Empire of Light (2022), directed by Sam Mendes

In a small town on the south coast of England in 1981, the Empire cinema is past its glory days. Only two of four screens operate and the old bar, restaurant and ballroom have been left to the pigeons. Duty manager Hilary Small lives in a similar state of neglect with neither friends nor family and a problematic relationship with the old school cinema manager. New employee Stephen brings light into her life, but also throws it off balance - again. The themes of mental illness and racial and social division in Thatcher’s England sit a little oddly within a sentimental homage to cinema. This makes the film extraordinarily powerful and moving in parts, amid strange little flat patches. Olivia Coleman gives her usual strong performance as the struggling Hilary. She is well matched by Micheal Ward as Stephen and ably supported by Colin Firth and Toby Jones. The cinematography is superb and the soundtrack is killer. The essential message of the vital importance of kindness manages to shine through what is overall an uneven film.