“Last Night in Soho” Review

Thomasin McKenzie stars as Ellie Turner, a fashion designer plagued with dreams of a past she never experienced, in Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho.”

After making one of my all-time favorite films, “Baby Driver,” in 2017, I was eagerly awaiting director Edgar Wright’s next film. When I saw that “Last Night in Soho” was going to be a horror film, a far cry from Wright’s previously comedic filmography, my intrigue grew. Now that it’s in theaters, I can say that “Last Night in Soho” is definitely an admirable first step into the horror genre thanks to strong visuals, several engaging performances and Wright’s fantastic direction.

Eloise “Ellie” Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) is an aspiring fashion designer, with a fondness for 1960s culture, who moves to London to study at the London College of Fashion. She rents out a room in an old boarding house where she begins to have visions of past events while she dreams. In her dreams, she sees the life of Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), an aspiring singer who seems to be everything Ellie isn’t. But when Ellie’s dreams seem to be more sinister and more real than she previously thought, she tries to find out what happened to Sandie while also trying to not lose her sanity along the way.

Both Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy are easily two of the most talented female actors working today.  McKenzie’s breakout performance in “JoJo Rabbit” and Taylor-Joy’s work in “The Witch,” “Split” and “The Queen’s Gambit” have brought them both considerable praise. However, this film might be their best work, especially McKenzie who perfectly balances vulnerability and insanity in her performance. 

Ellie is far from a perfect character as she is not only moving to London from the country, but is constantly being plagued by inescapable dreams of past sins. At first, it seems that witnessing Sandie’s life is helpful as it brings Ellie out of her shell and gives her ideas for her fashion projects. However, she soon becomes more invested in Sandie’s life to the point where she finds it hard to tell what’s a dream and what’s real. 

You want her to solve the mystery but you have this lingering thought in the back of your head, “what if this is all in her head?” Since her mother had mental health issues, Ellie is afraid of experiencing the same turmoil and you’re hoping that her quest doesn’t consume her.

Anya Taylor-Joy, like Ansel Elgort in “Baby Driver,” doesn’t speak a whole lot but the way she conducts herself physically tells you all you need to know. Sandie is a confident person who is willing to do anything to make it big and there are people who take advantage of that. One of them is her manager Jack (Matt Smith) who eventually becomes a pimp to sell Sandie’s body and soul. The more you learn about Sandie, the more you want her to receive a justice that seems improbable given the time and industry she works in.

Diana Rigg also delivers a good final performance as Ellie’s landlady who knows more about what happened to Sandie than one might realize. Tragically, Rigg died last year after a career of over 60 years and she did an amazing job with “Last Night in Soho” being dedicated in her memory.

Anya Taylor-Joy’s (Left) performance as Sandie and Thomasin Mckenzie as Ellie make for an interesting relationship since Ellie is only able to see and Sandie is unaware of her existence.

While not full of action spectacle like “Baby Driver,” “Hot Fuzz” or “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World,” Edgar Wright does a good job of conveying psychological terror visually with Ellie experiencing terrifying apparitions. While “Shaun of the Dead” has influences of horror, it was played more for laughs. It’s kind of refreshing to see Wright tackle something more serious and he manages to create his most gorgeous looking film yet. 

With cinematographer Chung Chung-hoon, who worked on visually stunning films like “Oldboy,” Wright does a good job of making an atmospheric film that is able to visually state a character’s emotions. Modern London seems icy and distant, reflecting Ellie feeling insignificant while the dream sequences set in the 1960s are visually stunning. 

When interacting with Sandie in the dream world, Ellie isn’t just shown to be standing next to her. She appears in a mirror as Sandie’s reflection, is substituted for her and is even dressed like her. Sometimes she’s experiencing Sanide’s life first-hand, other times as an onlooker. This constantly changing style not only reflects the fluidity of dreams but also shows off some impressive looking effects.

Wright’s direction may be on the mark but his script, co-written with “1917’s” Krysty Wilson-Cairns, has an engaging story with less than seamless transitions between acts. The second act turning into the third act is a bit sloppy with a small reveal to the audience that doesn’t quite work. Not because it’s bad, but there just wasn’t enough time dedicated to make it a true revelation. 

But the third act itself brings the film to a reasonably satisfying conclusion, especially when the mystery of what happened to Sandie takes a surprising turn. While I don’t think that “Last Night in Soho” is as good as“ Baby Driver” and “Hot Fuzz,” Wright’s work is more than a match for his other beloved films. 

For fans of Wright’s work like myself, I was impressed with this story and, like John Krasinski and his “A Quiet Place” films, I think that Wright shows great promise handling serious stories alongside action-comedies. While I’m patiently waiting for a potential sequel to “Baby Driver” that Wright has been teasing, I wouldn’t mind seeing more films like “Last Night in Soho.”