'Empire of Light' argues against itself
Even if “Empire of Light” hadn’t arrived among a surge of movies about movies (“The Fabelmans,” “Babylon,” “Nope”), writer-director Sam Mendes’ (“American Beauty,” “Skyfall”) attempted tribute to the—sigh/groan/eyeroll—power of cinema would feel vapid, scattered and rather embarrassing.
Constantly (and justly) Oscar-nominated Olivia Colman (who fortunately wasn’t nominated this time) stars as Hilary, a mid-level manager at the lovely Empire Cinema in coastal England as 1980 turns to 1981. She’s a very unhappy person who doesn’t watch movies (!) and occasionally meets with her married superior (Colin Firth) for unsatisfying trysts in his office. Things brighten, however, with the arrival of Stephen (Micheal Ward), a new theater employee who befriends Hilary and then, to Hilary’s surprise and delight, takes their relationship to unexpected places.
This is the kind of oh-so-subtle enterprise that literally includes nursing a pigeon with a broken wing back to health. Mendes also plays social issue bingo as he jumps among mental health, racism and more without having anything useful to say about anything. Especially, weirdly enough, about movies. Much of “Empire of Light” feels very detached from any exploration of what’s so special about moviegoing in the first place, instead championing something the film doesn’t seem to understand. When Mendes finally tries to drop the emotional hammer of big-screen discovery, it’s pathetic, trite and unearned.
The three 2022 efforts mentioned above are all among the year’s best, and terrific, very different investigations of how movies hit us in the moment as well as endure. “Empire of Light” is pretty much guaranteed to be forgotten.
D+
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