The director Edgar Wright is known for some special films in recent years, such as Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, or Baby Driver. Nevertheless, MeinMMO author Schuhmann found it difficult to approach his latest film: “Last Night in Soho.” Now he has done it and does not regret it.
Why do I like Edgar Wright so much? Wright has a unique style of making films. He became famous through the “Cornetto Trilogy” alongside Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. These are classic “buddy” films, with action and comedy: Films like Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead start off relatively normal and then devolve into wild action orgies, featuring quirky characters, silly one-liners, and many hidden and subtextual gags. The more you watch them, the funnier and better the films become.
In Wright’s films, it either revolves around men steadfastly refusing to grow up or how fiction and films have shaped our daily lives. These are themes that have always resonated with me.
But Wright has proven that he is truly skilled when he does something different:
- With Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, he created a quirky comic world where video game logic applies – a cult hit
- With Baby Driver, he delivered a classic action thriller of great quality – maybe one of the best thrillers of recent years
Last Night in Soho didn’t sound like Wright at all
Why did the new film put me off? In 2021, Edgar Wright’s latest film, Last Night in Soho, was released, and I resisted watching it for a long time because it didn’t sound like Wright at all.
The film is about a young woman who moves from the countryside to London to study fashion but then gets lost in daydreams of the glittering London of the 1960s: We are talking about glitter, glamour, nightlife. We are talking about women looking in mirrors and suddenly seeing another face. We are talking about men in suits swirling women in dresses around the ballroom.
No Simon Pegg, no car chases in hot cars, no silly one-liners – just nostalgia, self-discovery, and fashion. I was out.
Why did I end up watching it anyway? Well, Last Night in Soho was available on Amazon Prime, and if you pay the 9 € and already have the service, you might as well check it out to get the most out of your money.
And indeed, the film turned out to be different from what I had assumed based on the trailer and initial descriptions: Because the search for meaning and the London of the 60s quickly evolve into a psychological thriller like Black Swan. With Matt Smith (from House of Dragon), there’s a charismatic, shady character, and soon you find yourself captivated by Edgar Wright’s unique style and wanting to know what the hell is actually going on.
For behind every cut, behind every sequence, something is hidden that is more than it appears at first glance.
In theaters, the film was quite a flop because many fans of Edgar Wright likely thought the same way I did. But after nearly 2 hours and a gripping film, I was quite satisfied with myself for having watched the so-called “women’s film.” Because the film that begins so shy and dreamy quickly becomes incredibly thrilling and dark.
Last Night in Soho can be watched in German on Amazon Prime.
More movie recommendations: A fascinating film on Netflix is like “Squid Game,” but the game only ends when only one person is left alive
