Plot Summary
The film Last Night in Soho starts by showing a house located in England in some village. A girl gets a letter in her grandma’s house; when opening it, she realizes that she has been accepted into a college in Soho, London, to pursue a degree in fashion. She gets really excited by it. We are given the idea that she has been anticipating this very moment for a long time now. Her grandma, however, is unable to be extensively happy about it as we get to know that she has lost her daughter in a similar situation.
Grandma Peggy warns her about the egregious men in London, but Eloise smiles and doesn’t seem to be concerned about it at all. She packs her things and heads to London. There, her grandma had already arranged a place for her to stay. She meets Jocasta, her new roommate. But Eloise’s and Jocasta’s interests are uncommon to each other. Even though Jocasta acts nice when she first meets Eloise, she later portrays hints of the characteristics of a bully.
This makes Eloise very uncomfortable, and she finds herself unable to focus on things with Jocasta bullying around her. Thus, forcing Eloise to move out and go to some other place. Without announcing the matters to her grandma, Eloise moves out of the place silently and gets to a house nearby in Soho, London.
She likes the new place in Soho, London, and its owner Miss Collins. But she must pay more for rent here. So, she decides to work part-time in a pub in Soho, London. As Eloise is from a village, she finds the Pub’s environment very unfamiliar. But she is determined to work there, nonetheless. Now, this is where Last Night in Soho really gets interesting. She gets vision when she is sleeping.
Visions of a woman from the 1960s in London. Her name is Sandy, a dancer who has come to Soho, London, with dreams of becoming a massive star. In the visions, Sandy meets a man named Jack, who is a well-known man in the dancing business.
When Sandy inquires, she gets pointed towards Jack. So, she meets him, and they both eventually fall in love after meeting a couple of times in the Pub. Eloise witnesses all these in her vision when she goes to sleep. When she wakes up and goes to college, she uses the same costume that Sandy wears in her vision and gets appreciated by her professors there. Jocasta gets jealous of this. When Eloise is invited by her friend John to do something fun at night, she turns down the offer because she is busy seeing the visions at night.
When she goes to sleep, the story of Sandy continues. Jack introduces her to some of his friends in the business, and she is expected to sleep with them. Without a choice, she does it unhappily and unwillingly. She starts hating Jack from then on. One night in Eloise’s Vision, she witnesses a gory scene where Sandy is In a pool of blood and presumingly dead while Jack is on top of her.
This sight freaks Eloise, and she decides to find answers. Then in Last Night in Soho, She starts searching for clues to bring justice to Sandy. The audience then witnesses how Eloise cracks the code and perceives answers to her riddles in Last Night in Soho.
Edgar Wright’s new take in Last Night in Soho
When going into the world of Edgar Wright’s universe, we usually expect a lot of fun and entertainment throughout the movie, with bits of emotional moments here and there scattered throughout. But this was a full and full thriller that doesn’t waste time preparing the premises for it.
Portrayal of London
After watching Last Night in Soho, people in London will not be convinced by London’s portrayal. The reason becomes very pellucid in the movie, where even in the beginning, we see Eloise being verbally harassed by a taxi driver in London. Now, this happens in many movies, but in Last Night in Soho, the fact that grandma so viciously warns about London, and this incident takes place right after, proves that it is directed towards it. We see nothing good about London, and the audience struggles to see the reason why.
Other Pros and Cons
Pros:
The cast performance of Last Night in Soho is phenomenal. They take us right into the universe set by the director, and it feels magnificent. One of the reasons for the perfect alignment of the situations and making the audience feel relatable is due to the art direction. The parallel worlds of 1960s London and contemporary London are shown consequently, but we find it challenging to figure out which is which.
Only when we focus and observe the minute and trivial things are we able to tell which is the 1960s London and the contemporary London. This is due to the brilliance of the Art directors; we can tell how much they’ve spent time on even minute things. Moreover, the costume design is excellent as the makers convince the audience by it when teachers of Eloise appreciate her for the designs she made. If they messed up in the costume design, the audience wouldn’t be able to connect with Last Night in Soho.
Cons:
The movie’s first half seems a bit laggy and boring as we find ourselves out of focus. It becomes hard to concentrate on the movie after a point. But the climax seems to compensate for it.
Overall Verdict (3.5/5 Stars)
Last Night in Soho is a good movie, but you’ll have to forget that Edgar Wright directs it as it would spur a certain expectation in your mind, whereas when you finish the movie, it might not live up to it.
