Last Night in Soho

Last Night in Soho

A young girl, passionate about fashion design, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters her idol, a dazzling wannabe singer. But 1960s London is not what it seems, and time seems to be falling apart with shady consequences.

  • Released: 2021-10-21
  • Runtime: 117 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, Horror, Thrillers
  • Stars: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg, Synnøve Karlsen, Rita Tushingham, Lisa McGrillis, Michael Jibson, Andrew Bicknell, Michael Ajao, Colin Mace, Oliver Phelps, Jessie Mei Li, Lee Byford, Will Rogers, Will Rowlands, Margaret Nolan, Katrina Vasilieva, Kassius Nelson, Georgie Banks, Rebecca Harrod, Sam Parks, Connor Calland, Nick Owenford, Josh Zaré, Adam Sopp, Nina Kumar, Maud Druine, Joakim Skarli, Lati Gbaja, Georgina Frances Hart, Barbara Orti, Richard Price, Paul Riddell, Grace Binford Sheene, Jacob Trup, Morgan Bull, Sam Claflin, Elizabeth Berrington, Pauline McLynn, Aimée Cassettari, Alan Mahon, Jacqui-Lee Pryce, James Phelps, Beth Singh, Paul Brightwell, Will Rogers, Terence Frisch, Celeste Dring, Jeanie Wishes, Richard Corgan, Michael Mears, Tom Hartwell, Paul Hamilton, Wayne Cater, Alan Ruscoe, Christopher Carrico, Kent Goldfinch, Ian Harrod, Ian Hartley, Luke Hope, Daniel Maggott, Richard O'Sullivan, Al Roberts, Derek Lea, Al Roberts
  • Director: Edgar Wright
 Comments
  • matt_cole1 - 3 May 2024
    An absolute mess
    I am an avowed fan of Edgar Wright, all his films have been worthy of repeat viewing (although I do think there has been a case of diminishinf returns) however Last Night In Soho just doesn't work.

    An excess of unsubtle homages mashed together with characters spouting unnatural dialogue (Mr Wright does have a habit of writing for characters and not people) and a story that stretches to breaking point.

    The clever clever camera work is diverting for the first hour but becomes repetitive and over-all it feels like a film student's graduation piece with a sizeable budget.

    The only saving graces really are the soundtrack Diana Rigg joyfully munching scenery in her final role and Terence Stamp who never fails to elevate things.

    I hope this isn't indicative of Edgar Wright's trajectory as a film maker.
  • rgudmundsen - 15 March 2024
    Mental illness
    "Last Night in Soho" is a captivating psychological thriller that delves into the haunting consequences of untreated mental illness. Directed by Edgar Wright, the film takes audiences on a mesmerizing journey through the streets of Soho, where past and present collide in a tale of obsession, trauma, and the darkness that lies within the human mind.

    The story follows Eloise, a young aspiring fashion designer played by Thomasin McKenzie, who moves to London to pursue her dreams. However, Eloise soon discovers that her connection to the city runs deeper than she could have imagined when she begins experiencing vivid, unsettling visions of the 1960s. Transported back in time, she inhabits the life of Sandie, a glamorous nightclub singer portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy, whose tragic fate becomes increasingly intertwined with Eloise's own reality.

    As Eloise becomes more entangled in the mystery of Soho's past, she confronts the harsh realities of mental illness and its profound impact on individuals and society as a whole. Through Sandie's story, the film sheds light on the importance of recognizing and treating mental health issues, showcasing the devastating consequences that can arise when they are ignored or dismissed.

    One of the central themes of "Last Night in Soho" is the idea of trauma and its lasting effects on the psyche. Sandie's experiences as a young woman trying to make it in the cutthroat world of 1960s London take a toll on her mental health, leading her down a dark and dangerous path. Her descent into madness serves as a cautionary tale, highlighting the dangers of unchecked trauma and the desperate measures individuals may resort to in order to cope with their inner demons.

    Furthermore, the film explores the stigma surrounding mental illness and the reluctance of society to acknowledge and address it. Throughout the story, Eloise encounters skepticism and disbelief from those around her when she tries to explain her visions and the toll they are taking on her mental well-being. This reflects a broader societal tendency to downplay or dismiss the struggles of those grappling with mental health issues, contributing to a culture of silence and shame that only serves to exacerbate the problem.

    As Eloise delves deeper into the mystery of Soho's past, she uncovers a web of lies, betrayal, and tragedy that ultimately leads to a shocking revelation about her own family history. Through her journey, the film emphasizes the interconnectedness of past and present, suggesting that the echoes of the past continue to reverberate through the present, shaping our perceptions and influencing our actions in ways we may not always understand.

    In the end, "Last Night in Soho" serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of empathy, compassion, and understanding when it comes to mental health. By shining a light on the dark underbelly of society and the toll that untreated mental illness can take on individuals and communities, the film urges viewers to confront the demons that lurk within and to seek help when needed. Only by breaking the cycle of silence and stigma can we hope to create a world where everyone has the opportunity to heal and thrive.
  • JamesHitchcock - 25 January 2024
    The good old days were never as good as we like to think
    Ellie Turner, a teenager with aspirations to become a fashion designer, moves from her home in Cornwall to study at the London College of Fashion, then situated in Soho. (Since the film was made it has moved to Stratford in East London). Unusually for a modern teen, Ellie loves the music and the fashion of the Swinging Sixties, perhaps because she herself was named after a sixties pop song, Barry Ryan's "Eloise". Indeed, the film itself is named after another song from the era, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich's "Last Night in Soho". Ellie is always playing sixties music, especially songs by girl singers such as Cilla Black, Sandie Shaw, Dusty Springfield and Petula Clark, and tries to reflect the look of the period in her fashion designs.

    After falling out with her unsympathetic roommate Jocasta, Ellie moves into a bedsit owned by an elderly landlady, Ms. Collins. Soon after moving, Ellie discovers that she can travel back in time to the sixties where she has visions of Sandie, a young woman of the period with ambitions of becoming a singer. At first Ellie is intoxicated by the glamour of the era, but a common theme of time-travel movies (as in something like "Pleasantville") is that the good old days were never as good as we like to think.

    Soho is today a smart and respectable area of central London, but in the sixties there was a a darker side to the district. It may have been the home of Carnaby Street, the centre of London's fashion industry, but it was also the centre of London's sex industry and vice trade. Sandie thinks that she is on the path to fame when she finds a boyfriend, Jack, who promises to act as her manager, but he turns out to be cruel and abusive, forcing her to work first as a stripper, then as a prostitute. Eventually Ellie has a horrifying vision in which she believes she sees Jack murdering Sandie. I won't summarise the rest of the plot, but it becomes very dark and sinister, changing from a "Pleasantville"-style anti-nostalgic parable to a supernatural horror film.

    The film introduced me to a new star, the New Zealand-born Thomasin McKenzie as Ellie. She gives an excellent performance, playing her character as a sweet, sensitive but mentally troubled girl, whose retreat into nostalgia for a period several decades before she was born is perhaps rooted in the difficulties she has in dealing with the modern world. It may also have something to do with the fact that she was raised by her grandmother, who would have been a young woman in the sixties, after her mother committed suicide. Other good performances come from Anya Taylor-Joy as the glamorous and self-confident Sandie, whose confidence proves sadly misplaced, and from Diana Rigg as Ms. Collins, a character who plays a more important role in the second half of the film and who turns out to be not the respectable old lady she initially seems. This was Rigg's last film, as she died shortly after it was completed and before it was released.

    The film is also visually attractive, recreating the London of the sixties with the same loving detail that "heritage cinema" productions devote to their recreations of the Victorian or Edwardian eras. In some ways it reminded me of another British horror film I saw recently, the M R James television adaptation "A View from a Hill", screened as part of the "Ghost Story for Christmas" series. The two films represent different styles of horror, "A View from a Hill" being made in the more traditional understated British way with the horrific elements being implied rather than shown directly, and "Last Night in Soho" being much more direct in this respect. What they have in common is that both are rooted in British history and British culture rather than simply trying to imitate Hollywood. The Swinging London of the sixties is now becoming recognised as being as much a part of our cultural inheritance as the Victorian era or the Age of Shakespeare. Director Edgar Wright here reminds us that there was more to the period than just fun and glamour. 7/10.
  • ktroxdesigns - 27 December 2022
    Even better than I expected!
    This movie was fantastic. It turned out different than I expected but even better than I expected.

    First of all, the cinematography and directing are superb. It's a work of art.

    The acting is amazing. You are hooked and intrigued right from the start. I was glued the entire movie, which is sometimes rare for me, with all the distractions in the world.

    The story line is imaginative and original. It too keeps you hooked the entire time.

    The twists at the end... not gonna spoiler here. But I DEFINITELY didn't see them coming. Which is so great to watch a movie that isn't super predictable.

    I highly recommend this movie. It's honestly hard to find any faults in it. I tried.
  • brrrbeep - 27 November 2022
    A change of style for Edgar Wright but a great outcome
    Last Night in Soho is a bit of a change from Wright's 'Three Cornetto' movies, a slower, more dreamy cinematic style that successfully evokes the style of 60s London.

    It's ultimately a somewhat tragic tale of the exploitation of women, wrapped in an enticing mystery story. The movie goes through genre changes and there's plenty of twists and turns in this compelling story.

    Some people didn't like the 'horror' aspects introduced later in the movie but I thought they were not out of place given the story.

    There's also a great lineup of acting talent, all of whom did a fantastic job.

    I enjoyed this movie very much. Definitely one for Edgar Wright fans, and fans of mystery and psychological thriller movies in general.
  • alex_with_a_P - 29 October 2022
    Last Night in so-so
    I would say this is one of Wright's weakest efforts since Baby Driver. The story starts off very promising with a young girl coming to a big city carrying all her hopes and dreams, despite the sinister warnings she gets from her grandmother. It is a story that could have been a cautionary fairy-tale, if it bothered to focus on an engaging story or interesting characters. Instead we get lots of visual flexes but without the emotional pull. The story is so neglected that see the big twist coming from a mile away.

    In fact Thomasin McKenzie's performance is painfully bland and she has only one face expression left by the second half of the movie (the part where she starts go 'crazy' and seeing things). In contrast to Anna Taylor Joy who shines in comparison, she's trying the best she can do with the material she's been given. Matt Smith is okay, the direction made it painfully obvious that he isn't a prince charming. And there's really nothing more to his one dimensional portrayal.

    The story is trying to go for so many things like noir, mystery thriller or even horror. But at it's heart the mystery is not very intriguing and like I said quite predictable. The moment our protagonist questions her sanity is when it became unintentionally funny (similar like Black Swan). And then the CGI ghost gimmick put the final nail on the coffin.

    Too bad, with all the talent involved this should have been a home run.