Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, Edgar Wright’s stylish new psychological thriller. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite
“You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares,” sings Petula Clark in Downtown, one of the key songs featured in Edgar Wright’s latest film, Last Night In Soho. That’s most certainly not true for poor Eloise Turner (Thomasin McKenzie), a young fashion student who clings to nostalgia in the wake of her mother’s suicide a few years ago. Eloise, you see, is both gifted and cursed with a special ability – she sees visions of the past and is frequently visited by her passed-on parent (Aimee Cassettari). The pressure builds when she’s accepted to study at the London College of Fashion, and Cornwall resident Eloise, who has happy memories of a trip to the Big City with her mum back in the day, is excited to start living her own life. Except it’s not what she expected: her fellow students are mostly catty, privileged types and she still feels like an outsider. Fleeing the dorms, she winds up in a bedsit run by Miss Collins (legendary actor Diana Rigg in her final performance) and at night, sleep – and her power – draws Eloise to a glittering, trendy 1960s London. There, she observes Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), another young woman who came to the city with a big dream, only for it to become even more of a nightmare…
Last Night In Soho finds Wright at the height of his powers. He’s known for the witty, zippy likes of Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, while his most recent film, Baby Driver blended music with car stunts and quippy criminals. This, though, while still lushly visual and filled with period-appropriate tunes, is a leap forward. Which is not to say that the Cornetto Trilogy, Pilgrim, or Baby Driver are in any way bad – I’ve loved pretty much everything Wright has made since the days of Spaced on TV. It’s just that Soho represents him truly embracing the thriller side of his cinematic obsessions and cooking up a story (along with co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns, who previously worked on1917) that transports you back to a London that, on the surface, seems glitzy and cool but that which hides real horrors for the unsuspecting.
I won’t go into the plot specifics too much beyond the basic setup above, as this is a movie that is best watched knowing as little as possible. But Wright captures a real sense of atmosphere, and both the modern-day moments and the trips back in time look great thanks to cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung’s superior camerawork and top jobs from all the departments. The London of the past looks great, and it’s easy to see why Eloise is seduced by it all. This is truly McKenzie and Taylor-Joy’s film, yet there are also excellent, memorable performances from Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, Michael Ajao, and, of course, Rigg. Credit also to Steven Price, who layers creepiness into the score and complements the playlist Wright has plugged into this.
Last Night In Soho casts a spell that isn’t easily shaken, and I’m hopeful that awards bodies will recognize it – it’s truly an accomplishment for Wright, who had already established himself as a quality filmmaker. This is one step beyond.
Last Night In Soho is in UK and US cinemas now.