Empire of Light
A love story set in and around an old cinema on the South Coast of England in the 1980s.
- Released: 2022-11-12
- Runtime: 115 minutes
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Stars: Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, Tanya Moodie, Hannah Onslow, Crystal Clarke, Sara Stewart, Adrian McLoughlin, Spike Leighton, Ashleigh Reynolds, Mark Goldthorp, Dylan Blore, Eliza Glock, Tim Samuels, Jamie Whitlow, Dougie Boyall, D.J. Bailey, George Whitehead
- Director: Sam Mendes
Comments
- mgumsley - 11 January 2023
Dreamland shines, everything else is drab
Sam Mendes' made this film as a love letter to the movies. He almost succeeds in this, since Dreamland in Margate, with its magnificent cinema, ballroom and sweeping sea views is a visual treat. It's just that the people who inhabit this dreamlike landscape are flawed human beings, and the plot of this movie is just too ambitious and scattered.
The actors are gifted, particularly Olivia Colman who plays the central character Hilary. She has mental issues, and is preyed upon by the Cinema Manager (a sullen Colin Firth). Her relationship with a new recruit, a young black man, gives her a new outlook and at the same time, she begins to take a new look at her life and surroundings. This sounds like a simple plot but so many issues intrude and it isn't helped by endless poetic quotes which would have been fine in the West End or even in one of Margate's quirky little theatres, but somehow feels wrong in Dreamland.
I was even somewhat bored at times, and I am a Margate resident. But the town looks great and its regeneration will surely be helped by this film. - Downbeat-173-765310 - 28 December 2022
Incredible performances and film
Empire of Light covers a lot of ground - trauma, racial views, love in many forms, mental health or lack thereof, the importance of film and art in our lives, and how we constrain ourselves from loving life and embracing it, with the possibilities of moving forward. Empire of Light may not be a flawless film, but the performances are pitch perfect. I think it needs to be seen in the theater, since the bedrock venue is about cinema, and that is a special joy. One can sometimes wonder where the film is going, but if you can hang in for the ride, it is incredibly moving. Shout outs to Michael Ward in addition to Olivia Coleman and others. Brilliant film on many levels.
