Review of Last Night in Soho (2021) by Theredsky — 13 Nov 2021

For Edgar Wright’s weakest film, it’s still pretty great. I know I said that after I saw it that it was my favorite film of the year but I have changed my mind. It’s still pretty great but the longer I thought about it, some cracks started to show mostly within some of the actions the characters make.

Thomasin Mackenzie almost stabs someone in the eye and she doesn’t get in any trouble for it? Just little nitpicks like that but it does pull you out. It was also really easy to call out the big twists of the film long before they actually happen.

The twists were great but easy to see coming. The ending also felt a little too cliched. It should have ended at a certain scene but it didn’t and gave us an ending that feels like it’s ripped straight from other films.

All of the performances were great. Anya Taylor-Joy was pretty great here. Her character was constantly engaging and the way she transforms throughout the film was great to watch. Thomasin McKenzie gives a career best so far and I think her performance very effectively shows the main theme of the film.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to reminisce about the past but it isn’t as perfect as you want to imagine it is. Easily my favorite performance of the entire film came from Matt Smith. That may be my Doctor Who bias talking but I thought Smith’s performance was phenomenal and one of my favorites of the year.

He is able to distinguish himself from his other performances and it was amazing to see him play a compelling and screwed up character. The writing is great but doesn’t really compare to Wright’s other films.

His direction however is as good as always. His style is still very distinct here along with the editing. Even though this is a completely different genre for Edgar Wright, he still knocked it out of the park with the horror elements.

There is a clear homage to other horror films like Rosemary’s Baby but they only serve as homages up until the ending. Wright’s editing style is still present but feels very toned down compared to his other films.

It’ll be exciting to see if Wright continues to work in this genre. I would definitely recommend checking this out. It’s not Wright’s best but a worthy film in his filmography.