than the average viewer given that I spent so much time in Margate growing up, and to see it on the big screen in a more positive and beautiful way than the town has ever appeared in my lifetime probably gives the film a few extra points. It does feel like a missed opportunity, from the stellar cast to the solid premise, as well as the talent that Mendes normally is. It’s tough to pinpoint exactly where in the creative process Empire of Light went wrong, but the result is a film that will satisfy a slow Sunday evening but not leave a lasting impression.
I did enjoy Empire of Light, but I think I may be getting more out of it than the average viewer given that I spent so much time in Margate growing up, and to see it on the big screen in a more positive and beautiful way than the town has ever appeared in my lifetime probably gives the film a few extra points. It does feel like a missed opportunity, from the stellar cast to the solid premise, as well as the talent that Mendes normally is. It’s tough to pinpoint exactly where in the creative process Empire of Light went wrong, but the result is a film that will satisfy a slow Sunday evening but not leave a lasting impression.