Empire of Light

2022 1h 55m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 650

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Olivia Colman
Hilary
Micheal Ward
Stephen
Toby Jones
Norman
Colin Firth
Donald Ellis
Tom Brooke
Neil
Tanya Moodie
Delia
Hannah Onslow
Janine
Crystal Clarke
Ruby

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sam Mendes
Writers: Sam Mendes
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 84% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 4 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sam Mendes, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Trent Reznor. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lee Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward and Toby Jones carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sam Mendes directs. Roger Deakins behind the camera. Trent Reznor scores. Lee Smith cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 84% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 4 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Directed by Sam Mendes, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Trent Reznor. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Lee Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward and Toby Jones carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt14402146 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "england", "love", "interracial relationship", "racism".

The technical file

Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Original score: Trent Reznor
Editing: Lee Smith
Production design: Mark Tildesley
Costume design: Alexandra Byrne
Makeup / hair: Aston Davies
Sound: Chris Burdon
Stunt coordinator: Ben Cooke
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $13,500,000
Box office: $11,395,604
Return: 84% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Empire of Light (2022)

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Sam Mendes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Manuel São Bento2022-10-23
★ 6/10
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-
CinemaSerf2023-02-10
★ 7/10
"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...