TIFF 2022 Review: Empire of Light Is a Beautiful Film, If Overstuffed

A shot from Empire of Light, now screening at TIFF 2022

Empire of Light follows a lonely duty manager at a cinema who finds a new lease on life when a new employee joins her workplace. But there are follies to hinging all your happiness on one person.

Empire of Light

Sam Mendes (director and writer), Roger Deakins (cinematography), Lee Smith (editor)
Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Tom Brooke, Tanya Moodie, Hannah Onslow, Crystal Clarke, Toby Jones, Colin Firth (cast)
September 12, 2022 (TIFF)

Content warning: racism, workplace harassment

Hilary (Olivia Colman) is existing. She comes to Empire cinema and does her job as the duty manager. She talks to the patrons and the staff. She goes to dance class where she’s often left without a partner. And then she goes home, takes her medication and tries to sleep.

All that changes when Stephen (Micheal Ward) joins the staff. He’s young, beautiful, charming, and pays attention to Hilary. They make an instant connection that goes beyond friendship. But this is 1980s England. The political and racial upheaval makes it complicated for a young Black man and an older white woman to be open about their relationship. And there are Hilary’s personal demons that she has to battle.

I can confidently say that Empire of Light is a shoe-in for best cinematography at next year’s Oscars. Roger Deakins is a legend in the field and this film is fabulous to look at. Every shot is so perfectly considered to give the audience insight into the characters’ inner worlds, while inching the story forward. There is one breathtaking shot of fireworks that I honestly hope to get a poster of one day. It’s sheer movie magic and art.

Deakins is a fine choice of cinematographer, because Empire of Light is ostensibly about the beauty of cinema. It is set at a movie theatre, after all. One can imagine writer-director Sam Mendes going to cinemas just like Empire when he was a child. There are a number of scenes with Toby Jones’ projectionist, Norman, that speak to this aspect of the film, as well.

But there’s no denying the romance between Hilary and Stephen is the driving force of the film and the heart of the story. It nearly bookends the film. But I’m not entirely sure why Stephen is introduced as late as he is—it puts the romance on the backfoot even though this is where the crux of the story lies.

Instead, the opening of Empire of Light focuses on Hilary and hints at her mental illness. This plot line just doesn’t work. I don’t know if anyone in the medical and psychological professions were consulted but it’s a cliché depiction of mental illness. Mendes based Hilary’s illness on his own mother yet he offers no new insight as someone with the lived experience of having a mentally ill parent. The depiction of mental illness in this film is little more than a series of tropes we’re accustomed to seeing onscreen. Hilary becomes moody and rude, even verbally abusive when she’s off her medication. This storyline ends up feeling disingenuous to people who have mental illnesses, instead of being empathetic.

Empire of Light also doesn’t engage enough with certain character traits it introduces. Why does Hilary not go into the cinema to watch the films? What’s stopping her? Then there’s her love of poems but aside from adding narration, what is this interest of hers about? Is it a quirk? Is it meant to show how old she is compared to her young colleagues? It feels just plonked in there for convenience.

Talking about convenience, Stephen is little more than a manic pixie dream boy. He wants to study architecture but when shown some of the more historical architecture in the cinema, he’s awed but not curious about it. He almost instantly falls for Hilary but why? For that matter, why does he bring her on dates with his supposed girlfriend, also a white woman? Stephen’s motivations and actions are plot contrivances but fail to capture his inner life. We never know the man, even when we get his point of view.

Empire of Light tries to highlight the politics of the time, particularly the racial politics of England in the 80s. Again, I’m not sure this is well-handled. Who did Mendes confer with for this storyline? Because again, it relies on clichés. The skinheads with their racist slurs. Stephen sharing a laundry list of incidents. The only way Empire of Light manages to actively engage with the topic of racism is by, you guessed it, a scene of extreme violence against Stephen. I could have somewhat forgiven the inclusion of the hate crime scene but Stephen being attacked is used purely to progress Hilary’s arc. We don’t even get his point of view for the scene! It’s 2022, for hell’s sake. How is this still happening?

Look, Empire of Light could easily coast on its performances, but it shouldn’t because the story needed to be stronger. Interesting snippets about characters are dropped in randomly but never discussed afterwards. Characters disappear when they were hinted at being important to either Hilary or Stephen’s stories. Hilary’s mental illness only rears its head when required by the script; otherwise she is completely fine. There are two major plot points that are shared entirely via dull exposition. I feel like I should have known the script needed tightening up when early on a character says they have only 20 minutes till the cinema opens and then an hour worth of events takes place in that time.

While Olivia Colman is excellent in her role, she can only do so much with the content she is given. Her Hilary is a shattered woman who finds joy, only to lose it again and again. Colman is so expressive and raw and real, even during the uneven mood swing scenes. You feel her emotions through the screen and you want the best for her character.

Michael Ward does the best he can with the script he has. He manages to capture the fear and promise of the time, while also being incredibly charming. Colin Firth’s role is small yet not insignificant, but he doesn’t really have much to do. Despite that, Firth manages to imbue his character with a lot of nuance, even when relegated to the background.

Aside from the beauty of this film, I’m struggling to think of many positives. The script desperately needed restraint. And I’ve come away from Empire of Light wondering what the point of this film is. There’s no single plot point that narrows the focus of the film, yet it doesn’t do all the plot lines it includes enough justice. The film needed to be edited down in the scripting stage and because it wasn’t, the film tries to do too much and achieves little as a result. Despite gorgeous cinematography and impeccable acting, Empire of Light isn’t a fulfilling viewing experience.

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Louis Skye

Louis Skye

A writer at heart with a fondness for well-told stories, Louis Skye is always looking for a way to escape the planet, whether through comic books, films, television, books, or video games. E always has an eye out for the subversive and champions diversity in media. Pronouns: E/ Em/ Eir

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