British filmmaker Edgar Wright of “Shaun of the Dead” fame is known for films with sharp writing and lots of hidden details that merit repeated viewings, but in his latest film, Last Night in Soho, he’s pulled off one of the more compelling films of his career. It’s not as stylish as “Scott Pilgrim vs the World,” or as laugh out loud as “The World’s End,” but it is one that’ll have you talking and thinking long after the credits roll.
Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie, “Old”) is a young dreamer with aspirations to be the next big fashion designer. To do that, she moves to London to enroll in fashion school and moves into a decrepit apartment with neon lights marring her sleep. More pressing than the lights, though, is the fact that when she falls asleep, Eloise has visions of Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy, “The New Mutants”), a talented singer from the 1960s, and becomes obsessed with her dreams of her- which turn out to be more than dreams, as Sandy’s tale takes a dark turn and Eloise’s visions haunt her long after she awakes.
Despite the horror-tinged marketing, Last Night in Soho is more of a psychological, Hitchcock-esque murder thriller and this ends up working wonders for the film. Although there’s no masked killer or real physical threat for Eloise to face here, that doesn’t mean Wright skimps on the tension and atmosphere throughout and his trademark hidden details are on full display here, including the soon-to-be-famous trick of trading reflections between Eloise and Sandy.
But what really elevates the film is the dark and sadly all too real twists that unfold. As Sandy discovers the hard way, fame has a cost, and she is forced into sexual acts with strangers to advance her singing career, a clear parallel to the “Me Too” movement. But rather than throw away the film’s timely tie-in, Wright takes full advantage of it, using the complicated feelings arising from the systematic abuse to whip up a storyline of how far is too far and what abuse can do to an innocent soul.
McKenzie once again delivers a phenomenal performance, arguably even better than her breakout turn in “Jojo Rabbit.” She exhibits the full range of emotions here, ranging from bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to tortured and terrified, and sells every minute of the film. Taylor-Joy, fresh off her star-making performance in “The Queen’s Gambit,” is not only reliably great but proves that she’s a triple threat by singing and dancing, slaying both as usual. The late Diana Rigg also gets a great part as Eloise’s landlord and Terrance Stamp once again turns up his creepy timbre to a ten.
Last Night in Soho feels like the perfect thriller for the times, sometimes uncomfortably so, but all the better for it. With two powerhouse actresses at the top of their game and a director who knows how to wring out great material, it’s sure to go down as one of the most talked-about films of the year.
Last Night in Soho is now playing in theaters.