Last Night in Soho

I went on an Edgar Wright binge during lockdown, half just to see them again and half with an eye on the fact that "Last Night in Soho" was due out when the lockdown lifted. Though I generally would say that I liked the film, unfortunately I felt the conclusion let it down.

Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) moves from Cornwall to London to become a fashion designer. Obsessed with 1960's culture, she struggles to make friends and leaves the halls of residence for a flat in a house owned by Ms Collins (Diana Rigg). On her first night, she dreams about Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) a singer who came to Soho in the 1960's and who fell in with Jack (Matt Smith). As the dreams mix with reality, Eloise comes to question her sanity, what happened to Sandie and who the silver haired gentleman (Terence Stamp) hanging around the city might be.

The stuff that I admired most about the film were related to the performances and to Edgar Wright's direction. There is some very clever work done during the dream/haunting sequences to relay that the characters of Eloise and Sandie are both living the same life and the Eloise is watching it from a distance. There's a dance scene, which is very cleverly choreographed so that both characters can dance with Jack without cutting away. Anya Taylor-Joy really can do anything and make it compelling but as a Giallo-esque femme fetale / victim she's at her most arresting. Smith is a convincing charming heavy though he doesn't feature in the film as much as the girls. Thomasin McKenzie carries an excellent Cornishy accent through the film, and keeps Eloise likable, even when she becomes overwhelmed.

But... I'm not convinced that the story matches up with the talent elsewhere. I don't think the film makes as much sense as it thinks it does, in its conclusion. (Sorry if that sounds vague, bit I'm trying to write without spoilers). Its twist is relatively easy to see coming, though some of the dialogue details from earlier in the film hit differently once you know. I also don't think it's particularly scary, and the "ghosts" in the film aren't an especially well-done effect.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with the film but I can't help and think of it as a missed opportunity for something truly special.

His conquered the living dead with nothing more than unwanted vinyl records, alien invaders in small country towns and even managed to wrangle baby drivers but there's no doubt Last Night in Soho is beloved British director and critical darling Edgar Wright's most ambitious film yet and a film that doesn't always reach the lofty goals it sets for itself even if its a beautifully shot and unique thriller mixed with horror elements.

His first film narrative feature film since Baby Driver in 2017, Soho is undoubtedly a labor of love for Wright who produces his most un-Wright feeling film yet, that follows Thomasin McKenzie's country girl fashion designer to London, where her rental of a small bedroom apartment leads her to experience vivid and increasingly frightening visions into the life of a seemingly real London resident of the 60's named Sandie (a mesmerizing Anya Taylor-Joy) creating a very late 60's/70's feeling feature that struggles to keep itself on the rails as the runtime wears on.

Magnificently capturing the time and place of the London era of the setting with help from Old Boy and Handmaiden cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung (delivering Oscar worthy work) and some eclectic and toe tapping concoction of classic tunes from the era that once more suggests Wright is right up there with Quentin Tarantino when it comes to sound-tracking his films and particular scenes, Soho has a lot to admire and for its first 30 to 40 minutes things rollick along at a great pace with a lot of intrigue in what's happening and what's around the corner but the film does get into a mid to late section funk that becomes both repetitive and a little too much to handle narrative wise.

You can see what Wright was trying too do and how he wanted his film to evolve but that doesn't excuse the loop we end up getting stuck in and the sometimes questionable choices that Eloise makes (with some added overacting by a trying hard but not always hitting the mark McKenzie) and while visually and atheistically everything is always of a very high standard, there's a coldness to the story of Soho and it never quite works as well as you'd like as a mystery or a fully fledged horror that it at times appears to be wanting to be.

In amongst all of the narrative let downs and feeling that it never quite hits the marks it sets for itself is the continued great work of Taylor-Joy whose growing into one of the most interesting actors working today, a fairly chilling performance from the usually likable Matt Smith and a central plot that at the very least doesn't play things out in the usual schtick, making Soho far from a complete misfire but nothing more than an intriguing could've been film that I am sure Wright and his fanbase will look back on in days to come as a missed opportunity to create something spectacular.

Final Say -

A film that sets itself a tricky task its never fully able to handle, Last Night in Soho is a high quality feature that can't ever quite juggle its various elements into a final product that feels worthy of its goals.

3 Vesper's out of 5.

Holy smoke what a waste! The actors are all talented, the art direction, sets, costumes, soundtrack are great.

But the second half of this is just the most juvenile simplistic and trope filled junk.

This is another covid era film that looks to be, due to delays, got over- tweeked to bad result.

What if Hitchcock an Dario Argento had a nephew that loved Agatha Christie novels? That's the premise of the film's aesthetics and I found especially the first half of the film to be really captivating. Anya Taylor Joy's first scene especially was really masterfully crafted. The leading actress was also impeccable.

Nevertheless as the film's story built up steam for a climax, the choice of a particularly ugly CGI and some pointless jump-scares started putting me off. The writing became over the top by the end, but at least it all made sense eventually. Thankfully it maintained a steady coolness, with great music and solid acting, and beautiful costumes and scenery. While the nonsense put off some of my "film buff" friends, I found it consistently entertaining, and a fun time at the movies.

I saw this at a late night screening, at Athens International Film Festival. The hour, the crowd and the vibe really helped the movie experience for me. I recommend it, if you don't get in with high expectations.

Cornish fashion student Eloise moves into a room of an elderly lady's home, when she's there she's able to consciously move back to the 1960's, and see the life of a beautiful young woman.

It took me a little time to get into it, and understand exactly what was going on, but overall, I thought this was a rather excellent film.

It builds and changes pace as it progresses, moving from a suspense intrigue story, into a horror thriller conclusion. You'll need to be concentrating, or you'll miss what's going on.

Diana Rigg, the legend, much missed, was the standout for me, (when wasn't she!) putting in a phenomenal performance, credit to Thomasin McKenzie too, she did a great job, the only person for me who was a little cringey at times, was Matt Smith, maybe not his finest moment.

Two scenes stood out for me, the epic conclusion, loved that, some terrific acting, and as reveals go, this was big, and the scene in the library, that was really freaky.

Beautifully stylish and atmospheric, if you love the 1960's as I do, you'll appreciate the fashions, you'll love the music, overall it's a visual feast.

Highly recommended 8/10.