Last Night In Soho Review
8.5/10
Many of us have felt disconnected from our own time, that longing to be a part of another era we feel closer to despite not even being born then. We often grow out of that yearning, but sometimes those feelings never completely fade. Connecting with art from a previous era can be a way to help carve an identity to feel like you belong. People back then look like they had their lives figured out. Maybe, we think, that can help me feel comfortable in my own skin. We can romanticize an era by this love for the art. I absolutely do that with films and music from the 1970s. I’m well aware that decade was far from a fairytale wonderland, but the art from that era speaks, not to the point of literally being transported there, but to the extent that the work of artists from the past will always resonate profoundly with me. Last Night In Soho is a psychological breakdown of this emphasis so many of us put on nostalgia. What makes it such a wonderful film is the many layers it has beyond the deconstruction of the past. It’s a poignant coming-of-age story about a young woman feeling like an outsider in her own world, a haunting psychological thriller, and a grand gothic horror tale all in one film.
We are introduced to Eloise, or Ellie as she prefers to be called, played brilliantly by Thomasin McKenzie. She brings so much emotional complexity and subtlety to the role. I remember first seeing her in the film Leave No Trace, where I could tell she was destined for great things. She can tell a more powerful story with the expression in eyes than most actors can tell in an entire film. There are certain moments in Soho that I found myself really relating to. When her awful roommate Jocasta is having a party, she sits in the corner wearing headphones, listening to ‘60s music. I remember in high school doing the same thing. During break period; when everyone else was hanging out, having a great time, I was sitting in the corner by myself listening to the same kind of music as Ellie. It was a great way to tune out the world, as she does. The film sets up her character perfectly. We know upfront how much she loves the 60’s. Her wall is covered in posters from the era and she recreates dances from that time. She wants to be fashion designer and moves to London to study at the London College of Fashion.
She meets a group of mostly terrible students who mock her and find her shy nature weird and off-putting. The only person she can really talk to is John, a fellow student who sees she is struggling and wants to help. Michael Ajao brings so much charm and genuine warmth to the character. Ellie is soon fed up with her dreadful roommate and discovers an ad for a bedsit owned by the elderly Ms. Collins. Collins is played by the iconic Diana Rigg. Her role is a fantastic tribute to a true great of cinema. She will be very missed. The room is perfect for Ellie, even with the constant blinking neon light outside. The first night, Ellie has a vivid dream where she is transported back in time to the 60’s at the Café de’ Paris, where a confident singer, Sandie, inquires about performing at the club. She is pawned off on the charming Jack, played with bountiful sleaze by Matt Smith.
This is where the horror elements start to enter gradually. We are really immersed in the Soho world, every street and building become a character in the world. The film does a magnificent job portraying the ‘60s; it never feels like a caricature of the era. Before the nightmares start, I really felt swept away in the dream of the city. Ellie is fascinated by Sadie and the life she leads. She starts designing a retro dress inspired by these dreams. The other students make fun of her love for the vintage look, but Sadie feels like she has found her calling with this style. Her hopes are elated in unison with Sadie’s. Those joyful moments dissolve into darkness as Ellie’s time-traveling descends down a darker path.
Sadie is not living this idyllic life Ellie imagines. She is in fact being pimped out by Jack to his business associates. This is where the deconstruction of nostalgia truly begins. Ellie begins to dread every night, being forced to observe as Sadie is stuck in her horrific circumstances, traumatized and unable to leave. This is where one of my very few issues with the film come into play. I felt the dream sequences could have established the terrible nature of her world more gradually. The film goes from hopeful idealism, to horrifying a bit too quickly. I think it would have made those shocking moments more powerful if the film built up her torment more. Show more early moments where she feels like her future is bright while hinting at the oncoming darkness before going full on with the horror.
As her dreams delve deeper into Sadie’s trauma, Ellie see’s the ghostly echoes from the past in her present. These haunting scenes are eerie and genuinely creepy, but I felt like a bit more could have been done to add variety to the scares. After a while I got used to seeing the ghosts to the point where they didn’t have the same impact. They are incredibly effective and have a compelling reason to be there, but I would have loved to see the film mix it up with more psychological terror beyond the spirits. Those are my only real issues with the film. It’s a fantastic and engrossing story with brilliant direction by Edgar Wright. He’s been one of my favorite directors for years; the craft on display here is extraordinary. This is an absolutely stunning-looking film. I wanted to pause it multiple times to admire Chung Chung-Hoon’s gorgeous cinematography.
Much has been said about how great Anya Taylor-Joy is for good reason. She has a unique almost ethereal yet incredibly powerful on-screen presence that I remember really standing out when I saw The Witch. She reminds me of a young Bette Davis. I can’t imagine anyone else playing Sadie. She is strong and vulnerable at the same time. Despite those minor issues I mentioned, what makes the film resonate so much with me was how emotionally grounded it was. Horror is a difficult genre to get right. It’s very easy to veer into camp and over-the-top territory, especially when tackling such an ambitious concept. Wright’s many influences are on display here, from Dario Argento to Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and others. He channels those voices into his own unique vision, one that is informed by great filmmakers from the past rather than reliant on it.
A lot has been said about the ending of the film. Many are divided on a certain plot point. Some feel it betrays the message of the film, that somehow it ruins what the film was building up to. I feel quite the opposite. I absolutely loved the way the film concluded. It’s difficult to go into details about why it worked so well. Without spoiling it, since you really should see it for yourself, I’ll just summarize the main reason why I really liked the ending. A trauma can manifest in countless ways, from internal struggle to lashing out at those around you. When someone is stuck in that state of perpetual anguish, that cycle can be almost impossible to break. We are supposed to feel conflicted by the actions on display in the ending, much like we are torn about our feelings on the past. That is the whole point of the film’s message of nostalgia and breaking an endless cycle. Edgar Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns expertly conveyed that point in their writing.
