LAST NIGHT IN SOHO

 Thomasina McKenzie     Anya Taylor-Joy     Matt Smith     Diana Rigg

Synnove Karlsen     Rita Tushingham     Terence Stamp

             The most charming and fortuitous part of this film is the opening when Eloise (McKenzie) is dancing with abandon in her bedroom anticipating her dreams coming true in becoming a fashion designer in London.  She has been accepted into a design school there and has high hopes of being a success.  Her grandmother (Nolan) whom she lives with expresses her concern about Eloise keeping herself together in the big city, but Eloise brushes aside her concerns and rushes off.

            Her first encounters with her new roommate (Karlsen) and her friends are stressful, and Ellie (now) wisely finds her own place to live with Miss Collins (Rigg) who has strict but not unreasonable rules.  She lives near a French bistro and a pub—all set-ups for a ripe imagination.

            An interesting twist is director Edgar Wright (cowriter with Krysty Wilson-Cairns) introducing an alter-ego for Ellie, “Sandie” (Taylor-Joy), one who is more an expression of Ellie’s imagination than Ellie herself. Sandie is bold, daring, seductive, and assertively puts herself forward in getting what she wants.  This creates problems for Ellie who must clamp down on Sandie when she is getting too wild.  Sandie haunts Ellie in her dreams, only to disappear when Ellie’s morning alarm goes off.  This back-and-forth creates many dramatic and interesting moments in the film.

            All this was fascinating for me, expecting that the denouement would be as clever as it is in Wright’s earlier film, Baby Driver.   But no, my wish was not fulfilled.  The ending resembles more Wright’s World’s End.   Last Night in Soho ends up being far-fetched, turning into a fiasco, with a demented mind dissembling into absurdity.  Worse, it slides into the belief in ghosts and their power to continue to haunt the living.  

            The performances of the actors redeem this movie to some extent.  Thomasina McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy are two of my favorite actresses and casting (Nina Gold, Martin Ware) them as two aspects of Eloise is truly clever.  The filmmakers (Chung-hoon Chung, cinematographer) are admirably clever in making their faces appear so much the same.  McKenzie and Taylor-Joy swerving back and forth into each other is a hallmark of expertise on the part of the actors as well as the crafts people.

            Classified as a drama/horror/mystery/thriller, Last Night in Soho meets these criteria, but it goes over the top into something completely unbelievable, I detached from it eventually.  The two-hour run time is part of the problem; after ninety minutes, I was ready for it to be over.  It was like the filmmakers were just spattering us with horrors stacked upon one another just for the sake of extending the time.  Not necessary.

 

Last Night in Soho sets us up for expecting knowledge and cleverness but lets us down by ending in the usual horror movie absurdity.

 

Grade:  C-                             By Donna R. Copeland

BABY DRIVER

Ansel Elgort     Kevin Spacey     Jon Hamm     Jamie Foxx     Eiza Gonzalez     Lily James

     The opening car chase is spectacular—and this is from someone who hates such things, along with interminable gunfire.  But Edgar Wright’s wit and sensibility make those scenes in this movie entertaining.  To see the driver Baby (Elgort) maneuvering through all kinds of tight spots tailed by dozens of police cars with red lights and sirens in full blast, and then later see his body “dance” in similar ways preparing a sandwich in the kitchen at home is truly a work of art. 

     But the most delightful—and true—aspect of the film are the characterizations of the most motley crew you’ve ever seen.  Baby is beholden to a criminal boss called Doc (Spacey) who forces him to drive get-away cars to pay off a debt for a teenage transgression.  Baby is something of a savant (maybe Asperger’s Syndrome) who has an affinity for driving cars and a phenomenal memory, even while listening to music with ear buds always attached and on.  Oh, and he likes to record all conversations, which he puts to music in his spare time. He has a back-story that supports his idiosyncrasies and talents, which accounts for his personality and tastes.  He has a deaf foster father, Joseph (C. J. Jones), whom he clearly adores and guides him in ethical behavior.  Joseph is successful as a parent, because Baby has unassailable values and a conscience.

     Ahem.  Baby Driver reminds us that events in our lives are not always under our control, often because of the good/bad side of things.  Doc is good in one sense and bad in another.  He’s good with a kind of honesty—he honors his promises—but bad in—oh, let me count the ways.  You will see if you go to this film.  Doc’s criminal flunkies are colorful, really bad, guys.  One (Doc never puts the same team together twice) is Bats (who really is) (Foxx).  He cannot fathom someone like Baby and rudely taunts him, is always quick on the draw, and challenging of everyone.  Buddy (Hamm) and Darling (Gonzalez) are kissy-face lovers who are only a little more sane.  At least Buddy has some appreciation for Baby’s music, but that bond is fragile.  There are others just as colorful.

     Wright’s dialog and the synchronization of music and action with it is truly impressive in every detail.  Jobs are planned and carried out with precision, while Baby waits in the car, pantomiming comically to his music.  Seldom can a film be so entertaining, violent, funny, and smartly mapped out, while maintaining entertainment value and some degree of plausibility and heart.  Elgort will likely be put on the map of fame and glory with his portrayal of this unusual, complex, and lovable character.  He becomes smitten with a waitress (James), which makes him even more endearing. 

     Jamie Foxx is another standout, whose character is meant to drive everyone crazy, but is sharp as a tack.  Loyalty is foreign to him, and he tests limits with one and all as a matter of course.  Yet, he is funny as well.  These are only some of the many loony tunes Doc recruits for his jobs.

     Music (Steven Price) and cinematography (Bill Pope) support and enhance the script and are enjoyable in their own right. 

One of the very best films of the 2017 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland