Plot unknown. Described as a love story set in and around a beautiful old cinema on the South Coast of England in the 1980s.... (Full plot summary below)
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Plot unknown. Described as a love story set in and around a beautiful old cinema on the South Coast of England in the 1980s.
Leave your thoughts about Empire of Light.
| Vanity FairRichard LawsonWhatever Mendes’s connection to the material, he’s made something humane and nourishing, a picture of rare thoughtfulness and decency. |
| Washington PostAnn HornadayOlivia Colman delivers an alternately delicate and ferocious performance as a cinema manager in Empire of Light, a tender, tear-soaked valentine to the ineffable joys of moviegoing. |
| LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenIt’s a miracle it all works—and it works wonderfully, thanks mostly to Mendes’ script and his casting of Olivia Colman. |
| Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattColman, her eyes darting between hope and devastation, is so lit-up and specific (and funny, a quality that doesn't seem to get mentioned enough) that she lifts nearly every scene. |
| Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganEmpire Of Light is a sentimental film – the piano-heavy score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross advertises that from the opening bars – but its message of love, tolerance and finding family wherever you can should make an impact in darkened rooms wherever it plays. |
| The GuardianPeter BradshawEmpire of Light is a sweet, heartfelt, humane movie, which doesn’t shy away from the brutality and the racism that was happening in the streets outside the cinema. |
| UproxxVince ManciniEmpire of Light, by and large, strikes me as one of those stories that maybe started out as a bit of a corny idea, the kernel of it something like this monologue, but in the course of writing it, the characters became real enough that they sort of took on a life of their own. Which is exactly what’s supposed to happen, at that point you can throw out the initial pitch. Empire of Light creates this beautiful relationship that defies all categorization. |
| VarietyPeter DebrugeIn the era when content is king, Sam Mendes still believes in moving pictures. Empire of Light is the proof. |
| The PlaylistGregory EllwoodDespite Deakins and Mendes’ shorthand in framing gorgeous images, there are moments, especially in the second act, where the film could simply use a bit more energy. Luckily, for Mendes, Colman provides it soon after and when the movie needs it most. |
| Film ThreatAlex SavelievMendes finishes things on a graceful, open-ended note. He adeptly handles unabashed romanticism and raw grief, optimism and hopelessness, significantly aided by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor’s soft piano score. The music peaks during the film’s most fervent moments, both violent (a protest during the climax) and tender (our heroes climaxing in each other’s embrace). |
