Psycho-Thriller With Hip Vintage Style:
Anya Taylor-Joy Stars In Last Night In Soho
Stylish, unsettling, and imaginative, Last Night in Soho is a psychological thriller of the old school, both in terms of visuals and storyline. What lights up the story are the performances of the three main leads, and a production design that brings the swinging 60s in London's Carnaby Street to life.
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| Anya Taylor-Joy in Last Night in Soho (Image courtesy of TIFF) |
Thomasin McKenzie plays Eloise “Ellie” Turner, an aspiring fashion designer and absolute fan of the 1960s and the mod Carnaby Street look. She applies to fashion school, where she's an outsider in the cutthroat world of fashion insider wannabes.
After she rents her own apartment to escape the fashion school bullies, she begins to connect with Sandy through her dreams. Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy) lives back in the era she idolizes, and is everything Ellie is not. She's brash, and unafraid to go after her dream of becoming a singer.
Enter Matt Smith's (Dr. Who) agent, and it seems like both young women are on their way to stardom. Ellie dyes her hair, and begins to emulate Sandy's style and personality in her own life, with initially encouraging results.
But...everything is not as it seems, and there is a much darker side to the world of nightclubs, aspiring singers and agents than appears to the young fashionista at first. Just when you think you're watching a happy, girl-transforms-into-a-diva fantasy, the story takes a much different turn.
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| Thomasin McKenzie & Anya Taylor-Joy in Last Night in Soho |
Both lead actresses are believable. Thomasin's naive girl who's trying to find a place in the world, and becomes embroiled in the shadowy side of life she never expected, is sympathetic and relatable. Anya Taylor-Joy has a luminous kind of screen presence in a character that becomes the key to understanding the story.
Bright colours and the fab production details create a realistic 60s streetscape, and a hip soundtrack adds to its appeal, along with a stellar supporting cast that includes Terence Stamp and Diana Rigg.
Last Night In Soho
Directed by Edgar Wright
Screenplay by Edgar Wright, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao, Synnøve Karlsen, Pauline McLynn, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg
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