THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
In life, a strong grip of nostalgia can bring peace but also sorrow.
PLOT
Last Night in Soho follows Eloise 'Ellie' Turner who resides in Redruth, Cornwall with her grandmother. She grew up without parents with her father being completely absent before her mother took her life. The latter’s death was such a toll that she would see the ghost of her in reflections. Growing up, she had a strong interest of the Swinging Sixties and aspires to become a fashion designer. When getting accepted by the London College of Fashion, she moves to London to pursue the career she desires. Although a young man named John (Michael Ajao) is the only one who acts sympathetic towards her, she doesn't find herself comfortable in her dormitory. So she quickly decides to move into a bedsit owned by an elderly woman named Ms. Collins. On her first night into the bedsit, she has a vivid dream that takes her to the 1960s. There, she follows an aspiring singer named Alexandra aka 'Sandie', who had an intimate relationship with her manager Jack. By the next morning, she does become inspired to design a dress she wore. But she soon discovers that what happened was real when she finds a hickey on her neck. As she continues having dreams and seeing the joy this woman had in the past, Ellie begins matching her style to hers. When she starts working at a pub, she encounters an elderly man who notices the similarities she's making. Within further dreams, she discovers that Sandie's happiness reached an end when Jack pimped her out to other business associates. Witnessing this disturbed Ellie so much that she would begin seeing apparitions of those who exploited Sandie when awake. Wanting to stay awake, she goes to a party with John and considers having sex with him. Before he is able to act any further, she sees another vision, believing Jack may have killed Sandie in the same bedsit she lives in. Seeing it happen causes her to panic and Jack leaves when Ms Collins overhears and checks on her. Her landlord was upset for her breaking the rule to have male visitors, but forgives her when she promises to not do it again. Wanting to avenge Sandie, Ellie believes the elderly man from the pub to be Jack and tends to have him arrested. She reports her suspicion to the police, but they don't believe her due to not having concrete evidence. When looking for a newspaper report of Sandie's death, she instead finds multiple reports of men who vanished without a trace. During that moment of research, she gets another apparition which scares her classmates. When returning to the pub, she tries to convince the man to confess of killing Sandie. Offended, he denies it and leaves. Shockingly, he gets struck by a cab which kills him. Ellie's pub boss recalls his name to be Lindsey, even though it was thought to be Jack. Recalling past visions, Ellie realizes that Lindsey was an undercover officer that tried to encourage Sandie to escape her troubling life. Panicking over everything that's been happening, she decides to leave London. When she returns to the bedsit to begin packing, Ms. Collins invites her to her room. There, Ellie discovers from her mail and portrait that her landlord is Sandie. The elderly Sandie confesses that she chose to kill Jack and every man that abused her, hiding their bodies in the walls and floorboards of the house. Because she went to the police, Sandie chooses to poison Ellie and stage it as a suicide, to ensure her silence. When both women scuffle, a fire has accidentally started. When John goes to check on Ellie, Sandie stabs him with a knife. As Ellie flees upstairs, she barely defends herself by pushing Sandie down the stairs. At the bedsit, the spirits of past victims beg her to kill her landlord, but she refuses. When Sandie enters the bedsit, she sees the spirits as well. With the police outside, she chooses to take her life by cutting her throat. However, Ellie tries to stop her and begs her to live. Too guilty of what she's done, she stays and lets the flames consume her while the surviving victims get the chance to leave. Some time after these turn of events, Ellie would have a successful year end fashion show, being praised by her peers. The film would end with her seeing the spirits of both her mother and Sandie, smiling and waving as a congratulations towards her.
THOUGHTS
There have been a fair share of thrillers that are able to put you on the edge of your seat, yet I should’ve expected that this one would pull it off as well. Director Edgar Wright and co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns succeed in crafting something that is beyond what has been seen before. It's pretty crazy how a trip to the past can be so inventive yet intense as well. Every time you get a glimpse of well crafted production design and listen to an accurately themed soundtrack, you're feeling the exact amount of nostalgia that is supposed to be felt. The biggest strength that makes the movie memorable is the way it expresses how emotional and complex nostalgia can be. In this case, it comes from a strong amount of trauma that can eventually lead to a trail of acceptance. When we first see Anya Taylor Joy's Sadie, you admire how driven she is to be seen. When you get to hear her sing beautifully, you're rooting to see her succeed. But instead, I weep when seeing her hope get destroyed after seeing her ensue such abuse. It honestly made sense for her to retaliate because she never deserved the treatment that she endured. However in the form of Diana Rigg, she grew so disconnected that she unintentionally became a monster as well. When you look at Eloise, Thomasin McKenzie presents her as a new generation of Sandie, whereas she may appear soft spoken, yet still has her own determination to succeed. She gives John a chance in the long run because similar to Jack, he notices her, but the difference is that he doesn't change her and doesn't have bad tendencies. Her attachment to Sandie comes from admiring her original independence and confidence. Seeing her act such in the 60s made her a role model to her, which only made it so saddening for her to uncover the tragedy. She felt that she had to save her because it was something she wasn't capable of doing when it came to her mother. In a way, she was able to because she heard her and cared so much. Getting a true connection was enough for Sandie to gain long awaited solace. The big respect you have for Ellie is that she doesn't have a bias for Sandie at all: She does become terrified of what Sandie became but doesn't see her as the villain; She understands the reason of her actions but doesn't moralize them. She may have not gotten to save her like she wanted to, but the least she could do is honor her through her passion. Seeing the spirit of Sandie spoke volumes because it represents how she appreciates her for noticing her. With a clear mind, I'm sure Ellie will continue to find inspiration to honor someone that was special to her. Although both women are what make the heart of this movie, there was a fair share of other characters that left a memorable impression. Matt Smith is masterfully good at being bad and the role of Jack is the best example of it. You just enjoy hating him for using his charm to hide his callous and greedy motif towards Sandie. As he acts such, there easily is no sympathy to give him when he is killed. There is no argument needed when saying Sandie is the most tragic character of this story, but the arc of Lindsey is definitely saddening. At first, the young Sam Claflin briefly plays him as a caring man in his line of work, only for the older Terrence Stamp to present him as completely misunderstood before a cruel fate came his way. Seeing that misunderstanding unfold shows that you can't play the blame until you know the whole story. Had Ellie simply asked for his name, he would've not died the way he did. I admit that this film takes advantage of its concept, yet I admit that there are still moments I scratch my head about. For example, how did the roommate Jacosta claim a whole fridge? There is no way you're gonna make me believe she bought that much food on the first day. Now I don't think Ellie is dumb, but she was really unaware of her surroundings once she started seeing Sandie. Like how did she not notice the hickie when she woke up? It's not like she doesn't use a mirror to do her hair. I even wonder why it took so long for her to ask Ms. Collins about Sandie. Considering how interested she was of her overnight, it surprises me that it took until the third act. And lastly, how did she even finish her semester after two different public breakdowns? Considering that the second one was almost violent, due to an apparition, I'm surprised that she wasn't suspended. Other than that, this movie remains an ecstatic experience throughout. In conclusion, Last Night in Soho is one of 2021's greatest gems for being an exhilarating psychological experience. If you enjoy being thrilled, this might be up your alley.
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