Soho, part of the West End of London, is vivacious, glowing, and seductive in Last Night in Soho. Though, looks can be deceiving as it can also be fucking torture, of which Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) and Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy) will come to know all too well. Eloise (aka Ellie) has had a rural upbringing thanks to her grandmother (Rita Tushingham), the only family she has left after her father abandoned her a long time ago and her mentally ill mother committed suicide. Her grandmother’s love for London in the swingin’ Sixties has inarguably rubbed off on Ellie. From the fashion to the music, she’s fallen head over heels for a bygone era that soothes her soul.
So, you can imagine Ellie’s excitement when she’s admitted to a fashion school right smack dab in the middle of where all of the action is in central London. Though as we’re reminded, London can be a lot. Ellie is not off to a good start when she gets to school and almost immediately doesn’t fit in. She leaves her catty dorm roomie Jocasta (Synnove Karlsen), along with her snobby posse, in a hurry for an upstairs room that hasn’t been touched in decades – just the way Ellie likes it. The owner of the house, Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg), is strict and has rules that must be followed, yet Ellie’s new digs begin to make her dreams of what London was and is come true. And when she goes to sleep, it becomes a time machine for her, launching her back to the past of when Soho was grooving to the Sixties.
That’s when she meets Sandy, a young and confident blonde bombshell, who wants to sing on stage under the bright lights. It appears to be her lucky day when she’s introduced to Jack (Matt Smith), a slick, specious manager who can make her a star. But in showbiz – she has to start somewhere and it’s not pretty. Whether Ellie sees Sandy from across the room, in a reflection, or she is her – the glitz, glamour, and romance they are each hypnotized by from the 1960s is only a fantasy. Fed by trauma and revenge, when the wicked twists and turns hit head-on, Last Night in Soho finally reveals itself to be a horror flick, but one of a different kind. There are a handful of splendid performances, though McKenzie’s performance takes the cake. In exhibiting a wide-range of emotions, she makes it look effortless. And in her final role, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, Rigg’s commanding presence is felt from the moment she appears on screen.
This is a genre-bending, visually stylish, and consuming thriller where mystery, madness, and murder dance a transcendent yet disturbing dance that no other director could pull off quite like Edgar Wright. His transitioning amid tones and the past and present are never distracting and cleverly executed. More so, the music never misses – rocking the sounds of an age we’re allured in to. Last Night in Soho is indeed unlike anything Wright has done before, constituting a distinct vibe that it wears eerily well.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
Check out the SoBros Shop. Become a Patron. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Watch on YouTube.
