Empire of Light ★★★½
DRAMA (2022)
Directed by: Sam Mendes
InterpretationsCast: Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, Colin Firth

“In retrospect, during this period in England, racial discrimination intersected with music and cinema in a special and unusual way,” says the director.

Oscar winner Sam Mendes returns with a very personal film that takes us on a journey through Britain in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Set in the seaside town of Hilary (Olivia Coleman), a woman with a history of mental health . questions, works in an old cinema. There she will meet Steven (Michael Ward), a handsome black man who has just taken a job at the same place. The two will develop a special, rare relationship, offering each other the humanity and understanding they so desperately need.

Mendes creates an idiosyncratic romance story, giving the impression that he is more interested in describing the atmosphere and culture of the time than in the dramatic confusion of his characters.

The entire film is replete with references mainly to music and cinema of specific decades, but social problems are also ubiquitous, primarily racial discrimination. In addition, great importance is attached to the concept of community, which, albeit in miniature, is created by cinema workers who are very different from each other, but united by a common destiny.

“Films deal with mythical landscapes. You are always looking for the point where the past becomes bigger in size, bigger in subject matter, and more legendary than the present. In retrospect, during this period in England, racial differences intersected with music and cinema in a special and unusual way. On the other hand, Empire of Light is a film born in the midst of a pandemic. Quarantine has been a time of personal exploration and reflection for all of us. And for me it meant getting in touch with these memories that have haunted me since childhood, ”said Sam Mendes himself.

This very trip of memories, combined with all the other themes (such as the unconditional love of dark cinema) that he tries to bring to his film, however, makes everything as a whole somewhat “heavy” and hurried. On the other hand, he is lucky to have actors like Colin Firth, Toby Jones and, of course, the great Olivia Colman, who has added another flawless performance to her career.