“Last Night in Soho” film review

By Quinn Marcus

When we walked out of our theater, some random guy yelled “Edgar Wright’s the man!” I don’t know why, but that made my day. I wasn’t expecting to go see this one at all, but my dad surprised my brother and me by taking us a couple of nights ago, and I left feeling, for the most part, completely energized and fulfilled by what I’d just seen, but also a little angry. Now, I haven’t seen all of Wright’s films, I absolutely adore Baby Driver, and still really like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and I’d say his latest, Last Night in Soho falls somewhere in between. I thought this movie was great, flawed, without a doubt, and not nearly as streamlined as Baby Driver, but the unconventionally weird and trippy atmosphere got to me quite a bit. Also, the theater had such a positive vibe that day which enhanced the experience a lot, people cheered when the opening title popped on-screen, laughed during the Licorice Pizza trailer (we’ll be back PTA), and overall, it was a really fun crowd for a blast of a film and cinematic experience like this.

Seriously, I enjoyed the hell out of this movie, it’s certainly some of the most excitement I’ve had in a theater, 2021 is ending on a strong note, let’s just say that. Okay, about the movie, let’s start with our positives, shall we? The first 30-40mins of Last Night in Soho were kind of perfect in my opinion, and it’s all topped by this breathtaking one-shot dance sequence that blew me away and left me wondering how they managed to accomplish this. It’s energetic, all of the immersive, catchy songs, gorgeous visuals, and terrific cast members I’ve come to expect from Wright were there, and I was honestly trending to give it a very high score, but then, it seems as though Wright began to lose control over the unapologetic madness this movie had in store, but more of that later. This is Thomasin McKenzie’s show, she’s phenomenal in this film, I loved her performance in Jojo Rabbit a couple of years ago, and Last Night in Soho only continues to showcase her emotional range as an actress. Anya Taylor-Joy is pretty good as the mirror version of McKenzie we’ve seen so much of in the trailers, and wow, the mirror effect delivered entirely, it looks incredible. It was so original and visually creative, and just when you think it’s about to get old, some other clever way of using it is thrown at you, and it works every single time.

Now, speaking of time, Last Night in Soho is about time-traveling to London in the 1960s, and in many ways, especially in how it was directed/shot, this film feels very retro, and I appreciated that about it. The film sounds and looks like a classic mystery movie at times, but still has the Edgar Wright stylistic quality to it unmatched by many directors working today. Last Night in Soho is drenched in neon lighting, it’s colorful and visually stimulating, Wright knew what he was doing with his visuals, that much is perfectly clear, but I found the story to be a little shaky from a writing standpoint. As I said before, the first act of this movie is awesome, and there were parts of the 2nd and 3rd that I still loved, but as a whole, the film is pretty messy. The lack of nuance was perhaps my biggest issue with Last Night in Soho, nothing is subtle about this movie, and as a mystery, you need the mystery. Unfortunately, the film peaks with its biggest flaw during the last 10mins, a finale that felt over-the-top, rushed, and to an extent, disappointing. It’s a gradual shift, Wright slowly loses his grip on the story, but the change is apparent after such a confident opening act.

I wish Wright had better control of how many ideas and reveals were at play, it almost forces you to go see it a second time because there’s so much to digest about this film, and a few plot points are left feeling unresolved. Last Night in Soho is a horror film, and Wright’s attempt at frightening the audience in any way was serviceable, I guess, but it’s too ridiculous and fun to truly be scary. There’s a use of these ghost creatures which relate to the big, but slightly convoluted theme of the movie that I won’t say to not spoil, and once again, they look really dope, and some of the shots gave me chills, but in the end, the movie is fast-paced, and it’s not as thought-provoking as it could have been with a little more work done on the screenplay. There’s a spectacular, much more groundbreaking movie inside Last Night in Soho, and while the craft presented on screen was immaculate, and it was a sensational big-screen experience, the plot needed to be polished enough to make more sense. I respect that Wright is trying something original and bold, and I’d still highly recommend seeing it in theaters, but I’m just a tad frustrated because there is a masterwork somewhere in here, but I, at the very least, appreciate that it was made, and I was entertained.