Empire of Light

There are films that are made simply to entertain, and then there are those that are crafted with artistic endeavor where the two are typically never combined. As with the case of "Empire of Light, it was crafted with such expertise artistically that you feel like you just left a film theory class. 

Set in an English seaside town in the early 1980's, this story is a powerful and poignant tale about human connection and the magic of cinema. Empire movie theater comprises of a group of eclectic characters, namely Hilary (Olivia Colman), new employee, Stephen (Micheal Ward), manager, Donald Ellis (Colin Firth), projectionist, Norman (Toby Jones), Neil (Tom Brooke) and Janine (Hannah Onslow), where their issues are aplenty. Whether it be anger, self-deprecation, depression, self-centeredness and the like, it's amazing how any work gets done. Some have moderate issues, whereas others are truly bent and really are not cognisant of them. But, through the magic of cinema and the willingness of being able to escape into a film, it's truly amazing how well this group seems to get along. 

Others to round out the cast are Crystal Clarke as Ruby, Tanya Moodie as Delia, Monica Dolan as Rosemary Bates, Ron Cook as Mr. Cooper, Sara Stewart as Brenda Ellis, Donald's wife and Justin Edwards as Jim Booth. 

This was painstakingly well crafted by Director Sam Mendes ("Cabaret" (TV movie) '93, "American Beauty" '99, "Road to Perdition" '02, "Jarhead" '05, "Revolutionary Road" '08, "Away We Go" '09, "Skyfall" '12, "King Lear" '14, "Spectre" '15, "The Lehman Trilogy" '19, "1917" '19) plus a video. As one can see by this filmmaker's resume, he allows his audience to look into the lives of certain characters so much of the time that when observing these characters, it gives us the sense of eavesdropping into other lives because the direction is delineated with such conciseness. There is no stone unturned with his direction, and this film is of no exception. If you like and appreciate this filmmaker's brand of directing, his "The Motive and the Cue" is in pre production. It was delineated with such expertise by writer Mendes as well. And even though "1917" '19 was his only other film in which he wrote, this, as with "1917" was incredibly well written. With his incredible ability to direct and working with a cavalcade  of writers, he has been able to develop screenplays with such aplomb that he seems a consummate pro. Although this story comes across as unfathomably depressing, I believe it was purposely designed that way so as to look into the different troubled lives of the employees of the Empire theater. It would've been much easier for the writer to create similar traits of the characters, however Mendes transcended above that and developed each and every character with not only such precision, but also deep quirks that it made it that much more intriguing to view for any audience. 

This film was an incredibly captivating film, where the writer was able to describe each character to a degree that gave the audience a sense that they knew these people by films' end. Is this film for anyone? No, because of the complexities of these characters, there are some that wouldn't feel comfortable seeing certain things up on that screen. One isn't really seeing this for the entertainment factor as much as for its artistry. It is incredibly well acted, directed and written. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see Mendes and Colman receiving a nod for directing and acting respectively, come Oscar time. 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                            Rated: R                                               115mins.