Film Review: LAST NIGHT IN SOHO (2021)
© Working Title Films 2021
Full disclosure: I don’t usually enjoy horror films. However, exceptions must sometimes be made to accommodate work which transcends the genre with such style, upbeat energy, inspired casting with pitch perfect performances, and, not least, a killer soundtrack. The opening sequence takes place in present day Cornwall where we meet the teenage Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) who lives with her grandmother (Rita Tushingham). Ellie is performing her imaginary future in the glamorous world of fashion to the accompaniment of the 1960s hit, “A World Without Love” by Peter and Gordon, played on a record player. She is wearing her own creation, an exuberant concoction of an evening gown seemingly made of colorful magazine pages. Soon enough she is living her fantasy and is on her way to the London College of Fashion.
Her initial reception is not particularly welcoming, beginning with a lecherous cabbie and a snarky roommate, who inspires the other mean girl classmates to make fun of her wide-eyed openness and lack of sophistication. The spunky Ellie takes charge of herself and finds a room to rent off campus. The strict, but kindly, landlady played by Diana Rigg, in what would be her final superb performance, has rules. She also has secrets. No spoilers here.
Ellie’s solitude leads to nights of vivid dreams of her idealized version of the Soho of the Swinging Sixties. The star of her dreams is an aspiring singer named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), with the fearlessness to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. As Sandie becomes a regular in her dreams, the impressionable Ellie begins to identify with Sandie. She begins to dress in retro 1960’s clothing and bleaches her hair blond in imitation of Sandie’s hairstyle in her waking hours. At night, it gets stranger. As Sandie’s audacious ambition drives her into some extremely risky situations. Not the least of these is into the malevolent control of the smarmy Jack (Matt Smith), who lures her into his orbit of creepy old business men who want access to young innocent girls.
The mysterious appearances of Lindsey (Terrence Stamp), an older enigmatic bar fly who seems to have an inordinate amount of knowledge into the world of Ellie’s dreams brings intimations of bad things to come. And things escalate rapidly.
The optimism of the first half of the film gives way to the promised horror elements with stunning cinematography which cleverly melts the separation between Ellie and Sandie. Ellie’s dreams become horrific nightmares and so do her days. We get intimations into the suicide of Ellie’s mother. And lots of blood, in reality and dreams, is shed. Horror fans should be satisfied.
The connections between all of the female characters are bound together with their affinity for the 60’s music and style which allows for the infectious soundtrack played on vinyl. Anya Taylor-Joy is a perfect foil for the deliciously charming performance of Thomasin McKenzie. I predict many Spotify searches for Petula Clark’s anthem “Downtown” and Dusty Springfield’s playlist.
