![]() In that, these characters escape the miserablism of so much prestige cinema. Mendes offers no balm for that, but at least gives Stephen these valuable moments of communion with troubled, yearning Hilary. Stephen is heading off into an uncertain future, burdened by other people’s prejudice as he tries to stretch into the fullness of himself. Mendes’s calm and steady film stays upright throughout these jarring thrashes-and as Stephen is violently thrashed at-building toward a conclusion of staggering poignance.Įmpire of Light’s overarching sentiment is hopeful, but not blinkered. It’s a shock to see the movie break its dreamy spell, as Colman suddenly turns the volume of her performance way up. Viewed from some angles, the film looks rather strange: as Hilary loses her grip on her well being, Empire of Light takes on surprising new dimensions. Whatever Mendes’s connection to the material, he’s made something humane and nourishing, a picture of rare thoughtfulness and decency. The film doesn’t gesture toward its creator in any easily discernible way, though, so I suppose we should take it on its stated terms. After a festival season of big-director memoir pieces, one does wonder if some personal narrative is being retold here. Those visual graces support and enhance the story rather than drown it out the same cannot be said of all past Mendes endeavors. The film looks incredible, with sumptuous cinematography by Roger Deakins and richly textured production design by Mark Tildesley. Empire of Light finds a careful balance-it listens to its characters rather than shouting a message over them.Īlso important for a Sam Mendes movie, Empire of Light’s exquisite aesthetics don’t vainly upstage the story. But those themes don’t overwhelm the soft-spoken thing that Mendes and his actors have built. And it’s a drama about the nasty resurgence of racist nationalism that gripped England at the dawn of Thatcher’s era, and has now surged once again. It’s a gentle encouragement out of the resigned slump of middle age. The film is a coming-of-age story universal in its consideration of the charged and formative encounters of youth. Sure, Empire of Light has more than just this one relationship on its mind. Both she and Stephen are isolated in this picturesque but chilly town: he because he is Black in a bigoted country, she because of her struggles with mental health, which are gradually revealed as Hilary and Stephen fall into a tenuous romance. ![]() He radiates kindness that wins over the whole staff, but Hilary senses something particularly kindred in him. That quiet excitement and nervousness is answered, in part, by the arrival of a new theater employee, Stephen ( Michael Ward), a young man spinning his wheels until he gets into college. That feeling is beautifully rendered in the film’s score, moody dots of piano and ambient hum-the sound of the planet in motion-composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Something is stirring, though, all of this stasis seeming pregnant with anticipation. We watch as Hilary goes about her lonely life, dinners for one and the occasional utilitarian tryst with her married boss, Mr. ![]() 1980 is drawing to a close, and a Christmas melancholy fills the air. Olivia Colman plays Hilary, a retiring singleton who works at a seaside movie palace in small-town coastal England. It’s an achingly lovely film-the best Mendes has yet made. His new film, Empire of Light, is the director’s most delicate, a wistful short story about two people seized by circumstance who help one another find their way through life. ![]() Now, grab your snacks and a cozy blanket and prepare to find a new appreciation for life as we know it.After all the annihilation of his war film, 1917, director Sam Mendes has traveled forward in time, to the troubled early 1980s in England, to tell a humble little tale of human connection. Prepare yourself to dive into the best end of the world movies from the adrenaline inducing World War Zto the dark comedy of Don’t Look Up to the action packed Mad Max and even the kid-friendly Wall-E, there’s something for everyone. Get ready to watch society collapse, ponder the limits of human survival, and enjoy an action-packed ride with these 25 movies about the end of the world.įrom terrifying zombie invasions to imminent global disasters and post-apocalyptic landscapes, these movies never fail to entertain, the more farfetched the better. ![]() Of course, this movie trope is popular for a reason, producing tons of films about great disasters and the lives of those who survive, whether they’re truly alive or some version of undead. Have you ever wondered whether you would survive an apocalypse or pondered what it would be like to witness the end of the world/ We sincerely hope we’ll never actually have to witness these events with our own eyes, but it’s always fun to satisfy these burning questions by watching a movie about the end of the world. ![]()
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