by Carolyn Blum
☆☆☆
Last Night in Soho is a visually stunning, mesmerizing film that lures the audience into the past but keeps its core grounded in the present. Edgar Wright has produced a movie that warns us of the dangers of getting lost in nostalgia which can blind us from reality. With a star-studded cast and incredible music, paired with flashy visuals one would think that Wright has created a masterpiece of a film, but unfortunately the movie, which starts out amazing, is unable to pull it all together in the end and loses sight of its initial message.
Last Night in Soho follows the story of a naive and sweet Eloise "Ellie" Turner (Thomasin McKenzie), who is obsessed with 60s London and an aspiring fashion designer. She gets the chance to follow her dreams and study in Soho. In the big city, she is quickly picked on by the other students for being “old-fashioned.” Unable to handle the ridicule, she moves out of her dorm and finds a flat that, like Ellie, is stuck in the past. There, her mysterious ability to look back in time allows her to enter the world of wannabe singer, Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). She becomes engulfed in the dazzling and dizzying world that was London in the 1960s, the source of her inspiration. She sees herself in Sandie; her drive and passion to do what she loves only inspires Ellie more. It’s Sandie’s world and Ellie is just living in it. She wants so desperately to be just like her; to have her confidence and her power over everyone, especially the men in her life. Ellie begins to imitate Sandie in the hopes that her life can be as good as the girl in her dreams. But, when Jack (Matt Smith), Sandie’s manager and boyfriend, starts to show his true colors, the dream world that Ellie thought she was escaping too becomes a nightmare full of manipulation and destruction. As Sandie’s story unfolds, their lives start to bleed together as the wall that separates them starts to crack.
The actor’s performances along with Wright’s use of music are what really bring the story to life and keep you engaged even as the rest of the film starts to come apart. Thomasin McKenzie does an amazing job portraying Ellie. She is someone that the audience immediately falls in love with and is someone we can all relate to. She’s bright-eyed and ambitious, excited to start the next chapter of her life, but she’s also naive and is blinded by the allure of stardom. When Ellie starts to visit Sandie in her dreams, she never wants to wake up. Anya Taylor-Joy is mesmerizing as always and just like Ellie, the audience will just want to keep watching her. She encapsulates the vibrancy of London, making it feel even more alive and beautiful.
Matt Smith plays the smooth-talking, charming Jack who has the power and influence to make all of Sandie’s dreams a reality. Their performances along with the rest of the side characters offer a well-rounded cast of characters that, coupled with the swinging sounds of the 60s, help enhance the experience. The music, ever-present in Wright’s films, shoots life into the veins of the movie and showcases the pulsing beauty hidden within London, setting the movie off on the right track. Unfortunately, groovy music can only get you so far.
This is Edgar Wright’s first attempt at a female-led story in which he tries to tackle the issues of sexism and male manipulation. The film’s purpose is to bring to light the dangers of glorifying the past by bringing up the very real and very prevalent issues that plagued the time. What ends up happening though, is we see these same examples of male power over women in the present as well as the past. In the 60s, the discrimination was more pronouced, with women seemingly having no value unless a man deems them worthy, their blessing only bestowed if the woman is willing to offer herself up like a slab of meant to be devoured. Now, these same issues continue to be a problem but they manifest more discreetly. Today, women are afraid and are judged by men and women alike on their sexual appeal and are subjected to a complete lack of respect based solely on their sex. The film portrays just that. There is no lesson to be learned from Sandie’s or Ellie’s experiences and the film even goes as far as to make the victims the villains, completely undermining the importance of discussing and portraying these issues; all for a twist that is poorly executed and could have been predicted in the first 20 minutes of the film. The only thing this movie proves is that people are very much aware of the state of the world, but they either don’t care or don’t want to do anything about it except blame the victims.
Another major issue in this film is Ellie’s “powers” or ability to look back in time. They are presented very vaguely and are never explained properly or discussed beyond Ellie saying she has a “gift” of some kind. It doesn’t help the movie or make it mysterious by not providing any explanation; it just makes it seem sloppy and not thought out. You don’t necessarily need an explanation, but if the powers aren’t going to be talked about they need to at least have a set of rules that they operate under. The power’s rules aren’t consistent and are used later on in the film as a way to drive the plot rather than enhance it which makes me believe they are just a way to “explain” how Ellie can be in touch with someone from the past.
Overall, I would suggest watching this film for a fun time, not the message. Get lost in the music, the bright, zany colors, and the flashing lights. Appreciate the performances and beautifully crafted visuals that so effortlessly glides you through Ellie’s world into Sandie’s and back again. If you focus on the larger themes and messages the movie is trying to portray, you’ll leave the theater with a headache and slight distaste for 60s music.
Comments