Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light proves a self-indulgent trifle, even with Olivia Colman giving it each barrels
“Viewing static images rapidly in succession creates an illusion of motion, illusion of life…”
Empire of Light marks Sam Mendes’ debut as a solo screenwriter. And with a narrative that pays tribute to his mom and her struggles with psychological well being, you may see why he would wish to hold a agency hand on the film – additionally serving as director and co-producer. But generally it may be good to get an out of doors eye in there, even with materials as ostensibly private as this, for the movie proves to be virtually insufferably trite.
Set within the seaside city of Margate within the early Eighties, we comply with the staff of the Empire Cinema, most notably Olivia Colman’s Hilary and Micheal Ward’s Stephen. She’s recovering from an unspecified breakdown, he’s black and as a putative love affair grows amidst the rising societal unrest of the violently racist far-right fringe and an more and more brutal care system, they every bear witness to the opposite’s struggling.
And that’s about as a lot enjoyable as you’d think about it to be. Loads of maudlin seems throughout cinema auditoria (Roger Deakins’ cinematography is admittedly attractive), symbolic connections over injured pigeons and anguished torment (from a distance) as Hilary will get sectioned (by Monica Dolan, no much less) and Stephen will get assaulted – it involves one thing when the (muted) spotlight is Hilary giving her boss a handjob (an amusingly pompous Colin Firth).
There’s a hackneyed try and make us fall in love with “cinema” the best way Mendes presumably did, by Toby Jones’ projectionist who will get lumbered with saccharine speechifying. And what must be an ecstatic second of a late Damascene conversion feels precision-tooled for Oscar-baiting trailer footage. Despite the weightiness of the themes it glances on, there’s nothing however floor degree remedy.
That missing depth of character strikes throughout. The marvellous Tanya Moodie is totally wasted as Stephen’s mom, regardless of the severity of what occurs to him. And although Hilary is essentially remoted because of her psychological state, which means there’s nothing substantive for Colman to play off, to translate that torment into one thing that feels actual. Not the one for me, in any respect.