By Gilberto Campa
Nostalgia can be experienced and expressed in many ways and always seems to be shown in a positive light with how it makes someone feel. But what if it didn’t? what if Nostalgia started to creep its way into someone’s daily life and caused the person to question their reality. That is the very real dilemma that Ellie Turner must face head on in Last Night in Soho. In Edgar Wright’s latest film, we are introduced to Ellie (played wonderfully by Thomasin Mckenzie) who has dreams and aspirations of becoming a fashion designer, mostly in part because of her mother who she lost at a young age. But that’s not all, Ellie’s mother suffered from a mental condition that was ultimately the cause of her death, and Ellie, unfortunately, is struggling with that same condition as she occasionally sees her mother in the mirror.
It’s not all bad for Ellie though as she also has an affinity for the “swinging 60’s” both in her love of the music from that era, along with the inspiration for her fashion sense which is what gets her into the London College of Fashion. Being born and raised in the countryside, Ellie has a tough time adjusting to the city life as she is immediately ridiculed and teased by her peers. As a response, she moves into a Bedsit that is up for rent right near Soho, and after a very mysterious, enthralling and almost real dream, things start to change for Ellie. This is where we are introduced to Sandy (played beautifully by the always captivating Anya Taylor-Joy and her beautiful eyes) who in many ways is what Ellie wishes to be, the center of attention, beautiful in body and soul and the ultimate desire for men. And some way, somehow Ellie gets transported back to the mid 1960’s in the heart of SOHO, which initially brings her so much happiness (with Cilla Black’s “You’re My World” playing in the background). After a while, these memories of Sandy and her life start to bleed into Ellie’s in very traumatizing ways as Ellie starts to see the horror under the bright lights.
The direction from Edgar Wright surprised me in this, in many ways this is his most mature and layered film from a character perspective. From a technical standpoint, the way he executed the mirror shots in the movie deserves its own movie as it was done perfectly. It isn’t as humorous as his previous movies, but some subtle touches kept things a little lively. Overall, the tone is very straightforward, but you do get those familiar Edgar Wright cuts and signature shots, with a thriller/horror twist. Regardless of what your opinion on the movie is, Edgar Wright continues to show you how much he loves the art of filmmaking and storytelling with every frame. Without getting into spoilers, there are a few surprises from the story that I think many people will enjoy, and as I stated before, the performances from Thomasin Mckenzie & Anya Taylor-Joy keep you glued to what is happening. I also really enjoyed the clear distinction between modern-day England and 1960’s England as the colors along with the cinematography set the stage for what’s to come in the particular scene or sequence. Just like his previous work, the soundtrack for the movie (The Searchers, Cilla Black, The Who, The Walker Brothers, just to name a few) was perfectly curated and served as inspiration for some of the sequences in the movie.
Even Anya Taylor-Joy got the opportunity to have a few numbers in the movie which just puts the cherry on top for her overall performance which I thought was great. Overall, this is one of the most original and ambitious stories I’ve seen in a while. If you get the chance to experience this, see it in a Dolby theater as it makes the movie stand out even more. The only issue I have with the movie is some of the character choices in the third act (as the first two acts are great) don’t make the most sense, but it didn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth or ruin the movie. If this is Edgar Wright 2.0, then I can’t wait to see what he does next.