Empire of Light, although flawed, is an intelligently conceived drama that held my interest. It is written and directed by Sam Mendes. Mendes is one of the most influential theater people in Britain. In the U.S., Britain, and much of the rest of the world, he is lauded for his film work including Skyfall, 1917, Road to Perdition, and the series The Hollow Crown. In 1999, he was awarded an Oscar for Best Director of American Beauty.
Empire of Light takes place in a seaside town on Britain’s coastline. The focus of the plot is the employees of an art deco theater palace called the Empire. It is the early 1980s, and the theater has been chosen for the prestigious regional premiere of Chariots of Fire.
Olivia Colman plays Hilary, the duty manager. She has problems with mental health and has been hospitalized without good result. She is sexually used by her employer, a disgusting man played surprisingly but well by Colin Firth. Several of the employees’ backstories and circumstances are made known to us, and each of their stories is interesting.
The theater employees get along with Hilary. The newest young worker, Stephen, acted with great warmth by Micheal Ward, develops a meaningful relationship with her. Considering their age difference (which I personally never care about) and the fact that she is such a damaged woman, it is interesting to see the details of their relationship, how they connect.
Unfortunately, the stories of Hilary, Stephen, and a handful of others, do not blend well with the larger themes of the film. Inside the Empire are the stories of the employees. Outside the Empire are situations of another kind. It’s like an intricate mosaic-patterned fabric to which someone decides to add heavy gold threading. The plot becomes overdone and even messy.
The characters’ stories are combined with broader themes of romance, the hatred of violent skinheads, the upcoming premiere with its VIP guests, and an ongoing refrain about the beauty and magic of celluloid films (a motif that I acknowledge, but does it blend well into the storyline to have Toby Jones, playing the projectionist, explain the movement of the human eye when 35mm frames are projected at 24 frames per second?).
Each of the featured actors is well-cast and even amazing. Olivia Colman has quite a test in interpreting the mentally fragile, complex Hilary. The character is over-written. She appears untidy, sloppily dressed, with dirty hair. She dances clumsily, loves certain 1980s music. She relies on poetry to express her innermost feelings, but we as an audience don’t have the time to interpret that poetry as it flies by onscreen. She is happy, then really unhappy. She suddenly blows up at people. Even an actor with Colman’s range and experience would find this character challenging.
More than anything else, the story of Empire of Light is about the healthy-minded and the pathetic, the well-intentioned and the evil folks in society. It is a story of the 1980s, but, of course, in many ways it covers our current situation. Flawed as this film may be, it is worth watching for certain dramatic episodes and the adept ways in which individual actors develop their characters.
Empire of Light is available for screening on disc and streaming from various sources.
Audrey Kupferberg is a film and video archivist and retired appraiser. She is lecturer emeritus and the former director of Film Studies at the University at Albany and co-authored several entertainment biographies with her late husband and creative partner, Rob Edelman.
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