Last Night in Soho is… pretty good!
While it does fall apart somewhat towards the end (especially the epilogue-esque scene where everything’s just kind of fine now) and most of the characters only really exist to move Thomasin McKenzie’s character from one point to another until (and, to a certain extent, even after) she starts falling deeper and deeper into the ‘60s wormhole.
McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy and Matt Smith are all great (and probably the best of the cast), which is good because the play the three most important characters and the movie relies on them, particularly as it starts to buckle under some of its more extravagant excesses as it heads to its conclusion. A little Matt Smith detour real quick, a lot of this movie feels like a particularly trippy Steven Moffatt episode of Doctor Who, especially in the ‘60s scenes.
However, much like a lot of (especially late) Moffatt era Who, there are probably a few too many things going on at any given time for it too reach a completely satisfying conclusion. There are probably one too many genres here for it to juggle effectively and a surprising number of people almost get hit by cars. The last third also felt either rushed or not fully realized or something so the ending is a little weird.
That said, it does a great job of setting the atmosphere, the tension builds well, the use of music and costume are phenomenal and it does a pretty good job of making sure you want the two heroines to be ok, if not outright succeed. It generally sacrifices making any other character even remotely interesting to do so but that’s ok because the strength of the leads and atmosphere really carry and elevate the film anyway, not necessarily the writing.
It also dabbles in a little commentary on the destructive nature of the power of nostalgia. The main character spends most of her time stuck in the past, specifically the 1960s. The movie is simultaneously a love letter to the past and a critique of how much of our modern, rose-colored view of that past clouds how it really was. As a person who thinks nostalgia is one of the worst things we humans inflict on ourselves, the movie’s treatment of it speaks to me.
All in all, despite some shortcomings (including some twists that were either too well set up or just predictable in hindsight or both) and the movie struggling to support all of its many ideas for the entire runtime, this was a pretty solid movie and I’m definitely interested in rewatching. If I find little details and clues I might have missed, great. If not, it still an enjoyable and beautiful adventure with three strong leads.
7/10
