It’s been two days since I saw Edgar Wright’s new film, Last Night in Soho, and in those two days I’ve tried to convince myself that I enjoyed it. I wouldn’t call this mindset a biased opinion, but it acts in the same fashion. I’ve loved everything Edgar Wright has made, from Spaced to the Cornetto Trilogy, Scott Pilgrim to Baby Driver, and you can’t leave out the Don’t trailer from Grindhouse. His films are a harmony of energy created from his blending of humor and another particular genre – sometimes its been horror, other times science-fiction, or action. He’s especially adept in his editing, using it as tool to further his films’ overall tone. He’s a singular filmmaker and deserves more wide acclaim than he’s already received. With Last Night in Soho he takes a different path, dropping the humor and making an all out horror/mystery revolving around a connection between two young women living decades apart. While it’s his most subdued effort in many ways, it still manages to be all style. The problem is that the direction the story takes didn’t sustain enough momentum in order for me to stay invested. There’s other glaring issues as well among its secondary characters and the way the narrative wraps up. At first I tried to tell myself that I still enjoyed it, when the truth is that only enjoyed certain aspects, namely the visuals, overall style and the two lead performances. When it comes to Edgar Wright, I’m usually way more enthusiastic.
The movie opens in modern-day England, where lover of fashion Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) learns that she has been accepted into a trendy London school for designers. Ellie is a quiet, kind and determined young woman with a loving grandmother who’s concerned about Ellie being stressed from living in the big city. The concern is due to Ellie having past issues with seeing her dead mother who committed suicide. Once in London, Ellie quickly determines she’s not a good match for the lifestyle concerning her bitchy roommate, Jocasta (Synnove Karlsen). She moves out of the dorm and rents a studio apartment from an elderly woman, Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg), who lays down a series of rules, such no men allowed. Ellie loves the apartment; however, as Ellie lies down at night, she is transported to the mid-1960s – an era she idolizes – and gets to look at the vibrant world through the eyes of aspiring singer Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). At first, Sandie seems to be the type of person in complete control of every room she steps in, causing Ellie to becomes addicted to going to sleep at night so she can re-connect with the young woman she aspires to be. It all starts to crumble though, as Sandie’s lover/manager Jack (Matt Smith) shows his cruelty, slowly breaking the spirit of the young girl. During the day, Ellie becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Sandie 55 years earlier, but the trail has gone cold and no one believes her visions. The only clue is a mysterious old man (Terence Stamp) with a familiar look who may know the answers. There’s also the issue of of Ellie being followed by spirits that may or may not be real.
The initial set-up of the film is excellent, being a sort of inverse Hot Fuzz. The first few scenes where Ellie encounters Sandie are some of the movie’s best, allowing Wright to show off his usual talents. It isn’t long before the narrative loses its luster though. Once Ellie begins to become obsessed with trying to find out what happened to Sandie along with her having visions of ghouls, it’s an obsession that just wasn’t thrilling to watch. This is mostly due to Ellie’s interactions in modern day with the other characters, who for the most part are terrible. There’s Jocasta, who the film gives zero reason to be such a bitch. This isn’t inherently an issue, but the character is used for nothing other than an obvious obstacle. The flip side to her coin is a young man named John (Michael Ajao), who spends the film being nice to Ellie because he likes her. I don’t know if Wright was trying to make some sort of commentary with the character, but good lord at some point it felt like a joke that the film wasn’t in on. The only scenes that really worked during the entire last half of the movie are the ones involving Terrance Stamp and the late Diana Rigg. Then things wrap up in too neat of bow that’s shredded via plot holes. I suppose that if I could buy the time traveling dreams, I should be able to buy the ending. The real problem is that it feels cheap and the social commentary that Wright’s going for isn’t earned because of that cheapness. Having just seen The Last Duel, it was interesting how that film was able to take the past and make it relevant for today’s treatment of women in the sense that the more things have changed the more they’ve stayed the same. Wright is going for something similar and he has the right idea in his approach. It simply doesn’t land.
While the film is selling itself on Anya Taylor-Joy, this is Thomasin McKenzie’s movie. She’s in nearly every moment of this film, and flourishes in the whirlwind Wright puts her through. Her character is instantly easy to root for, and to be honest if she wasn’t so likable I may really hated this one. My concern for Ellie finding out what happened to Sandie rested on hoping Ellie would make it out of the film in one piece, and that’s all due to McKenzie. This isn’t to write off Taylor-Joy, who continues her streak of being one the most watchable young performers we have. She makes Sandie’s decent painful to watch. She also has one hell of a singing voice. Matt Smith is solid as the charming turned creep Jack. Terrance Stamp and Diana Rigg are also wonderful. I’m not sure if Rigg had shot anything else before she passed away, if not then her work here is a fine end.
The film is beautifully photographed by Chung-hoon Chung, bringing Wright’s Don’t Look Now/Suspiria influences to colorful life. Due to the film not being a comedy Wright’s toned his editing style down a bit, though its still used to strong effect when its there. I especially liked a sequence where Sandie is bought one drink after another by a different man. This type of editing is Wright at his best in the way it tells us everything that Sandie is going through. I did find the ghoul’s design to be uninspired though. The horror elements in the film were more annoying to me than threating. The soundtrack is killer as expected.
All in all, I’m pretty disappointed, especially considering Wright’s track record. That isn’t to suggest that I wouldn’t line up for his next ten films right this instant. It just suggests that this really was my last night in Soho.
Grade: C+
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