Last Night in Soho Review
Edgar Wright can make just about any movie he wants; I’m almost certain to go see it. My first experience with Wright’s movies was Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which I reviewed here.
I can’t emphasize enough how impactful Edgar Wright’s movies were on my perception of filmmaking. It was the first time I realized that EVERYTHING you see and hear in a film was put there for a reason. Every frame, one after another, is painstakingly put together. Every sound you hear is plugged from the director’s imagination directly into your brain. And Edgar Wright’s movies do that with astonishing joy. Playful hints and jokes abound. Even when things get serious, there’s a certain symmetry to the suffering. More than one of Wright’s films foreshadows the entire story in the first ten minutes.
So, it would be the height of understatement to call me an Edgar Wright “fan.” And it’s probably not surprising that I enjoyed Last Night in Soho, and maybe not surprising that my biggest complaint is that parts of it weren’t Edgar Wright-y enough. But I’ve also spent enough time with his work that I hope I can express to you just how amazing the highs in this film are.
Okay, back to basics. Here’s the premise. Eloise is a fashion student from Cornwall, UK, moving to London for the first time. She’s thrilled. She loves London, particularly the 1960’s era mod-cool her grandmother told her about. She’s talented, excited, and also she sees ghosts, sometimes. After a rocky patch at school, Eloise decides to find a room to rent in Soho.
Cue visions of the groovy 1960’s, and a mysterious woman named “Sandy” that Eloise starts to dream about every night. Eloise becomes obsessed with her visions of Sandy living in the coolest decade of all time… until those visions veer into darkness and force her along for the ride.
In the present, Eloise sees unpleasant reminders of the past that threaten to drive her out of her mind… but if you want to find out more, I’m going to make you go see it.
Remember how I talked about the joy Edgar Wright has creating movies? Well this movie’s first act is a perfect example. The shots of Eloise and Sandy in the 1960’s are alive with color and beautifully bright, bopping along to a perfect soundtrack just like Edgar Wright’s films always do. The clothes are chic, the conversations are cool, and it’s a perfect dream of history.
And then the nightmares set in. They’re no less impressive, but I do find myself missing some of that joy that’s easy to find in Wright’s comedies, the tiny jokes peppered in every couple seconds, like a Shakespeare play where no matter how many times you go back you JUST KEEP FINDING PUNS. Wright’s always been a master of quick cuts and movement on screen, and the first act of the film does the best job of showing off those skills. Afterwards, things are moodier and uglier, more likely to make the skin crawl.
Because as it turns out, and this should surprise no one, the past is not a very kind place to be. To quote Homer Simpson: “I lived in some of that past, and I got out for a reason.” The 1960’s weren’t all glitzy parties and awesome clothes. Being a woman alone in a big city has always, always been dangerous, and people aren’t always what they first appear. Eloise reckoning with the past is painful, but it’s also one of the film’s greatest strengths. We all tend to idealize the past, particularly about our favorite subjects. Trying to find a way to hold on to the good while acknowledging the harm is a battle. It’s always likely to be somewhat unsatisfying, and I think some of that dissatisfaction melts into the film itself: it’s easy to wish parts of the film had gone a different way, to want more “cool London,” or a different kind of antagonist, or different choices from the characters. As for me, I’ve already said it: I wanted a little more Edgar Wright joy to keep me going through the worst of it.
All that being said, the movie is a very fun ride, and I’d be remiss not to give credit to Wright’s co-screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns and Chung-hoon Chung, who handled cinematography. The cast is terrific. Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Diana Riggs, and Michael Ajao all kill it. And I know I’m going to go back over and over to just enjoy the red and blue lights, the heavy shadows, and the rhythm of the movie.
4 nightmares out of 5. Check out the trailer below.
Sure, a lot of movies have the “pop song but it’s spooky” thing going on lately, but I dare you to name a better version.