LAST NIGHT IN SOHO – Review

Great set designs and cinematography. Moments of innovative direction by Edgar Wright. Superb performances from the two leading actresses – Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy. All of that frittered away because Wright’s screenplay begins with an intriguing premise before wandering everywhere but into the realm of coherence.

McKenzie plays a country lass who realizes her dream of acceptance into London’s best fashion school, where she plans to develop her designs based on the swinging 1960s, which was when her late mother thrived for a while before losing her marbles. She’s immediately dissed by the school’s “Mean Girls”, causing her to leave the dorm and find a room in an old woman’s (Diana Rigg, lamentably in her last role) even older, run-down house. She begins having visions of the glamorous times in that neighborhood from the era she worships, including Taylor-Smith’s role as a gutsy aspiring singer. It all looks so glamorous until it turns dark, and the lines between past and present start blurring to McKenzie’s growing fear and desperation.

The rest of the plot simply descends into sub-standard horror fare that wears out its welcome long before the sweet relief of rolling credits. But before then, the two stars shine bright. McKenzie’s an Audrey Hepburn-like babe in the woods, bringing a joyful, wide-eyed optimism to the big city before it starts crushing her. Taylor-Joy’s character is a brash wannabe who thinks she’s on her way to the top in the nightclub scene until she starts to find the rot beneath the glitz.

Perhaps the best reason to consider watching is Wright’s brilliant deployment of mirrors to show McKenzie’s perspective as a mute witness to past events that may or may not have actually occurred. Truly some award-worthy visuals in those moments. Many will also be delighted with the score that plays such a major role beyond creating atmosphere. If only the script could have remained as interesting as those specific elements.

Two Out of Four

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO is now playing in select theatres