Last Night in Soho

I have a soft spot for Edgar Wright. He's got a knack for style, crafting genre films with sharp editing and a relentless drive that makes you want to watch them over and over. But Last Night in Soho feels like he took a bit of a breather. The drive and snappy editing that define his work take a backseat here, reserved mainly for the 60s scenes. When the film plunges you into that era, it's fantastic. But outside of those moments, it drags and feels sleepy. The one thing Wright nails as always is the soundtrack — it's absolutely stellar. (05/24/2024)

I like Edgar Wright, but the more serious he gets, the more I have a problem with it. So I'll always prefer Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz to the shallow and over-stylized Baby Driver. And now over Last Night in Soho. His new release reminded me of Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak, a horror film that was great in every way, audiovisually and genre-wise. Only that with this one, I felt like the director was fulfilling a dream of his, paying homage to a favorite genre, a favorite era, and a favorite form. And does it brilliantly, as if he had made the whole thing for himself rather than anyone else. On the other hand, Wright's play with color, the great soundtrack, the gorgeous costumes, and his typical audiovisual games from time to time still work great. And Thomasin McKenzie is excellent, with Anya Taylor-Joy not far from her, but it's not enough. With Last Night in Soho Wright makes mostly himself happy, which I wish him well, but I won't applaud him for it. (11/03/2021)

With Scott Pilgrim I considered it part of the game, with Baby Driver I couldn't put my finger on it, and with Last Night in Soho it started to get downright annoying. It's that musical staginess drenched in studio lights, its artificiality accelerated by a digital camera with a high frame rate. If it's worked so far in Wright's previous films, it's because they were kind of musicals in the first place, except that Last Night in Soho has its entire plot built on trying to evoke the spirit of the Swingin' London era, and in this case you can have a wardrobe full of period dresses and tons of period props strewn about the studio, but it's still a totally obvious crying game. Logically, then, what works is one great dance sequence and the amazing Thomasin McKenzie, what doesn't work is, eh, well... the rest of the film. And Matt Smith doesn’t know how to inhale. I appreciate the very original twist that the main monster is actually the patriarchy, which I saw six times in genre films last year alone. (02/09/2022)

Edgar Wright has made a kind of antithesis to the idealized utopia of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He has created a movie for all those people who have their heads in the clouds, and who like to dream about how they would have lived in a different ("better") time. However, every period in the past had its advantages and disadvantages. Last Night in Soho is a horror movie for fans of imaginative visuals and knowing winks combined with modern trends, even though it is doubtful you are going to be terrified by it. Anyway, I found it quite enjoyable and I enjoy replaying it in my head. (11/02/2021)

Last Night in Soho drew me to the cinema thanks to an enticing trailer and an even more enticing cast, so I went to the screening quite excited. At first, I found the film to be an average psychological thriller about delusions and demons of the past, but then the plot began to pick up and the suspense wasn't so much about the thrills as it was about unraveling the mystery set up. Even though I know that "the killer is the butler", the makers still managed to keep me guessing almost to the end, making me enjoy both plot twists all the more. Once again, I have to praise the excellent casting, as well as the 1960s art style and the visuals of the "ghosts". In the end, it's not a pure four stars, but in this case I'll add it. (11/13/2021)