Edgar Wright is one of my favorite filmmakers working today. His whole filmography, especially his masterful Cornetto Trilogy, have been excellent experiences, boasting great performances, upbeat editing and music, and plenty of grand spectacle. Wright has mostly delved into action and comedy, so it came to my surprise to hear Last Night in Soho was going to be a thriller. I was cautiously optimistic, and especially curious to see a new approach Wright would take with this concept.
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Eloise, an ambitious fashion design student in London, begins to live vicariously through a gorgeous singer in the 1960’s. Eloise possesses a fascination with the time period, and her experiences with this woman and the sublime setting drive her work, until she begins to uncover a dark and treacherous history that had unfolded.
Edgar Wright does an excellent job juxtaposing past and present through several clever storytelling devices employed. The combination of immaculate production design and mystical visual style concoct a dream-like atmosphere that begins to descend into a nightmarish labyrinth.
Thomasin McKenzie does a magnificent job conveying emotions of wonder and anxiety as her character ventures into an unknown and eerie new environment. Wright engraves a lot of blended music choices that sync flawlessly with each scene. Wright himself makes daring choices that deviate from his traditional style, molding a new perspective on his craft.
This is, however, Edgar Wright’s weakest film to date. A few creative decisions didn’t land well for me, such as predictable twists involving the revelation of identities. Wright is still able to take some of these twists in an interesting direction that benefits the story, but it doesn’t always work out.
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The editing with this film is certainly not as clever as his previous work, as it leaves little room for interpretability at its worst, although at its best it elevates the kinetic tempo of the busier scenes. Overall, Last Night in Soho may be Edgar Wright’s weakest film, but it is still another great addition to his line-up, carrying enough talent and creativity to help it stand out on its own.
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