Last Night in Soho Review: Terrific performances, cinematography overcome predictable reveals, wonky narrative

Thomasin McKenzie as Eloise in the present day and Anya Taylor-Joy as Sandie in 1960s London are fantastic in Last Night in Soho. Their performances, lush cinematography, quick editing (the editing is basically the only means of comedy in the film) and Wright’s musical sensibilities overcome the predictable reveals and narrative device of setting the film in two time periods.

The film largely takes place in the present day. Eloise enters Sandie’s 1960 timeline through her dreams. Both of these settings are fantastic and have the potential to be fleshed out stories on their own. Unfortunately, the mixture of these stories throws a wrench into the 2nd and 3rd acts of the film.

There’s a depth to McKenzie and Taylor-Joy’s performances that works wonderfully when they’re mirroring (sometimes literally) each other. However, the depiction and narratives in these separate time periods are so strong that I’d almost rather see either time period featured with just a touch of the supernatural or horror elements. Rather than dovetailing them together.

1960’s London is a sight to behold. Wright shows the ugly center of this glittery facade. Eloise is inspired and intoxicated by Sandie at first. However, as the reality of being a woman in 1960’s London rears its head, Eloise tries to distance herself from these visions, but can’t.

The film’s first act is phenomenal, but as the horror and murder mystery element becomes more prominent the film loses steam. Subtlety isn’t Wright’s strongest suit and its shows in the mystery element. All of his red herring’s are telegraphed with the sophistication of a sledgehammer. The film simply doesn’t have any notable scares.

Even with the messy final two acts, Last Night in Soho is saved in the 3rd act by the same sensational performances that carried the film in the exquisite 1st act with an added scene-chewing moment from Dianna Rigg in her final performance.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive into Eloise and Sandie’s connection in Last Night in Soho. There will be some minor spoilers. 

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60’s Nastalgia in Last Night in Soho

Eloise is excited to join a prestigious fashion school in London. From the beginning of Last Night in Soho, Eloise’s affinity for ’60s London is evident. Her doting grandmother, played by ’60s icon Rita Tushingham, warns Eloise London has a lot to offer. Not all of it’s good.

Her grandmother has reason to worry. Eloise’s mother died pursuing her dream in London and she occasionally sees her mother’s reflection in mirrors.

It doesn’t take long for Wright to unleash the ugly side of London on Eloise. A creepy cab driver hits on Eloise, her roommate is a terror and she’s not the best at fitting in. Wright isn’t subtle about any of these detail. I could have used a little more of Eloise falling in love with London before breaking her vision of London apart.

Eloise abruptly moves out of the dorm to live on her own. There are some great cuts that show just how quickly Eloise leaves for her new place. She chooses a place in Soho owned by Ms. Collins. Her new living quarters clearly haven’t been updated since perhaps the ’60s, which suits Eloise just fine until she goes to sleep.

Dreams Turned to Nightmares

When Eloise falls asleep, she’s transported into a fully realized 1960s London. The lush cinematography instantly creates a nostalgic feeling of warmth that’s different from the neon-like glint of modern-day London in Last Night in Soho.

It’s through Eloise’s eyes and reflection that we meet Sandie. An aspiring singer from a seemingly small town is looking for her big break in London. Eloise is an artist in her own right who has a desire to succeed. Unlike Eloise, Sandie has confidence and a way of forcing anyone in the room to take notice of her. That’s at least what Eloise observes as she and Sandie trade-off as dance partners with Jack (Matt Smith). Taylor-Joy eyes show just a hint of naivete in these scenes, which Eloise does not pick up on.

When Eloise wakes up, she begins to adopt Sandie’s fashion, looks and some manner of confidence. She starts talking to John a cute guy that has a crush on her, takes a job at a pub to pay for rent and starts to succeed at school.

However, the veneer of Sandie’s life begins to wane each time Eloise returns to the ’60s. Sandie’s life rapidly becomes a nightmare. Probably the worst of it is Jack pimping out Sandie. Taylor-Joy is utterly fantastic at showing how the parade of men is turning her into a soulless husk of a person. Wright doesn’t do a great job of showing whether Eloise can actually feel Sandie’s pain.

In an effort to leave Sandie’s life, Eloise tries to do everything she can to stay out of her room and remain awake. Unfortunately, this has a disastrous effect on her reality.

The Past Haunts the Present and Vice Versa

Once Eloise starts having the visions during her waking hours, the film chugs quite a bit. There are some decent visuals and more than a couple Hitchcock nods, but there’s nothing scare about these scenes.

Worse it actually impedes the story. Everytime Eloise makes progress with her potential romantic relationship or unearthing a murder mystery, the visions pop up in irritating fashion.

The 3rd act has way too much going on Last Night in Soho tacks on a murder mystery Eloise tries to solve while battling these ghastly visions. The murder mystery subplot could of worked, but the identities of everyone involved is quite clear early in the film. There is one element that works in the 3rd act and that’s Rigg as Ms. Collins. She covers up for a lot of the 3rd act’s shortcomings, just not all of it.

Last Night in Soho Final Thoughts

The performances of Taylor-Joy and McKenzie as well as some of the strong visual choices by Wright and cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung will stick with me for some time. Last Night in Soho also features one of the best 1st act’s this year. Unfortunately, the 3rd act is an unnecessarily complicated mess and the 2nd act dawdles a bit too long.

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