Last Night in Soho (2021)

Ashley Grant66 said:I definitely picked up on the influences of Suspiria and Repulsion most clearly. There’s probably more where that came from, but I also got strong vibes from The Neon Demon, if I recall correctly.

spoiler

When the main villain is finally revealed in Deep Red, wasn't the old woman responsible for that too?

Honestly, I see the same or similar plots a hundred times and I always forget. Or rather, I rarely jump to conclusions before the movie spells them out for me. I mean, the old lady even says in the film she’d kill her boyfriend if she actually caught him—talk about blatant, useless foreshadowing.🤦 🤣

Anyway, I agree with the majority that it's worth a watch and at least decent, but it might be the weakest film from Edgar Wright since nothing about it feels particularly special. Just a weaker script. The acting and everything else is predictably high quality, though. Great music, too.👍

Ashley Grant66 said:I mostly picked up on the influences of Suspiria and Repulsion. There’s probably more there, but I definitely felt some echoes of The Neon Demon as well, if I recall correctly.

Not much to add since we seem to be on the same page here.
👍

Repulsion is a masterpiece; Suspiria is just okay; and The Neon Demon is absolute garbage.

As for this film, I actually liked it at first. The middle section was great, but the ending left much to be desired.

My rating is lower because:
1. That villainous little prank from a Kinder Egg starts working its magic, but then it just fizzles out as the minutes tick by.👎
2. A botched murder attempt in a library that gets completely ignored or forgotten.😢
3. Any character with half a brain wouldn't fail to find out the name of the person they're trying to pin the murder on.🙄

Six out of ten.

Without checking, was that trilogy actually co-written with Simon Pegg? You could tell by The World's End that the chemistry just wasn't there anymore, though he still had a certain charm. Pilgrim was great, but they basically just lifted every good joke straight from the comic. Baby Driver was mediocre, and this latest one is even worse. Edgar Wright is clearly a massive film buff, but without Pegg, the wit is gone. To be honest, the actors in his last two films have been pretty uncharismatic. Hopefully, he finds his groove again. He’s such a likable guy that all those loudmouthed American and British critics seem too heartless to tell him that this stuff actually sucks. 🕺

goldenhound32 said:1. It’s like some nasty sugar rush from a Hershey's egg that hits you all at once, then slowly fades away over a few minutes.👎

I don't get it either, but it's just plain stupid. One minute the women can't even stand up, and the next they're running around like crazy.🤦

goldenhound32 said:I thought this movie started off quite strong and the middle was great, but the ending felt just okay.

My lower rating is due to:
1. That bad tea from the Kinder Egg that starts working, but then seems to lose its effect as the minutes pass.👎
2. A neglected or forgotten murder attempt in the library.😢
3. The fact that anyone with half a brain wouldn't fail to find out the name of the person they suspect of the murder.🙄

I had those exact same thoughts. Especially regarding the tea being forgotten mid-scene. Everything else can be attributed to her mental instability.

That said, looking at modern cinema, I don't really look for logic anymore. 😁

If a movie holds my attention, keeps me interested, and looks good visually—that is usually more than enough for me.🙂

SPOILER

There’s this one scene where the old cop says, "Alex killed Sandie."

To me, that implies the old guy actually knew exactly who was responsible for the killings. But if he did, why didn't he step in? He was a police officer, for God's sake. It just doesn't add up.

goldenhound32 said:SPOILER

There's this one scene where the old cop says "Alex killed Sandie."

To me, it sounds like the old guy actually knew who was pulling the trigger. But I don't get why he didn't do anything about it, especially since he was on the force. Makes zero sense.

The way that scene plays out, it definitely implies the old cop might have known, especially since he hints that she isn't exactly an innocent victim either. 😉

mistybison said:Honestly, looking at movies these days, I've mostly stopped even bothering to look for logic in them. 😁

that shit don't fly with me ☕

If filmmakers eighty years ago were capable of producing noir films with coherent, meaningful narratives, why on earth can't someone making a movie today manage the same feat?

goldenhound32 said:I can't get behind that logic at all ☕

If filmmakers eighty years ago were capable of producing noir films with meaningful narratives, there is no reason why a modern director couldn't achieve the same thing today.

My take is that modern cinema isn't designed for longevity; instead, movies are made for quick entertainment—you watch them and immediately forget them. With such an overwhelming amount of content available, studios are primarily focused on fast profits and high turnover. Meanwhile, the average viewer is so overstimulated by this endless supply that they struggle to maintain focus for long periods (just look at how many people constantly fast-forward through movies and series!). Because it's harder to capture anyone's lasting interest, creators simply stop putting in the extra effort. Furthermore, you have to consider who is funding these projects and what their specific agendas are. Directors are forced to make compromises, trying to satisfy the financiers while still attempting to realize their own creative visions. Unfortunately, the art usually suffers in the process.

It’s honestly a bit much, all this excessive praise for a movie that was essentially just a total mess. 😁

There was this one stretch where the movie felt incredibly shallow—honestly, it felt like a half-baked attempt at mimicking Lynch—but then, halfway through, it actually started winning me over. I’ll give you that, the ending was totally predictable

The kitschiness actually worked for me, though—that specific color palette and the way they doubled up on certain scenes... it just landed

Strange movie... It was actually holding together for me until about halfway through, but once those ghosts showed up, I was totally checked out. 🙄

I don't get why they barely touched on her obvious mental breakdown when they practically teased it from the very first scene. 🤔
What, did she just magically snap out of it?

And what ever happened to the cop? Is he alive? Dead? Does it even matter since he's just some guy? ☕

Anya Taylor-Joy is stunning, though. I’d love to see her in something with more modern themes. Anyway, that's my two cents. 🥱

Melissa Sullivan said:Weird movie... it was mostly fine until the ghosts showed up, then I just lost interest. 🙄

I don't get why they barely touched on her obvious mental illness when it was basically established from the very first scene. 🤔
What, did she just magically get better?

And what happened to the cop? Alive? Dead? Doesn't really matter since he's a guy, I guess. ☕

Anya Taylor-Joy is gorgeous, though. I'd love to see her in movies with more modern themes. That's about it for my thoughts. 🥱

You could interpret that mental illness however you want. Plus, something shows up in the mirror again right at the end. 😉
The cop is dead. He gets run over. 🍿

Honestly, this movie managed to pull off something that hasn't happened to me in a long, long time—it actually caught me totally off guard. I was expecting it to head in one direction, but then it just kept veering off into these unexpected places... It really pulled me along for the ride, and hey, I’m definitely not complaining about that.

Man, this movie is just incredible. Seriously, one of the absolute best things I've seen all year. 🙏
I actually sat down and put together a full review right here
https://movietalks.org/last-night-in-soho/

That felt pretty light-weight overall, I guess.

6/10

Caught this one last night and I'm glad I did

Really solid movie—the biggest wins for me were the costumes, the hair, and the soundtrack (they nailed that whole 60s vibe perfectly), plus those two lead actresses were fantastic. The story holds up well too, even if some of the plot twists were somewhat predictable. My only real gripe is that the last 40 minutes felt a bit dragged out and tedious—it definitely could've been trimmed down 8/10