Last Night in Soho - Movie Review

Nostalgia is a strange thing. There is a phenomenon every decade where start to crave for nostalgic things from 30 years ago, the "Nostalgia Pendulum." While it is a great thing to have every now and then I have found recently that Nostalgia can be weaponized in a dangerous manner. Or maybe that's just companies using our nostalgia to get as much money out of our pockets as possible. Whatever the case, nostalgia affects all of us in some way, shape, or form. So in this week's review we're talking about a new film that delves into the past in ways both good and bad: Last Night in Soho.

Last Night in Soho revolves around Eloise "Ellie" Turner (Thomasin McKenzie), a young woman who moves to London from the countryside to fulfill her dream as a fashion designer. But after some trouble trying to fit in with the modern world of London she moves to an old apartment in Soho. But on her first night in her new room she is somehow pulled into the past and transported to the lively 1960s. There she walks side by side with a woman named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) and this past gives her confidence to live her life better in the present. But very soon her dives into the past begin to muddle with her reality and soon the ghosts of the past begin to haunt her in the present time to the point that both timelines begin to merge as one for her. The only clue she has to all of this is Sandie, but who is Sandie really? How can she learn about a woman from all those years ago?

Edgar Wright directed this movie and he has never made a miss in my book. The Cornetto Trilogy, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Baby Driver, all those films are incredibly good and I've watched them all multiple times. So of course I was going to see his newest movie and his return to horror. But this time it isn't horror comedy, but mystery horror. The man is a master behind the camera and with his cast and crew! He not only knows how to work with his cast and crew, but also knows what audiences want out of their films. That's why many of his films are considered cult classics and are still lovingly watched to this day. There was no doubt in my mind I was going into a theater to see this film and it was definitely worth my money.

The performances were very strong in this movie. Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy were very good, but I was also very happy with Matt Smith as Jack, Sandie's boyfriend and manager. He was kind of one of the other big reasons I wanted to see the movie because I haven't seen him do much since his time in Doctor Who. But now he's in this and he's joining the MCU at the start of next year with Morbius (even though that film is going to be released by Sony). But McKenzie was absolutely the star of the movie because her acting was fantastic. She felt very out of place, living in the countryside for so long and now living in the city, she didn't fit in. But Sandie changed her in a positive way at first, but then she start to lose her mind and it was so believable. I noticed bags under her eyes, her hair and clothing becoming more disorderly, and her attitude becoming more erratic, stressed, and terrified.

Our mystery of the film surrounding Sandie was also pretty good. At first it's curiosity that drives Ellie to learn more about Sandie and indulging herself in the memories of the past. Through small snippets we (the audience) and Ellie learn more about this mysterious girl and her journey throughout London. I feel like people will quickly guess what kind of person Sandie was since her type of story has been done before, but I don't think that will stop people from being curious about her. Having almost zero knowledge of what to expect I enjoyed what I watched because the storytelling execution was solid in my book. There were enough twists and turns in the plot and having Ellie having little control over what she could see kept me and her wanting to learn more.

Now I did find some of the mistreatment of women to be over-the-top. Like in her first taxi ride in London she is a little short on cash and driver is like, "Well we can come to OTHER forms of payment," and then is waiting outside a corner store for her to come out in a little bit like a creepy stalker. That was a little ridiculous. Yes, that happens, but people are not THAT OPEN about it. Or at least I hope that's it because I'm a man and so I am unable to fully experience the horrible treatment that women can go through. Saying this though the depiction of sexism in the 1960s London did feel on point and I really felt the right type of uncomfortable for Sandie and the way Jack eventually started to treat her. I kept wanting to tell Sandie to get out of the life she got stuck in because I could understand that she was in a horrible place that could go nowhere but down. While I did feel that we never got to fully see her suffer I was able to imagine the missing parts enough to get what was going on. Besides, even if it's a rated R I had a feeling there wasn't going to full on sex shown.

The scares of the movie come from the film the predatory behavior of the men that haunt Sandie and now Ellie. For Ellie's situation she is a character who is in an unfamiliar environment being overwhelmed by her situation. There's a point in the film where Ellie becomes so tired and frazzled she almost stabs a real person when she thinks she stabbing one of her supernatural beings that haunt her. There are scene in a bedroom that got under my skin and made me bungle my legs up because there was so much... invasion on Ellie's comfort zone and space. Matt Smith's performance from suave lady's man to demanding and hostile control freak was terrifying and I quickly went from loving him to fearing him.

Other than slightly overblown treatment of women and a few moments where the CGI could have been better, the only other problem I had was that script had its flaws. One big element I think a lot of audiences will not understand is Ellie's "sixth sense" being the reason she can see these apparitions and her dead mother. That power is barely explained and that could kill a lot of people's interest in the film. At the beginning we do see Ellie seeing her dead mother, but they have a conversation so I unless I didn't know beforehand I could interpreted this as a slight madness to her. That could be used in the film to explain why she's seeing things, but it might not be the best answer for other viewers. I also felt some sequences in the script were unneeded due to how little they affected the overall story. Saying this though I thought the the script was mostly a success due to Wright's directing skills.

To end on a strong positive note, Edgar Wright's style of directing was ever present throughout Last Night in Soho, meaning he put in a ton of creative choices to make the film feel alive visually while cleverly explaining the story. I absolutely loved the editing of the film along with how scenes were able to transition so well with each other. There is a heavy use of mirrors throughout the film and the effects used for those shots blew my mind and I'm still trying to figure out how it's done. The sets were great, the costumes very good for both the modern and 1960s, and I could connect with a lot of the characters. Really sad this got pushed back so much due to COVID, but now that it's out it's time to go in and see it.

Once again Edgar Wright has made a wonderful film with Last Night in Soho. It has some script flaws and some people might be put off by the feminist vibes might emit, but the story was great, the effects amazing, and it got pretty dang scary at times. Do not pass by this film, it's got good thrills and chills and has an interesting kind of story that doesn't get shown much in Hollywood. I know Dune has taken over the box office, but don't let that cause you to pass up other films that are coming out because you might be missing out on a new cult classic~

Tentative Score: 8.25/10

This film was also Diana Rigg's last performance. I know her mostly from Game of Thrones and her stellar performance as Olenna Tyrell, but I'm pretty damn sure she has had a very eccentric list of films she's before that (former) HBO hit. Rest in peace woman, you've done a lot of great stuff with your life. On another note, there is a sequence with flashing lights that could affect those with such diseases that causes seizures. So be careful if you're attending this movie.