Empire of Light Review - A Great Film from Sam Mendes, but Could Use a Script Rework
Sam Mendes has done it again. As stereotypical as that sentiment sounds, I don't think I've ever not liked a Mendes film. Despite the circumstances around its lead, American Beauty is a gorgeous masterpiece, one of my favorite films released in 1999, and an all-time classic.
However, when Mendes returned with Jarhead three years after Road to Perdition (which I tried to see before publish time, but Paramount+ must've pulled it), the film was unfortunately decent because Mendes didn't deliver there. The screenplay by William Broyles Jr. was see-through at best, and the cast's acting talents boiled down to being able to shout out their cast mates with no emotional complexity.
By contrast, Revolutionary Road, which I just finished watching for the first time as a bit of "homework" for this, is quite similar to the shouting matches but succeeds in making the viewer care about what happens to these characters who, if they were real people, would've been in their early to mid80s by the time the film was released in 2008. Four years later, Mendes took on the world of 007 with Skyfall, widely regarded as one of the best James Bond films of all time. To quote Kim Newman's review for Empire, "Skyfall is pretty much all you could want from a 21st Century Bond: cool but not camp, respectful of tradition but up to the moment, serious in its thrills and relatively complex in its characters but with the sense of fun that hasn't always been evident lately". Not only that but Javier Bardem's turn as Raoul Silva was one of the most memorable villains of film history in my book. He knows precisely what makes Bond tick and how to get under his skin and achieve his goals before Bond is even aware it happened.
And then there was Spectre. Before you ask, no, I am not going to bash this film. What faults the film does have, and believe me, there are many, don't have to do with Mendes, at least not in my book. My problems with the film are primarily due to the film's obsession with paying reverence to previous films like Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, Thunderball, and so on. This reverence ties down the movie because it doesn't serve the story we'd been on with Daniel Craig. Sure, there were hints, but did everything need to point back to one evil organization? No, not really.
In 2019, Mendes transported audiences back to 1917, telling the tale of two young British soldiers on their trek across enemy territory to deliver a message that will save 1,600 soldiers. 1917, to me, is Mendes' most reserved film in his filmography. There are long swathes of time where little to no dialogue is spoken, and it largely relies on George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman's performances as Lance Corporal Schofield and Lance Corporal Blake and Roger Deakins' ability to hide the cuts in the supposedly "one shot" film.
So, after seeing most of Mendes' filmography (American Beauty, Jarhead, Skyfall, and Spectre before seeing Empire of Light and 1917 & Revolutionary Road post-Empire of Light), what makes a Mendes film? Put simply; there needs to be a level of emotional and societal crisis as the crux of the film, with the characters of the film each serving a different aspect of either crisis. For Jarhead, Jamie Foxx's character Staff Seargent Sykes represented the military-industrial complex, with Jake Gyllenhaal's character Anthony Swofford representing the typical soldier the military uses to become a weapon a war and less of a human being. For Skyfall and Spectre, Daniel Craig's James Bond is used similarly by MI6, with "villains" Silva (Bardem) and Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz) trying to get him to see this deceit and join SPECTRE. I could go on and on, but I've made my point.
While I'm not at liberty to discuss specific plot points of Empire of Light, I can say these aspects are still present. At its heart, Empire of Light is about the way people connect through turbulent times. In this case: England in the 1980s. I'll spare you the history lesson for now, but the takeaway is that the film is as much about the United Kingdom as it is about the movies that were screening at the time.
Olivia Colman plays a manager of the Empire Theater, which sits on the South Coast of England. Working in the Empire are new employee Stephen (Michael Ward), projectionist Norman (Toby Jones), theater owner Mr. Ellis (Colin Firth), junior manager Neil (Tom Brooke), young theater worker Janine (Hannah Onslow), and Ruby (Crystal Clarke), a carefree theater worker. Unfortunately, not many of these performances are particularly noteworthy outside of how they work as an ensemble and specific moments with each performer.
On the ensemble note, these characters work at a movie theater together, and it truly feels like it. Having worked in a movie theater, I know every joke they make and how they interact with one another feels like a kinship that can only be formed from sweeping up spilled popcorn, dealing with rude patrons and the inside jokes that come along with that. Some may attribute this aspect of the ensemble performance to Mendes, but it's all up to the performers as much as to the writers or director.
Speaking of writing, Mendes also wrote the screenplay for Empire of Light and stated his experience growing up in the United Kingdom during the 1970s and 1980s. While this is all well and good, it tends to blind Mendes from the structural problems going on here. Specifically, the handling of relationships, racism, and mental health. Outside of a few scenes that highlight this aspect of the story, these elements are primarily ignored for much of the film. If Mendes had spent more time on these elements, I could've seen a world where his name was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar. However, how Mendes chose to address these everyday problems many people have to confront ends up as a hindrance rather than something to celebrate.
Something to celebrate is Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross' score. It's pretty simplistic, focusing on a largely piano-centric soundtrack with human voices, strings, and other instruments that complement the soft piano notes to create a lullaby. There are also moments where the score is absent that I genuinely appreciated, as it sold me more on how important it was when the score popped up throughout the film.
Another thing to be celebrated is the cinematography by the legendary Roger Deakins. Empire of Light marks their fifth collaboration on a film - the other times being Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, Skyfall, and 1917. Like the score, Deakins applies a tender touch to the cinematography, rarely moving the camera during a scene and mainly using wide lenses to film each scene, leaving the viewer with the sense that they are an intruder to everything unfolds within the narrative. With this, I would not be surprised to see Deakins earn his 16th Oscar nomination.
So, if you're looking for a great time at your local movie theater this December, check out Empire of Light. Sure, it may need a script rework, but if you can look past that, it's a beautiful film.
★★★★
Empire of Light is now available to watch in theaters.
Until next time!
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