Set in Margate England, 1980.
Widespread unemployment and a rising wave of extremism plunged Margaret Thatcher’s Britain into recession. A depressed and struggling cinema manager, Hilary (Olivia Coleman), sticks to her daily routine at The Empire, a dying, golden-era movie palace.
Even movies like All That Jazz and The Blues Brothers can’t help the lonely Hilary keep her inner demons at bay. Suddenly this all changes when a bright-eyed new employee, Stephan (Micheal Ward), enters the picture shaking up Hilary’s world.
Suppose the celluloid-scented power of cinema can pave the way for meaningful human connection. Is there still hope for the once majestic movie theatre?
