But Hilary, who lives alone, and who appears to be in treatment for some undiscussed breakdown the year before, is sliding further into unhappiness, made worse by her toxic relationship with a smugly uncaring married man who says hideously unsexy things during the act itself (“Your arse feels so good in my hands”). Gorgeously photographed by Roger Deakins it is indeed a love letter to the movies and if like me you don't go stir crazy over "Stir Crazy", the joys of "Being There" should draw you in. The film follows a woman struggling with depression as she meets a trainee who unexpectedly connects with her. Set in and around a faded old cinema in an English coastal town in the early 1980s, it follows Hilary(Olivia Colman)a cinema manager struggling with her mental health, and Stephen(Micheal Ward), a new employee who longs to escape this provincial town in which he faces daily adversity.

The “love letter to the movies” is a tricky genre, teetering on maudlin industry indulgence; my own rule is that any film, on any subject, if it is any good, is already a love letter to the movies.On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Although they both find comfort through their connection, there is still a sense that tragedy may be lurking just beneath the surface.

I guess I’m one of the few who loved Empire of Light, as I fell hard for this deftly directed romantic drama, elevated by two of the most tender performances of the year courtesy of Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward. The film arrives on Digital platforms in the United States on February 7th 2023, and Blu-ray and DVD on February 21st 2023, with never-before-seen bonus content featuring Sam Mendes and the cast that uncovers the story’s origins and the director’s love of cinema. Weeks later, back at the theatre, Donald has been replaced and Stephen begins training with Norman, the cinema's projectionist. Beautifully written, (also by Mendes), directed and acted, (as another employee Tom Brooke is also outstanding), this moving and intelligent picture really shouldn't be missed.Today, even with the age difference between them, this wouldn't be thought of as a problem but this was the early '80's and the National Front were on the march and Mendes''romance' doesn't shy away from the racism directed at Ward's character or from Hilary's mental problems. Dreamland in Margate transformed into cinema for new Sam Mendes film Empire of Light starring Olivia Coleman and Colin Firth". Comic whodunnit See How They Run arrived on the platform on 2nd November 2022, less than two months after its theatrical release on 9th September, while Martin McDonagh's black comedy Banshees of Inisherin landed on the streamer on 21st December, exactly two months after it debuted in cinemas.

What’s On Disney Plus is an independent Disney+ fansite that covers everything to do with new Disney’s Streaming Service, Disney+. The screenplay is a little all over the place and there are many important aspects I wish were delved into a little deeper.

The people who work at the Empire are family – of sorts – with a grumpy and pompous manager, Mr Ellis (Colin Firth), dedicated projectionist Norman (Toby Jones) and assistants Neil (Tom Brooke) and Janine (Hannah Onslow). The site's critics consensus reads: " Empire of Light contains some fine performances and a few flashes of brilliance, but this tribute to the magic of cinema is disappointingly mundane. 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. This film takes something from the tenderness and sadness of movies like The Smallest Show on Earth or Cinema Paradiso or The Last Picture Show – adding maybe a little bit of the lonely disquiet of Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman.

When Stephen asks about her past, she goes on an agitated rant about men and angrily destroys a sand castle they had been building.There are some wonderful set-piece scenes in Empire of Light: everyone, especially the self-important Mr Ellis, is thrilled at the news that the cinema is to get a special regional premiere of that summer’s smash-hit, Chariots of Fire, with loads of dignitaries present – but the big night is marred by a terrible scene that Hilary makes out in the foyer, once the film has begun, which is made more painfully surreal and hilarious by the unmistakable sounds of Vangelis’s electronic theme tune in the background as the shouting commences. As a Limited release, Empire of Light will only be shown in select movie theaters across major markets. I found myself remembering Sellers’ grim recollection that most of his 70s movies were so unpopular, cinemas would put them on if they needed the auditorium to be empty so they could vacuum-clean it.