You can tell it is awards season when we have a new film written and directed by Sam Mendes. Olivia Colman stars as Hilary Small, working as a duty manager in a traditional cinema on the Kent coast in 1980. She suffers with depression and is having an affair with her boss, Donald Ellis, played by Colin Firth. When Stephen (Micheal Ward), a new employee, arrives at the cinema, the pair become attracted to each other.
This is an exquisitely made film beautifully shot by the great Roger Deakins and memorably scored by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. I fell in love with films when I was a kid, from watching then on TV but I did not start going to the cinemas until the 1980’s, when I had the money to do so. At that point, I also fell for the cinema going experience, and with old style picture palaces, so this is completely in my wheelhouse. The opening shots of Hilary and her staff preparing and then clearing up the screens gave me a warm glow, a feeling that I did not lose.
Colman, naturally, is terrific, as is Ward and Tom Brooke as Neil, a perceptive co-worker. But it is Toby Jones, as Norman the projectionist who provides the heart to the film. In a glittering career, it is one of his finest performances.
My only criticism is that the scenes of Hilary’s breakdown do not ring as true as the cinema based ones but that is a small quibble about a great movie.
Rating: 9 out of 10