Filmmaker Edgar Wright has long since found his niche in the movie industry, which has garnered him a loyal following.
Ever since the filmmaker broke into the mainstream with the likes of Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Wright has gone from strength to strength and established himself as an eclectic creative voice with his own unique way of bending genres and successfully blending his writing style with an unusually engaging visual style and all manner of music.
With Last Night in Soho, Wright spins a tale that mixes several genres in this horror/mystery/thriller/coming-of-age drama that tells the story of two young women separated by time. Here, the budding fashion designer Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) finds her psychic powers taking her down a particularly dodgy side street to memory lane, as she slowly begins unravelling the seedy mesh of misfortunes surrounding aspiring entertainer Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) in 1960s London.
As the story unfolds, Wright once again shows his expertise with many impressive sequences of Eloise quite literally becoming Sandie’s shadow as Sandie and the dangerously charming Jack (Matt Smith) swan around town to the beat of a vibrant 1960s soundtrack. With Wright’s attention to detail, this also means that anyone who knows their way around the Soho area of the English capital can vouch for the accuracy of the geography as it is depicted in the film, and this undoubtedly makes the viewing experience that much more fun for any Londoners in the audience.
As the mystery of Sandie consumes Eloise, the horror aspect increases. This includes both the psychological horror of Eloise becoming increasingly obsessed with Sandie and foregoing her own identity as she romanticizes the idea of vicariously living in her beloved 1960s through her connection with Sandra, which in turn escalates the practical horror elements as Eloise loses control of her obsession with Sandie and how this obsession affects her psychic abilities.
Thomasin McKenzie delivers a compelling performance as a young woman going through a both literal and figurative journey as she moves from the idyllic Cornwall to the bustling and, at times, terrifying London. Anya Taylor-Joy is similarly compelling as she portrays a naive woman who also is swallowed up by London in soul-crushing ways.
This juxtaposition of the past and present and how they intersect with common themes of the heart-breaking history of all the young women who get chewed up and spat out by The Big Smoke, the horror of the two leading ladies’ downward spiral grounds the more straightforward jump scares – which, for once, are earned – and the implied horror of being out of one’s depth in a merciless metropolis is frankly much more devastating than who the real villain of the film is revealed to be at the end.
Unfortunately, while the visual spectacle and suspenseful mystery of the first two acts of the film is quite enthralling, the third act does not maintain this momentum, and the film ultimately loses its steam as the proceedings begin to conclude. This is in part due to a certain degree of predictability with the final twist, as well as the intrigue of Sandie’s story and Eloise’s character arc having both wrapped up prior to the somewhat mundane finale.
Last Night in Soho is not among the best of Wright’s work, but considering how high the standard of his work is, his latest effort is still an enjoyable, stylish slice of cinema that manages to compellingly mix British horror styles both past and present to create a fun, if bumpy, ride.
Verdict: 7 out of 10
******
Produced by Nira Park, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Edgar Wright
Screenplay by Edgar Wright, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Story by Edgar Wright
Directed by Edgar Wright
Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy,
Matt Smith, Michael Ajao, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg
