LAST NIGHT IN SOHO

In which Britain’s Edgar Wright does Dario Argento, with London’s Soho district essentially standing in for Turin in DEEP RED and Munich in SUSPIRIA.  Soho was the heart of “Swinging London” in the 1960s, a time and place Wright, as director and co-writer, sought to recreate in LAST NIGHT IN SOHO (2021), which negates critic Steve Rose’s 2016 claim that “It has become a rarity to see a British film that really captures youth culture (have we had one since TRAINSPOTTING?), or pushes the psychedelic boat out.”

Soho was the heart of “Swinging London” in the 1960s, a time and place Wright, as director and co-writer, sought to recreate …

That the film’s November 2021 release wasn’t much of a success shouldn’t surprise anyone, as 1960s Soho isn’t a time or place that inspires much interest among today’s youth.  Those things did clearly inspire Wright, who remains best known for 2004’s SHAUN OF THE DEAD, one of the key horror comedies of the aughts.  Wright’s subsequent filmography included some successes (such as HOT FUZZ and BABY DRIVER) and failures (such as SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD and THE WORLD’S END); ONE NIGHT IN SOHO may fall in the latter category, but it did receive generally enthusiastic reviews, and will likely become a cult mainstay (a la SCOTT PILGRIM).

…it did receive generally enthusiastic reviews, and will likely become a cult mainstay (a la SCOTT PILGRIM).

It stars Thomasin McKenzie as Ellie, a 1960s obsessed college student attempting to find her way in modern-day Soho.  Her “gran” (Rita Tushingham), who’s raised Ellie after her mentally ill mother committed suicide, claims her granddaughter has a psychic “gift.”  Said gift is demonstrated quite amply when Ellie finds herself traveling back in time to the mid-1960s, where she assumes the guise of a blond singer named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy).  The latter, upon landing a job in the iconic Café de Paris nightclub, falls under the spell of the club’s sleazy owner Jack (Matt Smith), who turns her into a degraded prostitute.

Ellie’s subsequent travels to 1960s Soho become increasingly frequent, and inevitably bleed into the present.  It seems the boardinghouse where Ellie is staying, and its crotchety proprietor (Diana Rigg), have some bearing on an unfolding drama that comes to involve murder and insanity.

All this is colored by Wright’s twin obsessions with 1960s London and the cinema of Dario Argento.  The former is evident in the scrupulously recreated 1960s scenery and overtly psychedelic arc, and the latter in some heavily stylized murder sequences and much ultra-gaudy photography.  The cinematographer was Chan-wook Park’s DOP of choice Chung-hoon Chung, who goes mad with red and blue filters that try to ape Argento, and (seemingly) outdo him.  LAST NIGHT IN SOHO suffers, in short, from a very 2021 issue: it tries way too hard to replicate old timey cinema (my major problem with Guillermo Del Toro’s NIGHTMARE ALLEY), and the strain is evident throughout.

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO suffers, in short, from a very 2021 issue: it tries way too hard to replicate old-timey cinema…

Thomasin McKenzie is quite engaging as Ellie, but far too pretty to be believable as the nerdy outsider she’s supposed to be (although Wright thankfully refrains from the cliché of giving her glasses that supposedly alter her appearance when removed).  Faring far better is Anya Taylor-Joy, who’s authentically sixties-centric as Sandie, directly recalling in look and behavior icons of the period like Twiggy and Vesuschka.  While on the subject of 1960s performers, three of them, Terence Stamp, Rita Tushingham and the late Diana Rigg (to whom this film is dedicated), appear in the modern-day sequences.  Since none of the three, as Wright has admitted, were entirely comfortable with the “sixties icon” designation, I’m not sure that fact does much for their performances, or our reaction to them.

…scrupulously recreated 1960s scenery and overtly psychedelic arc, and the latter in some heavily stylized murder sequences and much ultra-gaudy photography. 

Which brings me back to my earlier point: that modern filmgoers don’t much care about the 1960s (or Dario Argento) and so won’t recognize any of the performers, while for those of us who do know our way around the decade this film doesn’t quite satisfy.  In its place I’d recommend viewing the Hélène Cattet/ Bruno Forzani films AMER (2009) and THE STRANGE COLOR OF YOUR BODY’S TEARS/L’ETRANGE COLEUR DE LARMES DE TON CORPS (2013), which offer Dario Argento pastiches far more skilled than that of LAST NIGHT IN SOHO.

See Also: Dario Argento: FEAR

Vital Statistics

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
Focus Features/Film4

Director: Edgar Wright
Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Nira Park, Edgar Wright
Screenplay: Edgar Wright, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Cinematography: Chung-hoon Chung
Editing: Paul Machliss
Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao, Sam Claflin, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg, Amieé Cassettari, Synnøve Karlsen, Jessie Mei Li, Kassius Nelson, Rebecca Harrod, Elizabeth Berrington, Pauline McLynn, Michael Jibson, Lisa McGrillis