I have called London my home for just over three years at the time of writing this review. My move was the culmination of many reasons, education, work, love, and a need to escape the small town where I used to live which I had for some time felt was painfully too small. I had ambitions, and as for so many like myself, London was the place where they could come alive.
Edgar Wright is one of the best British filmmakers in the industry today, with his iconic Cornetto trilogy being a staple of British culture, and films like Scott Pilgrim & Baby Driver showcasing the man’s incredible ability to use music and clever editing to do most the story’s heavy lifting. So, to say I was excited for Last Night in Soho is a bit of an understatement, in fact it was one of my most anticipated films of the entire year. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed with the end product.
Swinging Sixties fanatic Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) moves to London to study fashion design; but being an atypical, introverted loner who doesn’t fit in with the modern youth because of her dated sensibilities, Ellie leaves her student accommodation to live in a nearby bedsit. Ellie then has vivid dreams of 1960’s London and a woman named Sandie (Anya Taylor Joy) who used to live in Ellie’s room. But when Ellie’s visions take a sinister turn, and she believes she has witnessed a murder; Ellie’s dreams begin to bleed into reality as she makes a desperate attempt to reveal the killer.
Edgar Wright is one of the best British filmmakers in the industry today, with his iconic Cornetto trilogy being a staple of British culture, and films like Scott Pilgrim & Baby Driver showcasing the man’s incredible ability to use music and clever editing to do most the story’s heavy lifting. So, to say I was excited for Last Night in Soho is a bit of an understatement, in fact it was one of my most anticipated films of the entire year. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed with the end product.
Swinging Sixties fanatic Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) moves to London to study fashion design; but being an atypical, introverted loner who doesn’t fit in with the modern youth because of her dated sensibilities, Ellie leaves her student accommodation to live in a nearby bedsit. Ellie then has vivid dreams of 1960’s London and a woman named Sandie (Anya Taylor Joy) who used to live in Ellie’s room. But when Ellie’s visions take a sinister turn, and she believes she has witnessed a murder; Ellie’s dreams begin to bleed into reality as she makes a desperate attempt to reveal the killer.
If you’re not sold on that premise alone then I don’t really know what else could possibly convince you that Last Night in Soho is a thrilling murder mystery with plenty of unexpected twists and turns hidden up it sleeves. But if you are one of those people, here is why you should be seeking this film out as soon as you can.
I was personally invested in Ellie’s story from the word go, because aside from witnessing murders in my sleep I have had a relatively similar experience of moving to London myself. I was a country boy that had wild expectations of moving to the big city, about how fun it was going to be living in the middle of it all. But the reality of living in London is that it’s usually overwhelming, often kind of scary, and that nobody can truly prepare you for what you’ll experience. London, much like the fashion industry Ellie wants to break into will chew you up and spit you out if you let it.
London is as much a major character in this film as any of its cast. Wright has brought the city to life in two different eras, the neon lit, and noir film inspired 1960’s; and the claustrophobic maze that is the modern day. The 1960’s London doesn’t look all that different from what I know London to be now, but yet at the same time it feels like a totally different world. It is simultaneously utterly mesmerising, and totally terrifying.
But that’s not to say Soho’s supporting cast are overshadowed by the location as everybody turns out an impressive performance; particularly the late Diana Rigg who plays Ellie’s landlady, whenever she is in a scene she commands attention, and particularly late in the film with some of the scenes she shares with McKenzie are among the film’s absolute best. Matt Smith shows us his sinister side as Jack, Sandie’s ‘manager’ in a performance that often left me paralyzed in fear.
The only weak link is John (Michael Ajao) and it’s got nothing to do with his performance. Unfortunately, the character isn’t given much to do, but he has a lot of screentime, and it means he’s reduced to spending the entire film chasing after Ellie and repeatedly asking if she’s ok. Had his character not been there then I don’t think the film would have been any different. Ajao does a good job with he material he’s given, but he really didn’t need to be there at all.
I was personally invested in Ellie’s story from the word go, because aside from witnessing murders in my sleep I have had a relatively similar experience of moving to London myself. I was a country boy that had wild expectations of moving to the big city, about how fun it was going to be living in the middle of it all. But the reality of living in London is that it’s usually overwhelming, often kind of scary, and that nobody can truly prepare you for what you’ll experience. London, much like the fashion industry Ellie wants to break into will chew you up and spit you out if you let it.
London is as much a major character in this film as any of its cast. Wright has brought the city to life in two different eras, the neon lit, and noir film inspired 1960’s; and the claustrophobic maze that is the modern day. The 1960’s London doesn’t look all that different from what I know London to be now, but yet at the same time it feels like a totally different world. It is simultaneously utterly mesmerising, and totally terrifying.
But that’s not to say Soho’s supporting cast are overshadowed by the location as everybody turns out an impressive performance; particularly the late Diana Rigg who plays Ellie’s landlady, whenever she is in a scene she commands attention, and particularly late in the film with some of the scenes she shares with McKenzie are among the film’s absolute best. Matt Smith shows us his sinister side as Jack, Sandie’s ‘manager’ in a performance that often left me paralyzed in fear.
The only weak link is John (Michael Ajao) and it’s got nothing to do with his performance. Unfortunately, the character isn’t given much to do, but he has a lot of screentime, and it means he’s reduced to spending the entire film chasing after Ellie and repeatedly asking if she’s ok. Had his character not been there then I don’t think the film would have been any different. Ajao does a good job with he material he’s given, but he really didn’t need to be there at all.
Last Night in Soho is not your typical Edgar Wright film for multiple reasons. Firstly, the man has almost exclusively made comedy films in the past, but Last Night in Soho would arguably fall into the horror genre. Now whilst Soho does have the occasional jump scare and paranormal visions, the stereotypical horror elements never become overbearing or distract from the main focus of the film which is ultimately a message about female empowerment, and the terrifying ordeals women often unfortunately face.
But as well as this, Soho is considerably more traditional than Wright’s usual output. His filmmaking style is usually typified by pacing the edit to some punchy music, or layering shots together in panels. They’re fast paced and erratic, but without ever being messy. Soho instead feels far more subdued, shots linger eerily, and you’ll never have an instance of two things happening on screen at the same time in two different panels. But Soho does retain a lot of Wright’s DNA despite this, with the use of mirrors being one extremely clear example of how to tell a story in two places at once without the need for quick cuts and panels (and it’s the best use of mirror’s I’ve arguably ever seen). Often in the film you’ll see mirrors in scenes that contain either Ellie or Sandie depending on who’s world we’re existing in, and often as one character passes by the camera they’ll transform before our eyes into the other without ever having to leave the scene. It’s time periods co-existing with each other thanks to a little film trickery and clever editing, allowing a woman in the modern day to be able to live the life of a woman in the 1960’s without ever leaving either time period entirely.
The music as well is fantastic and still a driving force of the film, but rather than the editing pace being set by the speed of the song (as in Baby Driver) it is instead there to move the characters in a particular way. Most of the movement in Soho is an extremely elaborate dance so precise you’d hardly even notice its there until it wants you to. The way people glide across the set is a beauty to behold and it’s all driven by the songs. Taylor Joy’s rendition of Petula Clark’s ‘Downtown’ is hauntingly beautiful and a true standout moment of the film.
Last Night in Soho is simply fantastic. It’s not Wright’s best film, but it is his most adventurous with him clearly dipping his toes into unfamiliar territory and making something completely unique in the process. With incredible performances, a brilliant story, an amazing soundtrack, and some absolutely gorgeous set design and cinematography, Last Night in Soho will certainly be a contender for my best films of 2021 list. Fantastical and frightening in equal measure, this is a film you shouldn’t miss.
But as well as this, Soho is considerably more traditional than Wright’s usual output. His filmmaking style is usually typified by pacing the edit to some punchy music, or layering shots together in panels. They’re fast paced and erratic, but without ever being messy. Soho instead feels far more subdued, shots linger eerily, and you’ll never have an instance of two things happening on screen at the same time in two different panels. But Soho does retain a lot of Wright’s DNA despite this, with the use of mirrors being one extremely clear example of how to tell a story in two places at once without the need for quick cuts and panels (and it’s the best use of mirror’s I’ve arguably ever seen). Often in the film you’ll see mirrors in scenes that contain either Ellie or Sandie depending on who’s world we’re existing in, and often as one character passes by the camera they’ll transform before our eyes into the other without ever having to leave the scene. It’s time periods co-existing with each other thanks to a little film trickery and clever editing, allowing a woman in the modern day to be able to live the life of a woman in the 1960’s without ever leaving either time period entirely.
The music as well is fantastic and still a driving force of the film, but rather than the editing pace being set by the speed of the song (as in Baby Driver) it is instead there to move the characters in a particular way. Most of the movement in Soho is an extremely elaborate dance so precise you’d hardly even notice its there until it wants you to. The way people glide across the set is a beauty to behold and it’s all driven by the songs. Taylor Joy’s rendition of Petula Clark’s ‘Downtown’ is hauntingly beautiful and a true standout moment of the film.
Last Night in Soho is simply fantastic. It’s not Wright’s best film, but it is his most adventurous with him clearly dipping his toes into unfamiliar territory and making something completely unique in the process. With incredible performances, a brilliant story, an amazing soundtrack, and some absolutely gorgeous set design and cinematography, Last Night in Soho will certainly be a contender for my best films of 2021 list. Fantastical and frightening in equal measure, this is a film you shouldn’t miss.