Movie · 2022 · Drama, Romance · 1h 55m · R · English
Curator score: 2.1/10 (104.7K ratings)
Overview
The duty manager of a seaside cinema, who is struggling with her mental health, forms a relationship with a new employee on the south coast of England in the 1980s.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.1/10
IMDb: 6.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.10/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 44%
Metacritic: 54
TMDB: 6.6/10
Director
Sam Mendes
Production
Searchlight Pictures, Neal Street Productions, TSG Entertainment
Cast
Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Toby Jones, Colin Firth, Tom Brooke, Tanya Moodie, Hannah Onslow, Crystal Clarke, Monica Dolan, Ron Cook, Sara Stewart, Justin Edwards, Roman Hayeck-Green, Brian Fletcher, Dougie Boyall, William Chubb, Spike Leighton, Jacob Avery, Jamie Whitelaw, Dylan Blore
Where to watch
fuboTV
Curator Review
Verdict
A beautifully photographed, emotionally earnest drama with strong lead performances, but it’s also scattered, overstuffed, and sometimes feels like several different movies competing for attention. The cinema setting and 1980s seaside atmosphere give it real texture, even when the script loses focus.
Best for
Viewers who like prestige dramas with a strong visual style
Fans of melancholy romance set against a specific time and place
People interested in films about cinema-going and movie houses
Audiences who prioritize performances and atmosphere over narrative precision
Skip if
You want a tightly structured story
You’re allergic to self-conscious movie-love speeches
You prefer subtle social drama over broad, earnest symbolism
You need a romance with especially strong chemistry and momentum
Overview
Empire of Light is at its best when it settles into observation: the damp coastal setting, the fading grandeur of the cinema, and the quiet ache in Olivia Colman’s performance all give it a lived-in sadness. Sam Mendes and Roger Deakins make the place feel tactile and haunted, and the film’s love of projection rooms, marquee glow, and empty auditoriums is sincere without being cynical.
Worth noting
The problem is that the movie keeps reaching for too many things at once: workplace drama, romance, mental health portrait, racial tension, and a tribute to theatrical exhibition. Some of those threads land, others feel underwritten or bluntly handled, which can make the film feel emotionally sincere but dramatically uneven.
Bottom line
Still, there’s enough craft here to make it worth a look, especially if you respond to adult-oriented prestige dramas that are more mood than mechanism. It’s a flawed love letter to cinema, but one with enough tenderness and visual grace to leave an impression.
Top Letterboxd reviews
esther (0.5★) · 1138 likes
not necessarily the worst movie i've seen this year but undeniably the most embarrassing. the idea that everyone involved was willing to publicly attach their name to this maudlin retread of a thousand films about racism and "movie magic" (all of which already sucked!) is staggering to think about. by the time toby jones is monologuing about how when you project film at 24 frames per second it means you can't see the darkness i thought about how in a few decades they'll be making movies like this via AI prompts and we'll look back at this and wonder how sam mendes got there first.
Alex Darling (2★) · 1005 likes
sam what is this movie about
Joe A (2.5★) · 980 likes
Sure it looks pretty, I mean it’s Deakins, but it’s tonally lost in a sea of half baked characters and ideas. Colman is good, Micheal Ward is great, but Empire of Light struggles to find its voice resulting in the most aggressively okay movie of the year.
Amanda the Jedi (2★) · 874 likes
We've let Colin Firth be entirely too horny this year.
reibureibu (1★) · 668 likes
in which sam mendes demonstrates a middle-school understanding of racism and writing (this might be generous)