Chad Byrnes
Taking a hard left turn from his usual route of bold, evocative comedies, Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho veers down a darker road. Much like his American counterpart, Quentin Tarantino, the British auteur makes films that pay homage to his influences even as they stretch conventions to a breaking point. He’s tackled almost every category: horror (Shaun of the Dead), action (Hot Fuzz), crime (Baby Driver) and most recently, music documentary (The Sparks Brothers). Now, he satiates his appetite for British thrillers like Peeping Tom and 70’s Italian Giallo films with his most audacious project yet.
Visually, its a sumptuous and intoxicating journey. Not a horror film per se (at least, not a scary one), Wright does employ the genre’s tropes to tell a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of nostalgia, male toxicity and burying the past. The result is a hybridization of genres which is equally absorbing and frustrating. Wright is a master of visually engaging his audience, but the script needed one more draft to flesh out its threadbare characters. Still, it’s got a dizzying rhythm you can’t easily shake.
《迷离夜苏活》主角 Eloise 是一位热爱时尚的年轻服装设计师，拥有灵异体质的她无意间回到了六〇年代，遇上了安雅泰勒乔伊饰演的年轻歌手Sandy，并将她视为偶像，甚至模仿起Sandy的造型风格、爱上麦特史密斯演出的Sandy男友Jack。然而在六〇年代苏活区的光鲜亮丽之下，其实还深藏著黑暗的一面，而危险不仅渐渐找上Eloise，更开始对她所生活的现代产生影响，更超越现在与过去的界线，引发阴森恐怖的后果！
Much like the recently released The French Dispatch, which solely relies on its own elegance and design to entertain us, this movie favors style over plot and character. The difference however lies in how the directors approach their material. While Wes Anderson requires a secret handshake to enter his domain, Wright’s passion to connect with his audience and pull them into his imagination is palpable and thrilling; and it has a modicum of emotional currency. The actors also bring a lot to an already visually stunning tableau.
McKenzie’s turn as Eloise could’ve easily felt forced, even corny, but she injects some genuine emotion into a role that requires gawking and screaming a lot. However, even with a secondary part, this is Taylor-Joy’s (The Queen’s Gambit) movie. You can’t take your eyes off her. She’s equal parts obstinate, vulnerable and wistfully tragic. Hollywood has definitely discovered a modern Audrey Hepburn. It’s also a joy to see iconic talents like Rigg and Terrence Stamp act their hearts out. There’s no doubt that Last Night In Soho gets a little high on its own stylistic panache but Wright’s obsessive fervor for the subject makes it an original and worthy experience.
