Empire of Light is a romantic drama directed by Sam Mendes and is set in a seaside town during the 80s and stars Olivia Coleman, Micheal Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones and more.
The story follows Olivia Colman's character Hilary Small, the manager of the eponymous cinema Empire of Light, as she navigates life while battling with her mental health until Stephan, a charming younger man, enters her life.
The film very much feels like it has hints of German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder's masterpiece Ali: Fear eats the Soul, wherein a relationship blossoms between a younger black man and an older white woman. The film, therefore, looks like it will tackle race, ageism, identity, the very nature of being human in an imperfect world and, due to its setting, the power of cinema.
The film was largely shot on location in Margate, and any eagle-eyed resident could have told you that as the iconic art-deco Dreamland was completely transformed into the Empire of Light cinema while the production crew were in town.
According to legendary Cinematographer Roger Deakins, “Margate brought a reality to this movie.".
Whereas Mendes was inspired by the locations' links to artist J.M.W Turner and poet T.S Eliot. He stated, "there’s a breadth about the place, which gives it poetry and a cinematic scope.”
Furthermore, Mendes saw the potential of filming most of the movie at Dreamland, which is not usually the case in film production as interior scenes are more often than not transposed to sound stages. This idea became something of a goldmine for the film as the real setting gives the movie palatable realism.
This led Mendes to rewrite the screenplay. Scenes were rewritten to take advantage of Dreamland’s ballroom, and a scene at the funfair’s roller rink was added.
The production crew worked tirelessly to restore bathrooms, rework the lobby and transform the bingo hall into the cinema that is at the heart of the love story.
Empire of Lights will be available to watch at cinemas in the UK from 9th January 2023. Book tickets here.
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21 famous movies that were filmed in Kent
