Edgar Wright premiered his latest thriller Last Night In Soho at Fantastic Fest 2021. Cinema Scholar’s Rebecca Elliott was in attendance and shares her thoughts on the new film. Focus Features is releasing Last Night In Soho in theaters nationwide on October 29, 2021.
The film was the first “secret screening” of the renowned genre film festival in Austin, TX at the flagship Alamo Drafthouse location. Theater and festival founder Tim League was on hand to welcome Wright as he introduced his film to the audience. The director also stuck around for a Q & A following the screening.
Introduction
Who hasn’t experienced pangs of nostalgia? While it’s perfectly normal to miss times in life that have passed, people also pine for eras that happened before they were even born. Romanticizing a bygone era is a cornerstone of pop culture and is the stuff from which legends are made.
While options in contemporary entertainment are endless, some still hold a torch for that particular timestamp they can only appreciate in hindsight. Like a sort of unrequited love. For example, fans want to see Elton John in concert, but the dream is to go back and see him pounding the keys and belting his songs at the Troubadour in 1970. Furthermore, people tend to build up a sort of mythology around these precious pockets in history that likely surpasses the true reality of that time.
Like Hollywood in the golden era of cinema or New York City in the heady days of Studio 54, London’s West End district of Soho was a vibrant epicenter of culture and entertainment throughout the 60s. In Edgar Wright’s new picture, Last Night In Soho, the writer/director has crafted a wickedly deceitful tale wrapped in a beautiful love letter to that sweet spot south of Houston in the 1960s.
Premise
Co-scribed by Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Last Night In Soho tells the story of Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie), a young and naive fashion design student fresh off the turnip truck and plunked in the middle of modern-day Soho. Eloise is inspired by the music and fashion of her grandmother’s youth, eschewing the fashion essentials of her contemporaries in favor of vintage 60s designs.
When Eloise moves into the top floor room of a home near her school, her obsession with the era begins to manifest into lucid dreams where she embodies Sandy, a charismatic ingenue enjoying the Soho nightlife in – you guessed it – Eloise’s favorite decade. Just as young Eloise begins to embrace her new nocturnal adventures, Sandy’s exploits take a brutally dark turn. As her dream world begins to crossover into reality, Eloise is forced to look for answers to the questions begged by her sinister visions, while also questioning her intentions and sanity.
Analysis
Spectacular period sequences are not exactly part and parcel of standard horror fare. Yet Wright succeeds in upping the genre ante by setting his chilling story in the context of some dazzling nostalgia. A loving recreation of the 60s Soho club scene layered with the style, landmarks, and iconography of the day saturates every colorful frame of Last Night in Soho.
In a trick of smoke and (literal) mirrors, perfectly choreographed flashbacks seamlessly interchange Eloise and Sandy in dizzying club sequences which helps visually maintain the main character’s vicarious participation in the alternate narrative. Just as the audience becomes as invested in this mysterious universe as Eloise has, Wright abruptly puts the brakes on the glamorous reminiscing and takes a sharp left turn into dramatic territory.
Similar to the bait and switch within the cinematic tones of Last Night In Soho, Wright also pulls off the clever trick of making an unwitting audience fall in love with the bad guy. While this assessment may seem to tread dangerously close to spoilers, rest assured that Last Night In SoHo has its own very unique twists and turns that build to a fascinating meditation on perspective and the ill-informed conclusions people often to jump to.
Soundtrack
Much like the soundtrack-influenced Baby Driver, Wright leans on musical cues from 60s British pop to help encapsulate each scene in a distinct throwback vibe. Similar cheerful overtures later in the film start to take on dark and ironic new meaning as the insidious story unfolds. When the narrative makes its tonal shift, composer Steven Price incorporates a score reminiscent of Italian Giallo films of the 70s and early 80s with a heavier rock sound a lá Dario Argento’s go-to band, Goblin.
Performances
As Eloise, Thomason McKenzie captures the innocence of her character with a wide-eyed naivety that serves as the perfect juxtaposition for such a grim tale. Later in Last Night in Soho, when Eloise’s reality begins to overlap with fantasy, McKenzie’s frantic performance plays it close enough to the edge to make the audience question her sanity as well.
As if her saucer-sized eyes and enchanting talent weren’t enough, Anya Taylor-Joy also gets to show her stuff as a singer in her portrayal of rising star Sandy. The role starts as more of a caricature of a 60s good-time girl with Taylor-Joy serving as a sort of dress-up doll for an endless parade of incredible period fashions. Eventually Sandy breaks from the eye candy treatment allowing Taylor-Joy to go places with her character that nobody expects.
In her final performance, Dame Diana Rigg delights in Last Night In Soho as Eloise’s grandmotherly landlord Miss Collins. While such a character usually serves as the obligatory voice of reason or source of comfort, it’s safe to say that Rigg’s Miss Collins is anything but typical. The fact that this particularly juicy role is Rigg’s last couldn’t be a more perfect ending to such a legendary career.
Further Discussion
Wright nails the flamboyance of the more theatrical scenes in Last Night In Soho, but the darker aspects take a bit longer to build steam. Even as Eloise’s torment begins to mount, the terror level stays at a solid simmer well into the third act when the freakier elements finally crystallize. While there are certainly scary moments, Last Night in Soho is decidedly a more mysterious thriller than nail-biting horror.
It’s also casually hinted that Eloise possesses a sort of “shine” (as a certain famous horror author might say), especially regarding visions of her long-deceased mother. Other subtle clues suggest that the phenomenon is a symptom of some sort of ongoing mental health issues. Though the ambiguity is likely intentional, it does leave the impression that there might be a piece missing from the narrative puzzle.
And if minor missteps are being counted, a supporting performance by veteran actor Terence Stamp never quite seems to fit. Though his character ties into the unfolding drama, his involvement ends up being somewhat insignificant and feels like a missed opportunity within the story.
Conclusion
Minor gripes aside, Last Night In Soho is a truly unique film and a captivating love letter to a beloved bygone era. Come for the gorgeous 1960s nostalgia, and stay for the uniquely twisted thriller. Focus Features is releasing Last Night In Soho in theaters nationwide on October 29, 2021.
