Director Edgar Wright’s latest Last Night in Soho is a taut psychological thriller which keeps you guessing through most of its running time and the time travel aspect makes it an unusual and riveting viewing experience.
Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie), an aspiring fashion designer, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s, where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). But the glamour is not all it appears to be, and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something much darker.
Very well shot and with a cracking 60s soundtrack, the film is bought to life by the brilliantly staged 60s Soho setting but turns very quickly into a dark and disturbing thriller where things, as well as people, are not all they seem. The cast excels in their roles and the support is very strong including Diana Rigg (in her last role), Matt Smith and Terrence Stamp. Eloise is a fish out of water, always wanting to go to London from her country town in Cornwall to pursue a career in fashion design, but almost immediately feels rejected by her so-called new friends and sets out to go it alone by renting out a flat in Soho which is where she mysteriously is able to jump back to the 1960s.
Her current situation and the past are starting to blend, Eloise starts to become like Sandy, as she begins to suspect various people of the gruesome murder that she saw in the past. Movie geeks and music lovers alike will find moments to love, Wright throws in references to Michael Powell’s notorious thriller Peeping Tom, Roman Polanski’s Repulsion and Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy as well as Italian Giallo movies from the likes of Dario Argento. The film is a bit uneven at times, not helped by the constant jumps in time, but yet again the director gives us a very slick, enjoyable and suspenseful ride and it is well worth checking out.
The film has been released on Blu ray and 4K UHD by Universal with bonus features including filmmaker commentaries, deleted scenes and a look at the making of the film.
FILM – 8 OUT OF 10
