Film Review - Last Night in Soho (18)

 Do you believe in ghosts?

Last Night in Soho is Edgar Wright's new film - a jagged thriller and surreal trip into horror-tinged darkness (with a psychic time-travel twist), that's a big departure for the man who brought us Shaun of the Dead and the other hilarious entries in his Cornetto Trilogy. It may not be the perfect film I wanted it to be, but it's still one of the most stylish and inventive movies to be held in the lockdown release queue.

Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace/Jojo Rabbit) plays Eloise, a sweet-natured girl from Cornwall, who travels to the big smoke of London to study at a prestigious fashion school. She brings with a love of 1960s culture gifted by her beloved grandmother, and a psychic gift passed on from her mother. Thus when she finds modern-day London less than friendly to blow-ins like herself, she starts connecting in her dreams with the Swinging Sixties version of the city - think young Cilla Black, Carnaby Street fashion and all the allure of Soho's nightlife. Her visions centre on Sandie (Anya Taylor Joy of Peaky Blinders and The Queen's Gambit popularity), as aspiring singer who seems to embody all the era's appeal. But the glamour of '60s Soho is a shallow veneer, and Eloise's preternatural explorations beneath its surface become steadily more disturbing. 

There's a reason why films like this one and Hot Fuzz and Baby Driver need to be prefaced with 'The new film by Edgar Wright'. The guy is one of the most imaginative and stylistically gifted writer-directors working in film today, so be it comic parody, crime thriller or psychological horror, it's never enough to talk about his films in conventional genre terms. This time, however, Wright has abandoned key trademarks, like smash cuts and rapid-fire dialogue, in favour or something much more straight-faced and brooding. His work is as visually arresting as ever, and as rich in detail; this time, however, it's all bent towards turning our heads with this bygone London's sexy shimmer, then taking us on an increasingly unsettling trip (pun absolutely intended) through its seedy underbelly. A flawless 360-degree pan of 1965 Soho Square is the epitome of all that excites, while garish red neon hints at the horrors to come. 

As Eloise, McKenzie shoulders a mainstream film for the first time, and she does a commendable job - embodying naive idealism and 'country mouse' vulnerability in London's present, before being both seduced and terrorised by its past. Taylor Joy takes another step up the ladder to greatness as Sandie, all poise and self-confidence, and never more than when she nails an a cappella version of Downtown to make Petula Clark proud. (That one can sing, dance, act, and play chess!) Sequences underscoring the girls' bizarre time-travelling connection deliver some of the most head-spinning virtuosity in the film. Matt Smith and Michael Ajao provide very different kinds of support to the girls, while the most notable members of the support cast all hail from the actual British cinema of the 1960s - Terence Stamp, Rita Tushingham and the late, legendary Diana Rigg in a worthy final performance. 

Wright, you see, loves his cinema history, and stews the film in its influences - from the urban Brit dramas of the '60s to Dario Argento's original Suspiria (of which there's more than a little here) - while creating something totally the director's own. It's a delicious musical stew as well, with more classic '60s pop than you could cram into a two-disc vinyl compilation. All of that said, this film's Wrighty goodness doesn't stretch quite as far as I'd hoped. The hysteria that afflicts the final act of many horror films takes over here too, with the director's creativity undermined by tropes that are a bit cliche, and plot twists some of which make more sense than others. A heavy-handedness also shows in the screenplay, with the story's subtext spelt out a bit too plainly. (Yes, we get what you're saying, now just leave it be.) 

Here's the thing - an Edgar Wright film that falters in the final stretch still turns out to be more worth your time than a dozen other films that stay their intended course. This is a movie to revisit, with its ravishing art design, evocation of time and place and whirling cinematic ingenuity. It's steeped in atmosphere and tells a compelling tale - so even if the close doesn't match all that's gone before, it's still a film for the collection, and one that serves up some of the most memorable cinematic moments of the year. Wright's take on Swinging London demands a visit.

Gut Reaction: A bit of 'Please stick the landing' frustration, but largely advanced levels of enjoyment. 

Memorable Moment: Mirror girl. 

Ed's Verdict: 7/10. An overcooked ending detracts from but doesn't negate Last Night in Soho's advanced levels of creativity, or the originality of its premise. It's one to see, and a fascinating new direction for one of the greatest entertainers in film today.