In the process of covering all my bases, there are a number of films I saw when they were released but wanted to circle back to at some point. That time is now and one of those movies is Last Night in Soho. Bolstered by strong turns from its leading ladies, Edgar Wright’s dark, stylish, and engaging thriller toys with the conventional methods of supernatural murder mysteries.
Set in 1960s London, Eloise, an aspiring fashion designer begins to experience vivid dreams connected to the room she’s renting. At first, it seems better than her real-life reality but the glamorous past isn’t what it seems as the rabbit hole gets darker and darker the closer she looks. Naturally, she’s forced to figure it all out before the violent past takes over her real-life present.
The stellar performances from Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy are bound to one another like binary stars. Technically, McKenzie plays the main character Eloise but as you watch things unfold, Taylor-Joy’s Sandie is just as important to the narrative. Not only do they both give fantastic performances, but they are wonderfully complementary. McKenzie’s reserved shyness and buttoned-down stoicism are heightened by Taylor-Joy’s sensual confidence and intensity. Due to the nature of the story and its presentation, they don’t get to work together in the conventional sense very often but that just adds another layer of creativity when they do share scenes.
Edgar Wright’s sense of humor put him on the map and established him as a sought-after filmmaker, but visual storytelling is some of the best in the game. He sat in the director’s chair for this one but also penned the screenplay with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. The story lends itself to ambitious shot-making and Wright put some creative techniques front and center while maintaining a bold color palette. Chung-hoon Chung’s cinematography made the colors pop and allowed the story to come alive in a way that was very inviting. Using the dream space as a way to travel back in time was a lot of fun and the film is at its best when showcasing that and navigating the resulting psychological effects.
One of Wright’s biggest trademarks is his soundtrack selection and this film has another excellent one. Tracks from Dusty Springfield, The Who, The Kinks accompany Taylor-Joy’s rendition of Tony Hatch and Petula Clark’s “Downtown” that haunts the trailer. She also recorded a version of Cilla Black’s “You’re My World” but the biggest Easter eggs in the tracklist go to Barry Ryan’s “Eloise”, “Puppet on a String” by Sandie Shaw the titular song “Last Night in Soho” by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich that Wright was apparently put onto by Quentin Tarantino. Music is such a big part of the storytelling and the soundtrack informs quite a bit of the film’s tone.
Despite mostly positive reviews and solid scores, this movie still underperformed at the box office. It came out at a weird time with Covid still having a major impact, but there was also something missing that I couldn’t quite place. The style, the tone, the performances were all there and the setup is great, but it didn’t quite stick the landing. I left the theater wanting more than I got but was still thoroughly impressed by the production design and costuming, so I’m a little surprised to see that it didn’t make a bigger splash in those areas during awards season.
The supporting cast is led by Matt Smith who plays jack with all the right ingredients to make you hate him. Terrence Stamp plays a mysterious older man who seems lecherous but there’s more to him than meets the eye and he’s not from Cybertron. Diana Riggs, from the 1960s’ classic The Avengers show and more recently as the head of House Tyrell on Game of Thrones, plays Eloise’s landlord Ms. Collins. Michael Ajao gives a strong turn as the hopelessly lovestruck John, who gets more than he bargained for with Eloise.
The bar was set pretty high and maybe it didn’t quite reach those expectations, especially with one of the more hyped trailers of the year, but it’s the kind of film that will gain traction as it hits streaming.
Recommendation: See it for the performances of McKenzie and Taylor-Joy, the awesome soundtrack, and Wright’s visual filmmaking techniques.
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