A deep dive into 60s Swinging London, or should I say ‘dream dive’, Edgar Wright follows up his 2017 hit Baby Driver with another film that gets its title from a song – Last Night in Soho (a 1967 single by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mich & Tich – I know, quite the band name).
Set in the present day, Eloise ‘Ellie’ Turner (Thomasin McKenzie – Jojo Rabbit) is a fragile, mousy young woman who has immersed herself in 60s culture. . . constantly listening to records of the time, her dream is to bring the swinging era’s fashion back. Leaving for fashion school in Soho, she is still haunted by her mother’s suicide – something that happened when she was just a young child (in fact, she sometimes sees her mother’s spirit in the mirror).
Not all it’s cracked up to be, the school and its teachers are excellent, but leaving home introduces her to a group of bullysome young women, creepily leering men (both old and young). . . including a menacing former playboy (Terence Stamp), and a neon-infused sensory overload for someone who grew up in quiet rural Cornwall. Her only ally is a kindly fellow student, John (Michael Ajao) – who clearly has a crush on her.
Quickly moving off campus to find some peace of mind (meaning she also has to take a job as a bartender – adding further stress), Ellie rents from a rules-bound elderly woman, Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg – the Bond girl and all-round icon’s final role), finding herself in an attic bedroom constantly lit by rotating flashes of red and blue. Opening her spiritual senses, her first sleep brings with it a vividly real dream.
Her reflection becoming that of a blonde looking to make it big in 60s Soho, Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), she is seemingly everything Ellie isn’t – confident, driven, and a true fashionista. Promptly latching on to Jack (Matt Smith), the man promises to drive her singing career forward.
Influencing her confidence in the real world, Ellie starts bringing the fashion she sees in this dream world to vivid life, but also becomes more fragile as she becomes more submerged in this visual past. . . in turn, also making her more susceptible to the supernatural world (or could it more likely be mental illness?).
A dream that slowly seeps into uncontrollable nightmare, Wright teases us into this sultry sixties landscape (a dance scene that looks like an ultra-cool hybrid of Bande à part meeting Pulp Fiction, Sandie getting an audition singing Petula Clark’s “Downtown”, the flashing neon lights, slick nightclub architecture. . . and so much more), only for this false facade to give way to something much more sinister. Drama makes way for mystery, only to then devolve into horror, a multi-genre experience that is quite impressively executed. Though it does have a couple of flaws (a few lapses in narrative judgement and a need for the horror to be a bit more scary), the unorthodox balancing act pays off nicely – a truly atmospheric visual stunner with solid twists, seductive story, and sensational soundtrack (on top of the above mentioned tunes, listen for Peter and Gordon, Dusty Springfield, John Barry, The Who, The Kinks, Siouxsie and the Banshees, as well as so many more). It also worth noting, like in Baby Driver, a song sharing the same name as the main character, in this film’s case, “Eloise” (by Barry Ryan), plays in the background and leads to important discussion. It is no surprise then that stunning transitions and sharp editing seamlessly fuse with the soundtrack to great effect.
A trip down memory lane (though I never said it was always a pleasant lane), Last Night in Soho is a most worthwhile watch from 2021. Further proof that Wright is at the top of his game, he has united quality cast and crew to develop another visual masterpiece for the eyes, and auditory soundscape for the ears. Highly original, it is another refreshing example of a movie that doesn’t fall into the trap of being a sequel, remake, or simply blockbuster bait – in some ways akin to Bad Times at the El Royale. Lastly, note the impressive use of mirrors throughout the feature – holding an enthrallingly gothic, Freudian, and somewhat Poe-esque connection. So, make last night tonight and watch this intriguing motion picture, it will give you something to reflect on.