Empire of Light (2022) on Netflix
In 1980, Hilary manages a cinema in Margate, lives alone, struggles with bipolar disorder and has an affair with her boss Donald. Stephen, a new employee, wants out of the town.
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- Netflix2.8/5
- IMDb6.7/1027,692 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes45%
Featurette
Plot summary
Hilary Small is the duty manager of the Empire Cinema in Margate, on the Kent coast, at the start of the 1980s. She lives by herself, has bipolar disorder, takes lithium given to her by her doctor, and sleeps with her married boss, Donald Ellis. Stephen, a Black British man newly taken on at the cinema and sharing a home with his mother Delia, a nurse, wants to get out of the town, where he faces hostility. Hilary is drawn to him. She shows him the cinema's disused upper floor, and the two grow close. When he begins spending time with Janine, a younger employee, Hilary is jealous.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Empire of Light (2022)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The Dreamland Margate Cinema building was remodelled and renamed for the shoot, standing in for the film's Empire Cinema until filming wrapped on 15 May 2022.
- The film's record-player scenes use Bob Dylan's "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)", Cat Stevens's "Morning Has Broken" and Joni Mitchell's "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio".
