"EMPIRE OF LIGHT" (2023) #sammendes #oliviacolman #moviereview #movies

"I was initially drawn to Sam Mendes’ 11th all time feature length release by what seemed to me at first glance to be a love letter to 1980’s cinema and for the anticipated central performance of Olivia Colman. Long before the English actress became synonymous as an Oscar winning Queen of England I fell in love with her acting gifts during Paddy Considine’s remarkable directing debut in Tyrannosaur well over a decade ago, a film, three performances and a directorial debut that has to be seen to be believed, and with a cathartic ending to the heart break that cruelly comes before it.

But Empire of Light is many things away from the adoration of the inner workings of an independent cinema and the due care, attention and detail lovingly bestowed upon the all important projection booth and the cranking of gears and reels and the celluloid running through them, that beautiful cinematic illusion of moving pictures projected onto a screen in the darkness. The love letter to cinema is here, from the fastidious and proud team running, painting, cleaning and preparing a grand old seaside cinema in the lead up to the Christmas and New Year of 1980 and their wishes and desires for 1981, but so too is the repugnant racism that blighted the times of street riots in London and Liverpool and a feeling of anger and discontent that spilled from these inner cities to the suburbs and seaside towns throughout England. The film also shines a pun intended light on mental illness and the crushing reality of depression and anxiety all whilst wrapped in a love story and of lifelong support and friendship that hit far too close to home for this cinema lover from a seaside city that saw his past life twisted back and forth through both of the film’s central characters".

The above opening extract is from my spoiler free film review of "Empire of Light" which I originally penned and published to my Medium blog site on 20th February 2023 and which can be read in full via the link below:

https://medium.com/@stephenblackford561/empire-of-light-2023-edfe7dd9e55b

This review also features in Volume 2 of my "essential film reviews collection" linked below and all 7 volumes can be read for free if you have an Amazon Kindle "Unlimited" package:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4J1S1TL

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4HZSTTH?ref_=dbs_p_pwh_rwt_anx_b_lnk&storeType=ebooks

https://www.patreon.com/TheBlackfordBookClub
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