Empire of Light Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Empire of Light Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 9, 2023

There's a perhaps unavoidable irony to talking about Empire of Light on a site devoted to home theater aficionados, since at least some of the subtext of this film revolves around the communal aspects of seeing a movie in an actual theater. Even the back cover of this release touts the film's focus (no cinematic pun intended) as "a moving drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times", a perfectly apt description which nonetheless elides the fact that a lot of this story takes place in a once resplendent movie house emporium which, kind of like central character Hilary (Olivia Colman), may have fallen on hard times and is only a remnant of its former self. Hilary is introduced almost immediately as an apparently troubled enough soul that she's been "hospitalized" and then placed on Lithium, though certain aspects of this plot point are simply posited as "givens" without a ton of development or clarification. Hilary is kind of the Grande Dame at The Empire, a once luxe Deco inspired multi-screen venue in an English seaside town which is down to only two screens and whose upper floors have been abandoned to a flock of pigeons who have somehow set up "shop" there.

Hilary's emotional problems haven't seriously intruded on her ability to do her job, though part of her "job" (and sexual innuendo is virtually unavoidable here) is to "service" the theater's owner, Donald Ellis (Colin Firth, in a suitably slimy portrayal). That obviously isn't especially helpful to what is also obviously Hilary's lack of self esteem and doubts about her life in general. There's a heartbreaking scene relatively early in the film where Hilary is ensconced at the bar of a cafeteria when Ellis and his wife Brenda (Sara Stewart) enter the place to dine, and Hilary feels compelled to leave without eating. And so this character is set up as seemingly powerless, though at the same time she has what appear to be genuine friendships with the rest of the team at The Empire, including a rather motley and extended crew which features projectionist Norman (Toby Jones), and general purpose workers Neil (Tom Brooke), Frankie (Roman Hayeck-Green), Finn (Dougie Boyall), Brian (Brian Fletcher), Ruby (Crystal Clarke) and Janine (Hannah Onslow).

Ellis is near apoplectic about another employee named Trevor who is less than reliable, and he soon introduces a replacement named Stephen (Micheal Ward), a young black man who seems to instantly catch the eye of of the female employees, including Hilary. A film set in the 1980s in England may not spring instantly to mind as a potential opportunity to explore racism and perhaps a certain inherent class consciousness, but that's more or less what Sam Mendes' screenplay then starts to do, as Hilary and Stephen embark on a probably unwise relationship, at least as much due to their difference in age as their respective ethnicities. Some of the writing here is probably too on the nose, including the obvious metaphor of the theater itself being a "stand in" (again, sorry for cinematic puns) for Hilary, as well as a kind of sweet but maybe just slightly ridiculous set of scenes where Stephen nurses a pigeon with a broken wing back to health, something that of course refracts into his relationship with Hilary.

There's an unabashed emotional element to this story despite a somewhat static narrative. While Hilary does in fact start to have more pronounced moments of bipolar "incidents", there's probably only a couple of moments that qualify as being more or less "out of control", and in fact one of the film's more devastating vignettes involves a relatively in control Hilary "spilling the beans" about what she and Ellis have been up to in his office for years, in front of an invited audience of dignitaries (and Ellis' wife). That contrasts with the more ostensibly "peaceful" moments that Hilary and Stephen share, including a kind of exuberant frolic at the beach, where Stephen goes au naturel much to Hilary's delight.

As such, Empire of Light is a somewhat "quiet" film that builds its emotional impact slowly but surely, with some especially nuanced work by Colman in what could have been a hyperbolic characterization with a less skilled performer. The film also benefits from some really expressive production design and impeccable cinematography from the legendary Roger Deakins, who perhaps surprisingly claimed this film's sole Academy Award nomination (Colman was highly touted as a lock for a Best Actress nomination, but we all know how supposed "locks" can go). The film builds to a perhaps predictable if still harrowing climax involving bigotry and violence, and that may make the somewhat sanguine coda a bit harder to accept, though it may at least leave viewers with a sense of hope.

Empire of Light Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Empire of Light is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Productions and Disney / Buena Vista with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Captured with Arri cameras and finished at 4K (both data points courtesy of the IMDb), Empire of Light is a frequently gorgeous looking presentation that is bathed in some lustrous lighting and which consistently offers appealing fine detail levels. If you ask your local Google Machine "who is the best cinematographer of all time", perhaps unsurprisingly Roger Deakins shows up (or at least did for me), and this film, which might not seem on its face to provide a ton of opportunity for a "wow factor" in terms of visuals, may prove why. With a noticeable change of seasons the story exploits, Deakins and Mendes have the chance to feature everything from snow to torrential rain to incredibly bright sunshine, and that in turns offers the chance for a variety of hues to permeate the frame. A number of scenes have either been lit or graded toward buttery yellow tones, but fine detail rarely if ever falters. As usual with these 20th/Disney discs, I noticed no compression issues at all.

Empire of Light Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Empire of Light features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio which offers intermittent but noticeable engagement of the side and rear channels in a track which is, kind of like the film itself, often rather subtle rather than "in your face" (and/or ears, as the case may be). A nice, if anachronistically modern sounding, score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, is one of the more frequent visitors to the surround channels. The score actually kind of reminded of some of the ambient flavored work of Ulrich Schnauss, with washes of low end synths combining with almost Philip Glass-like ostinati in the higher keyboards. Some of the more populated sequences in the film, as in some of the clamor in getting the theater ready to open or perhaps especially the big screening of Chariots of Fire also provide more noticeably immersive moments. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout.

Empire of Light Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Creating Empire of Light (HD; 18:12) is an above average EPK with some good interviews with the principal cast and crew.

Also, a digital copy is included.

Empire of Light Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sam Mendes' screenplay for the film is actually available online and it's kind of interesting to see the written version starts with an epigram culled from Leonard Cohen that I actually spend a good deal of time talking about in my Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man Blu-ray review. That may help some to get a kind of clue as to what Mendes is after in this film, though that said, if there's a fault here, it's probably that Mendes' writing is both too specific and too general at the same time to properly impart everything that's needed to understand Hilary's problems and, potentially, solutions. Still, this is an actors' piece that is filled to the brim with beautiful performances, and Deakins' cinematography is also a highlight. Technical merits are solid, and the one supplement very enjoyable. Recommended.