Last Night in Soho

Last Night in Soho is so hard to describe because it starts as a coming-of-age tale, takes a left turn into ghost story territory, before resolving as a thriller. That leaves you off-kilter, never sure which way it will go, and the result is exhilarating. Imagine late 90s Tarantino mashed up with del Toro while adding a dash of Kenneth Branagh’s Dead Again, all interpreted by Edgar Wright’s sense of propulsive action and off-the-wall characterizations.

The charisma on display is ludicrous. Anya Taylor-Joy may be my favorite actress working today, and she absolutely destroys as Sandie, singing all her songs. Her down-tempo version of Downtown is beautiful, haunting, and worth the price of admission alone. Yet, it is Thomasin McKenzie who steals the show. She strikes just the right balance of innocence, charm, and slightly crazy that the role requires. She was great in Jojo Rabbit, but here she’s so wholly different and commanding that I didn’t realize at first it was the same person.

“…a stunning, unique work of art…”

Matt Smith is perfect as Jack — I’m glad to see another Doctor Who alumnus transitioning between dreamy and nightmarish with alarming alacrity. And it is phenomenal that Wright cast two of the towering icons of British cinema and television to play the older characters: Terence Stamp and Diana Rigg. It is Rigg’s final performance, and the film is dedicated to her. In an interview on Fresh Air, Wright told a touching story about how she knew she wouldn’t have much longer to live but still invited him over to her family’s house to record additional dialogue for the film while they drank Campari and sodas.

It can be jarring when a film takes a massive turn into a different genre. But Last Night in Soho will so thoroughly win over audiences during the first act that they’ll be ready to go on whatever avenue Edgar Wright takes them. He goes right over the top, but on a roller coaster, that’s exactly the place that’s the most fun. If there’s any disappointment, it was because I had some of the twists figured a bit before the reveal. Once the final thriller structure is settled into, the resolution is somewhat conventional. Still, for most of the runtime, I had no idea where anything was going, which is the rarest of gifts. An off-the-wall ending would have been less satisfying as the one we got works for both the genre and characters.

Though it is as fantastical as anything he’s ever done (and that’s saying something), Last Night in Soho may be one of Wright’s most personal films. He says he’s always had a fascination with Soho, where the ghosts of the 1960s still haunt the modern-day, and he’s brought that into beautiful relief. His mother even claims she used to see ghosts, something he was uncomfortable talking about before, but now turned into a phantasmagoric celebration of cinema. When Wright last stepped out of his comfort zone and listened to his instincts, he made his biggest hit yet in Baby Driver. I hope this finds its audience because it is a stunning, unique work of art, and it shows that Wright is one of the most creative directors working today.