Parents' Guide to Empire of Light

Parents need to know that Empire of Light is a British romantic drama with themes around mental health and racism, and has strong language, smoking, and a number of non-graphic sex scenes. Olivia Colman plays Hilary, a lonely woman with a history of mental health issues. Her outlook on life becomes improved when she starts a relationship with the kind and compassionate Stephen (Micheal Ward), a much younger man who starts a job at the movie theater where Hilary works. The sex scenes between the two are not explicit with no nudity. There is one scene, however, which involves a character masturbating another, and sexual language is used. Other language includes "bitch," "s--t," and variants of "f--k." There are also scenes involving racist language and violence. Stephen, who is Black, is attacked by a group of racists. He is punched and kicked, resulting in him being taken to hospital. Set during the 1980s, most of the characters smoke. There is also drinking, although mostly in moderation. Hilary does appear drunk in one scene, when behaving erratically, although this is also due to a breakdown of her mental health.

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