Oscar-and-BAFTA nominated for Best Cinematography, “Empire of Light” is set in 1981 in Margate, a small seaside town in Britain, where middle-aged Hilary Small (Olivia Colman) is the forlorn second-in-command at the Empire Cinema, a fading movie palace.

As indicated in one of the opening scenes in a doctor’s office, workaholic Hilary has just returned from medical leave and has been taking lithium for depression. But then she befriends a newly-hired theater trainee, Stephen (Micheal Ward), a young Black man who dreams of becoming an architect but must first deal with the racism that was rampant at that time.

Plus, there are the ticket takers, box-office attendant, and Hilary’s sleazy, married boss (Colin Firth), a sexual predator, along with the affable projectionist (Toby Jones) who has a wonderful soliloquy about the persistence of vision and how light can obliterate darkness.

Although this is Sam Mendes’ ninth film as a director, it’s the first time he’s working from his own screenplay. And that’s a problem since this intimate character study/quasi-memoir is far too contrived, alluding to the misguided idea that movies can treat mental illness.

Built in 1923, Margate’s two-screen Art Deco Dreamland cinema doubles for the Empire. Although it closed in 2007, it still stands empty because of its historic past – and the Margate railway station is just 100 yards away.

Accepting his 16^th Academy Award nomination, legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, a two-time winner, explained, “I think this film is about companionship. Hilary has this world with her fellow workers, that sort of friendship brings something more into her life, an existence without a great horizon.”

Coincidentally, Deakins grew up in Torquay, a similar small town on the coast of Southwest England, where there once were five or six cinemas within walking distance: “And now there’s only two, which is a shame.”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Empire of Light” is a cinematic 7, streaming on HBO Max and Vudu.

Best Picture Oscar-nominee “Women Talking” delves into how solidarity is the key to survival when sexual abuse, including raping four-year-old children, is not only acceptable but condoned through Mennonite religious practices.

“What follows is an act of female imagination,” reads the title card.

Set in 2010 on a remote farm in Canada, it revolves around a group of women inhabiting a closed, cultlike, Christian community in which men routinely drug helpless women/children with livestock tranquilizers and sexually assault them in the middle of the night.  

When the women complain, they’re told that what they’ve experienced was demonic, a figment of “wild female imagination,” filling them with guilt and shame. That has obviously happened once too often because, when some of the men are arrested, the rest go to a nearby town to post bail and rescue them from incarceration.

Secretly meeting in a hayloft, several women are deciding how to react to this latest atrocity. Because they cannot read nor write, they’ve asked the schoolteacher, August (Ben Whishaw), to transcribe the minutes of their meeting.

They realize that they have three choices: 1) Do nothing, 2) Stay and fight, or 3) Leave.

Pensive, pregnant Ona (Rooney Mara) yearns for an idealistic colony where women are educated and allowed to participate in community decisions. Ranting Salome (Claire Foy) oozes rage at patriarchal oppression, along with cynical Mariche (Jessie Buckley), while Scarface Janz (Frances McDormand) is a staunch advocate of “do nothing.”

Two elderly women, Mariche’s mother Greta (Sheila McCarthy) and Ona’s mother Agata (Judith Ivey), offer sympathetic perspective, even as the teenagers (Liv McNeil, Michelle McLeod, Kate Hallett) are easily distracted – plus gender-nonconforming Melvin (August Winter).

Adroitly adapting Canadian author Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel which drew on real-life events that occurred in an insular Mennonite agrarian community in Bolivia, Oscar-nominated writer/director Sarah Polley has assembled an impressive ensemble cast.

Each has an explanatory monologue, emoting as if it was a staged drama, resulting in a film that is not inherently cinematic, particularly since cinematographer Luc Montpellier uses desaturated color.

On the Granger Gauge, “Women Talking” is an uncompromising 7…only in theaters but soon to be on Amazon Prime.

I have never felt any empathy with two-time Oscar winning actress Hilary Swank. I’ve always found her to be humorless, abrasive, even pugnacious – both on-screen and in person. 

So casting her as humorless, abrasive, pugnacious journalist Eileen Fitzgerald on Hulu and ABC-TV’s drama “Alaska Daily” really works. Yet – despite encouraging initial ratings – the series took a long hiatus which may have dissipated whatever tension and interest it initially provoked.

Based in Manhattan, Eileen is a nationally renowned investigative reporter for ‘The Vanguard.’ When her high-profile ‘scoop’ that condemns the U.S. Secretary of Defense backfires because of an unreliable source, she’s summarily fired.  

Unemployed, she begins writing a book, accusing her colleagues of being ‘woke wussies.’ But then her former boss from years ago, Stanley Cornik (Jeff Perry), offers her a job with ‘Alaska Daily,’ a struggling newspaper situated on a modest strip mall in Anchorage. 

At first she refuses, but then he tempts her with a story about missing and murdered Indigenous women. Her arrogance still intact, along with a martyr complex, Eileen arrives only to be chagrined when Cornik astutely pairs her with Alaskan Native Roz Friendly (Grace Dove). Predictably imperious Eileen is condescending until she realizes how much Roz can teach her about her new environment.

A crisis occurs when a white woman passenger on a cruise ship falls overboard while filming a video. As national attention mounts, the Governor launches a huge search – while, at the same time, a Yupik woman has disappeared. Eileen and Roz come up with a provocative piece comparing the horrific discrepancy between both investigations, along with political corruption.

Writer/director Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight”) creates quirky colleagues who interact with Eileen – portrayed by Matt Malloy, Meredith Holzman, Pablo Castelblanco, Ami Park, and Craig Frank. While the series was not filmed in Alaska, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada serves as an authentic substitute.

As stated in the end credits, the series was inspired by The Anchorage Daily News and Pro Publica Series ‘Lawless Sexual Violence in Alaska’ by Kyle Hopkins, who serves as a producer.

Unfortunately, episode six concludes with a cliffhanger – and episode seven was not scheduled to air until tonight. This is the week when ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Station 19” also resume. So – if you’re intrigued – now is the time to start streaming. Meanwhile, you can always retrieve “Men in Trees” and “Northern Exposure,” two previous series based in Alaska. 

On the Granger Gauge, “Alaska Daily” is a struggling 6 – on ABC-TV and streaming on Hulu.