Last Night in Soho || Spoiler-Free Review

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Genre: Thriller, Horror Directed by: Edgar Wright Written by: Screenplay by Edgar Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns Story by Edgar Wright Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Terrence Stamp, Michael Ajao, Diana Rigg Score by: Steven Price || Cinematography by: Chung-hoon Chung Critical Reception: RottenTomatoes - 74% from Critics, 92% from Audiences || IMDB Average 7.6 out of 10 || Letterboxd Average 3.7 out of 5

The Movie Summed Up in a Tweet

"Last Night in Soho reaches a perfect balance in its storytelling and the gorgeous cinematography & subtle visual allegory thanks to sophisticated direction from Edgar Wright and two fantastic leads in Thomasin McKenzie & Anya Taylor-Joy."

Thoughts on the Movie?

Many would consider director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Baby Driver) a modern day auteur director - known for his specific brand of quickly-paced, shrewd editing as well as his amusingly subversive takes on tried-and-true movie conventions. With Last Night in Soho, Wright (with story help from Krysty Wilson-Cairns) offers a postmodernist reflection that attempts to unpack lasting issues within the Giallo (Italian Horror) genre through a current-day lens. Additionally, the narrative aims to comment on the widespread and well-documented objectification of myriad actresses in a shockingly large number of films from the 1960s.

This careful attention ends up imbuing Last Night in Soho with a vibe similar to that of the slow-burn, metaphorical horror movies found in A24's catalogue (the entertainment company known for The Witch, Midsommar, and recently released Lamb). While this might be jarring for those expecting something more in line with Wright's more comedic-leaning fare, Last Night in Soho proves to be every bit as cleverly conceived as his previous films with an equally deft handling of its weightier and heavier themes.

Last Night in Soho is the story of two women, linked across time through a bizarre connection. Young Ellie Turner (Thomasin McKenzie), is a meek aspiring fashion designer with an unbridled love for the "Swinging Sixties" - everything from its big-band music to its memorable fashion. After moving to London to continue her studies, Ellie finds herself in a one-bedroom apartment where she begins having vivid dreams transporting her back to the 1960s. Ellie runs across Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) almost immediately - a striking and confident, young blonde woman who quickly becomes an inspiration for Ellie. Ellie's aspirations to be more like Sandie begin to carry over into her non-dream life, becoming the basis for her fashion design projects and wardrobe choices. With each passing dream, Ellie learns more and more about Sandie's dark, troubled past - a past that might be catching up to Ellie's current reality.



Last Night in Soho immediately feels like a different movie-going experience than what most audiences are probably used to getting from Edgar Wright. The hyperactive editing in his "Cornetto Trilogy" (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End) and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World were so distinctive and knowingly self-aware that his editing almost became an extra character in those movies. Wright has always been exceptionally strong at using visuals, specifically editing, to add an extra level of comedy to a scene already written with a palpable amount of humor to it. While it might disappoint some initially, that same "Edgar Wright editing" isn't necessarily on display in Last Night in Soho, it feels like an additional amount of care and attention went into using the allegory inherent to visuals to further strengthen the story's central theme - not building upon jokes.

The costumes, the musical numbers, the soundtrack, the neon blues and reds of Soho's nightlife (visual cues taken from Giallo films), the motifs of the mirrors and "illusions being shattered" - these are all intentional, artistic choices that build to a distinct statement and stance from the filmmaker. That the story would work well enough without all of this additional consideration - that Edgar Wright knowingly put effort into the many deft touches subtly noticeable throughout Last Night in Soho when most audiences might overlook them altogether - speaks volumes to Edgar Wright as a filmmaker and perfectly illustrates what sets him apart from many other filmmakers.

Last Night in Soho ultimately boils down to a mirroring tale of two women, Ellie and Sandie, with most of the heavy-lifting falling on the two leads, Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy. Luckily both are up to the task, giving two very different, yet equally terrific performances.

McKenzie plays Ellie as precocious and shy without ever veering towards performative or obnoxious - it's a natural and subtle performance, one that continually evolves as the narrative progresses. Taylor-Joy is just as captivating, adding some more complex layers to the enigmatic Sandie, a demanding role that asks a lot out of Taylor-Joy, including singing, and I'm happy to say that she easily rises to the challenge. The rest of the supporting cast are all uniformly strong, with the notable standouts being Terrence Stamp, Matt Smith, and Diana Rigg.



Not every moment ends up working out so smoothly, though, keeping Last Night in Soho back from being a true masterpiece. Having the right mindset and expectations will only help you better appreciate the movie for what it is. Not only is this not your typical Edgar Wright movie, but it's also a movie that doesn't seem overly concerned with being particularly "scary" either. Last Night in Soho plays out much more of a psychological thriller, . While there are some tense moments and blood-soaked kills ripped straight out of one of the 60s horror films Last Night in Soho is inspired by, much of the horror is thematic by nature, instead of visceral.

Another issue I took slight umbrage with was in Ellie's real-world, modern day contemporaries who never ended up working for me. In a movie that paints most of its leading characters with complex and rich brushes, Michael Ajao's John or Synnove Karlsen's Jocasta stand out as being excessively simplistic and one-dimensionally written. John as a character is so impossibly good and understanding, that he's supportive even when a rational person might not be. It feels as if John's character was only included in order to balance out Last Night in Soho's large number of questionable and dubious male characters that pop up throughout Ellie's story. Removing John from the story altogether wouldn't change or effect anything - either on a narrative or theming level - which shows how little he actually adds to the overall movie. Likewise, as the film's resident "mean girl", Jocasta adds tension to the narrative by constantly causing Ellie grief, but that's about the extent of her character. As with John's character, Jocasta never ends up evolving past that initial character beat - which would be fine if Last Night in Soho didn't keep devoting time to her, but it does.

Though I do have some mostly negligible issues, it's apparent that a lot of care and effort went into telling a sensitive and engaging coming of age, horror story where every piece informs the larger ideas and theming. The storytelling is perfectly balanced with gorgeous cinematography and clever (yet subtle) visual allegory thanks to some truly sophisticated direction from Edgar Wright. Though it might not be the movie some are expecting, Last Night in Soho is every bit the masterful filmmaking we've come to expect from Edgar Wright and absolutely warrants a watch from any true movie-lover out there.



Standout Scene

The standout scene, for me, is Ellie's first dream as she ventures back into the 1960's. When she first emerges from out of the dark alleyway and witnesses the spectacle of sights and sounds, accurately conveying the alluring atmosphere of Soho in the 60s, as an audience - we get it. The warm lights and colors, the perfectly realized production design, the clever use of audio, the sweeping camera shots - we (the audience) essentially become Ellie, captivated and "suckered in" by the sights and sounds. As Ellie is transported back to 1960s London, so are we. This is simply brilliant direction and epitomizes everything I have come to expect from Edgar Wright. That's even before we enter Café de Paris and meet Sandie, along with continually cunning shots involving mirrors and an ingenious long shot with a flawlessly choreographed dance number - one whose masterful execution might belie what an undertaking it was to pull off such a shot. It's some of the most confident and intricately thought-out filmmaking I've seen in all year.

Standout Performance

If I could give the standout performances to the two leads, I would - both Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy do superb work with the very different things asked of them. But if I have to choose - I'd go with Taylor-Joy who, again, is asked to do some convey a lot of weightier character beats in quick glances and snapshots of her character. We only learn about Sandie (Taylor-Joy) through Ellie's dream, so often we're playing catch up on Sandie's story and life, often accomplished by "showing-not-telling". This asks Taylor-Joy to do a lot of Sandie's emotional heavy-lifting through her physical performance and expressions, and she does a remarkable job here.

Pairs Well With...

Film-FTW Rating  ||  9 Stars - “Amazing / Exceptional”

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