Thursday, December 08, 2022
Empire of Light
It’s the 1980’s at the Empire Cinema in an English seaside town where the lives of 2 people, Hillary (Olivia Coleman) & Stephen (Micheal Ward), cross paths. Hillary is an older woman & a senior manager at the theater. She is instructed to show the new hire, Stephen, the ropes. They bond. However, being a young black man during this period, Stephen faces unwarranted racism & prejudice. Hillary is being sexually harassed by her supervisor (Colin Firth) & may have some emotional problems. These are 2 lonely souls positively uplifting each other’s lives, a coming of age & a midlife crisis story. Director/writer Sam Mendes’ love of films shines through in beauty of this grand old elegant movie theater featured here but shown fading with its unused, dilapidated third floor former ballroom/restaurant. The projectionist (Toby Jones) has decorated his work area in tribute to some movie classics. Coleman gives another impressive performance as a troubled woman trying get a grip on her life. It’s an emotional journey to see what lies in the future for these two.
Alien gives it 2½ “darkness between the frames” stars out of 4.
