Empire of Light is a drama movie written and directed by Sam Mendes starring Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward and Colin Firth.
Sam Mendes is the absolute star of a movie that is photographically marvelous and which is a tribute to film-making, a tribute to real movie making of a kind of movies we have all started to forget.
About the Movie
This is a love story in many senses, the physical, metaphorical, psychological, photographic… Empire of Light is a genuine delight…
Out of fashion, delightfully demodé.
Sam Mendes proves that not all stage directors are useless when it comes to the silver screen. This is a movie that knows how to perfectly combine “film making” perfectly, meticulous care of the scenes, elaboration of the scenes, the editing, sets… with that “theatrical” shot in interpretation and evolution of the characters.
A movie that knows how to take the best of both worlds, and, on an artistic level, offer us the best of each, in a very, very difficult balance (yes, he already did it in his first movie, American Beauty).
After this, you might say: ¡Well, we are stunned! Not so much, because this is a movie that chooses adult subjects, deep characters and, thematically as well as rhythmically, this is not a simple movie nor is it easy to digest. It is very complex in the way it evolves, reflects in its imagery and the texts themselves and does not offer a single viewpoint of the characters, who are immersed in confusion (like in Revolutionary Road).
It is not an easy movie and is not a movie for all audiences: it has a slow rhythm and is full of charming and brutal paradoxes that are complex. This movie never resorts to easy things and this will not always be liked.
Curiously, this movie only obtained one Oscar nomination: Best Photograhy: this is its great aspect but not the only one. Photographically, it is brilliant, meticulously cared for in each frame. Filmed in “old fashioned” style, with a sense of chiaroscuro and composition.
Our Opinion
Good movie making, real movies, complex, adult movies. An ode to films, to life itself and, also to human beings developing in a marvelously complex metaphor with an elegant style.
Director
Sam Mendes is an English stage and film director best known for directing the 1999 film American Beauty, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director.
Mendes was born in Reading, Berkshire, England in 1965.
He attended Cambridge University and became an associate director of the Royal National Theatre in London.
In 2000, Mendes was awarded a knighthood for his services to drama.
He won the Academy Award for Best Director for his 1999 film American Beauty, making him the youngest filmmaker ever to win the honor at the time.
In 2002, Mendes directed the James Bond film Die Another Day, making him only the second British director to helm a Bond movie.
Mendes has also directed award-winning stage plays, including The Ferryman in 2018, which earned nine Tony Awards, tying a record previously held by The Producers in 2001.
He has directed two feature films starring Daniel Craig as James Bond: Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015).
In 2012, Mendes founded Neal Street Productions with Pippa Harris and Caro Newling and has since produced a number of successful TV series, including Call The Midwife and Penny Dreadful.
Mendes married actress Kate Winslet in 2003, but they divorced in 2010.
Cast
 Olivia Colman / Hilary Small |  Micheal Ward / Stephen |
 Toby Jones / Norman |  Colin Firth / Mr. Ellis |
Tom Brooke
Tanya Moodie
Hannah Onslow
Crystal Clarke
Sara Stewart
Mark Ryan