#colman

[nowheresville-dakota]

Colman, South Dakota

[pinkmoonmp3]

colman domingo via instagram

[postcard-from-the-past]

Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky on a vintage postcard

[detournementsmineurs]

Olivia Colman dans "Scandaleusement Vôtre" de Thea Sharrock - inspiré de fait réels concernant des lettres injurieuses à Littlehampton entre Rose Gooding, Edith Swan et l'officier de police Gladys Moss (circa 1920) - mars 2024.

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Colman | Author: Monica Furlong | Publisher: Random House (2005)

[critical-chris]

Empire of Light (2022)

Empire of Light is the latest installment in the decades long trend of renowned filmmakers nodding to old cinema and the movie-going scenes of their past. Although the topic is one I can have appreciation for given the nostalgia of conjuring up images of your childhood, especially tied to movies which were such a big part of my growing up, these odes can be extremely hit or miss. When they hit they hit, like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood or L.A. Confidential, but when they whiff they WHIFF, like The Fabelmans or Hail, Caesar.

Empire of Light is directed by Sam Mendes, a fantastic director who has created critical successes like American Beauty, Road to Perdition, and 1917. He even directed arguably the best installment of Daniel Craig's run as James Bond in Skyfall, although he is responsible for what I consider to be the worst Bond movie in that run Spectre. Actually, I'd put Spectre at a tie with Quantum of Solace as complete misfires and absolute messes.

Jarhead was another release that I was a big fan of despite the mixed critical reviews it received. I'm a sucker for a good war movie, and this combined with 1917 makes Sam Mendes a reliable creator in that space. I haven't seen Revolutionary Road, although I can't imagine it's a bad film considering it has DiCaprio and Kate Winslet teaming up again. All of that being said, I would be excited for any release with him at the helm considering the success and great movies he has released up to this point.

When I saw the trailer for Empire of Light, I had no clue what the movie would actually be about but expected a generic storyline against the backdrop of an old, glamorized movie theater. The biggest draw for me to this film was Olivia Colman, who is an excellent actress I first became familiar with in the British detective drama Broadchurch. I loved the first season of that series, and thought the second was solid albeit completely different, but I refuse to watch the third season since I have a bad feeling it won't be nearly as good. I just don't see what else there is to explore in that storyline after the second season.

I had plans to see this film in the theaters but ended up missing out when other movies took precedence in my mind. Unfortunately, the movies that took precedence ended up being mid in every way possible and absolute wastes of time. I'm looking at you The Fabelmans and Avatar: The Way of Water. Instead, I inclined my bed to a 45 degree angle, settled under my bed covers, turned out the lights, and set out to watch this throwback drama.

Empire of Light is the story of Hilary, a cinema manager at a dying golden-age theater in an English coastal town plagued by unemployment and prejudice. She is depressed and sticks to a daily routine to manage her feelings of loneliness and mental health issues while juggling an awkward and quiet affair with her boss Colin Firth.

The theater then hires a bright-eyed early 20s black employee Stephen to learn the tricks of the business while he yearns to leave this town where he faces racial prejudice and hatred from the locals. Hilary is immediately attracted to Stephen, and vows to teach him about the Empire theater, although she confesses to never watch the movies playing.

Sam Mendes knows how to shoot a movie, it's obvious. The simple lobby of the movie theater, auditorium with grand curtains, and seaside town are all captured beautifully and keeps your eyes glued to the screen for each succeeding image. There is a perfectly shot scene at a carnival that is so well established and paced that I was hooked for the rest of the movie, no matter where the plot went.

Stephen and Hilary end up hooking up, giving Hilary a newfound vigor and renewed interest in life. Stephen finds Hilary to be a comforting presence and reliable confidant after he is discriminated against in the theater lobby one day, and discloses to Hilary his experiences being racially profiled in the town.

Then comes a rather odd scene. Up until this point, Colman's character seems depressed but otherwise normal and even-keeled. Hilary and Stephen go to the beach and end up streaking for a bit before settling down and building a sand castle. Stephen asks her some personal questions and Hilary starts to have a breakdown, smushing parts of the sand castle with her hands while shaking and nearly crying when answering. During the movie, this felt strange and out of place, but after watching a bit more the reason becomes clear.

One of the other employees tells Hilary they know about her affair with Stephen and to look after herself "based on what happened before." We learn that Hilary had prior issues being rude to customers, staying late at the theater by herself and refusing to leave, and eventually was locked up at the hospital and "came back quieter." It is revealed that Hilary's mental issues run much deeper than initially revealed, especially when she makes a scene at a big film premiere important to keeping the Empire open.

Hilary tells Colin Firth's wife about their affair, Firth accuses Hilary of being a schizophrenic and unemployable, and the only reason she has a job is that Firth promised the hospital he would keep an eye on her. Hilary is then taken by the police from her apartment back to the hospital.

Some time later, Stephen has a new girlfriend and has learned more about the theater business. He encounters Hilary on a seaside bench, but she is clearly subdued and potentially drugged up from her stint in the hospital. Hilary returns to work and is welcomed back with open arms by her coworkers. Then a riot happens outside, and a handful of white kids break in and beat up Stephen half to death.

Hilary visits Stephen at the hospital, and the two connect again like before. He later reveals he has been accepted to university away from the city and is leaving the next day. Hilary is forced to accept the one person she connected to is leaving, and finally sits down to enjoy a movie at the cinema and it fills her with that same drive for life, and Stephen goes off on his next adventure. Roll credits.

I really enjoyed this movie, while understanding all the criticisms and mediocre reviews given to it online by industry critics and general audiences alike. The most frequent negative I noticed the movie receiving is there not being a single identifiable theme or through-line. Not to mean there aren't clear themes from the plot and scenery, the drawback here is more about the film's identity and it seemingly not knowing what message it is trying to convey. I can absolutely understand that criticism.

The underlying message in this movie is despite internal drags or horrors of the outside world and society, cinema and kindness can connect people in unique ways and form emotional bonds. At least, that's what I got from it. However, the message isn't quite clear until the very end when Hilary asks Toby Jones' character to play her a film, having never actually watched a movie at the theater she works at, and is filled with happiness and joy at the enormous projection. The movie bounces between a number of other topics and themes, so I can understand that Mendes doesn't exude this one clearly throughout.

I feel this movie was not done any favors by its marketing and trailer either. The advertisements for the film make it seem like a 2 hour devotion to regal cinemas (not the brand, just the term) of the past and importance of theaters to society. While that message is touched on at points, I find the movie to be more about community and the power of authentic human connection which can be fostered by watching and discussing movies. I think if this was advertised as the emotional drama it is, some expectations from reviewers could have been altered and resulted in more positive reception.

Empire of Light is worth the watch for Olivia Colman's performance alone. She plays every complex emotion incredibly, from the character's lowest points of grief, instability, and loss, to her highest highs of love, joy, and true happiness. My only issue with the writing here is that Hilary is never really given a redeeming moment. Sure, she discovers the power of movies, but never has a moment to come back from the breakdown and falls she experience throughout the film.

Michael Ward plays Stephen well too, capturing the pain of being discriminated and hope for his future outside of this small town. The rest of the cast is fine, playing small parts or coming in for a scene or two with a line here and there. Colin Firth makes no real mark in my opinion, besides two weird sex scenes with Colman that you want to be over with as much as she does.

[leclercari]

i need everyone to hear the story of colman domingo meeting his husband bc it's just the most beautiful thing i've ever heard

[userarmand]

Actors Roundtable | Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter

[generationexorcist]

The Woman Behind The World’s Most Famous Tarot Deck Was Nearly Lost In History

For centuries, people of all walks of life have turned to tarot to divine what may lay ahead and reach a higher level of self-understanding.

The cards’ enigmatic symbols have become culturally ingrained in music, art and film, but the woman who inked and painted the illustrations of the most widely used set of cards today – the Rider-Waite deck from 1909, originally published by Rider & Co. – fell into obscurity, overshadowed by the man who commissioned her, Arthur Edward Waite.

Now, over 70 years after her death, the creator Pamela Colman Smith has been included in a new exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York highlighting many underappreciated artists of early 20th-century American modernism in addition to famous names like Georgia O’Keeffe and Louise Nevelson.

CNN

[nipuni]

DI Hardy and DS Miller are onto you 🕵️

A speedpaint video of this will be available at my Patreon next month! You can also find prints and stuff of all my art at my Store

[pintsofguinnesmakeyoustrong]

absolutely fucking reeling from puss in boots the last wish. my grown ass friends made me see it and it absolutely fucked. it was mad max fury road for kids. it was a horror movie about the fear of death. it was a western about an ageing outlaw trying to regain his youth with the help of his ex fiance and homeless harvey guillen. it was about found family. it was about needing people and asking for help. it had the best depiction of a panic attack i've ever seen in a mainstream film. the villain looked exactly like boris johnson. there was a wicker man reference. it had a kill count higher than most slasher films. it set up shrek 5. they even said fuck.

[ayo-edebiri]

#I need him to cosplay as Meryl next 😭

[yourbuckies]

The A24 Podcast | A Little Danger with Sebastian Stan & Colman Domingo

[postcard-from-the-past]

Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky on a vintage postcard

Post

[detournementsmineurs]

Jessie Buckley et Olivia Colman dans "Scandaleusement Vôtre" de Thea Sharrock - inspiré de fait réels concernant des lettres injurieuses à Littlehampton entre Rose Gooding, Edith Swan et l'officier de police Gladys Moss (circa 1920) - mars 2024.

[tomshiddles]

Pedro Pascal & Colman Domingo for Vanity Fair | The Hollywood Issue 2024