AMMAN — It has been a
big year for filmmaker Edgar Wright, who already released his documentary “The
Sparks Brothers,” and is already back with “Last Night in Soho.”
اضافة اعلان
It starts with a young
girl named Ellie (played by Thomasin McKenzie), who leaves her hometown for the
big, bad city. However, this stereotypical protagonist has a sixth sense.
Wright's filmography typically
combines his deep and encyclopedic love of cinema with his talent for
atmosphere. The director quickly established himself in the international
cinematographic landscape as a postmodern filmmaker with a frenzied rhythm and
British humor.
Every new film he
releases steps off the beaten track and contains all the energy, ardor, and
ambition that characterizes its director.
Synopsis
“Last Night in SOHO” follows
the story of a young woman passionate about fashion and design, and who
mysteriously manages to return to the 1960s where she meets her idol — a dazzling
young rising star. Nevertheless, the London of the 1960s is not what it seems.
This is a wonderful
setup for Ellie but the lines between reality and fantasy soon begin to blur,
and Ellie's dream quickly turns into a nightmare. Cowritten with Krysty
Wilson-Cairns (“1917”), Wright's “Last Night in Soho” is funny and chaotic,
sleek and elegant, and dissolves into its puzzling second half.
The way McKenzie plays
Ellie is reminiscent of her as Tom in “Leave No Trace.” She is a stranger
caught in a strange land, trying to mend her disconnection from a parent. She
uses her 1960s nostalgia as a safety net, eventually buying period-appropriate
clothes and dying her hair blonde.
The initial premise of
"Last Night in Soho" is also striking. For example, during a taxi
ride the driver starts commenting on her legs and wants to know if other models
live with her. Wright wants to make this film not just a warning against blind
nostalgia, but a critique of toxic men.
This center hook
alludes to the theme. When Ellie is sleeping she suddenly sees another
character named Sandy. She then becomes Sandy and through ingenious effects and
staging, she is shown descending the staircase of a trendy and fabulous 1960s
club. In front of her is a wall made of mirrors. On one side is Sandy’s
reflections and on the other is Ellie’s.
Where Wright's film
starts to falter is with its villain. You see, Sandy comes under the watchful
eye of Jack (played by Matt Smith), an agent who represents all of the girls. He
uses his thirst for fame against Sandy by promising to help her career. The
character’s premise is sound, but Wright does not build the character enough to
make him more of a bogeyman.
More than another woke
film about the victimization of women throughout time, “Last Night in Soho” is
a skillful thriller that is masterfully directed by Wright.
He films beautifully
and his work is covered in a veil of mystery, and the harmonious script is full
of good ideas that come to life on the screen.
However, one is left
wondering if the author of the script, often accused of clumsiness in the past,
wants to lead the audience — little by little — into discovering that the film
contains aspects of other genres.
The unenthusiastic,
adolescent woman in the first sequences follows another through hints of cinema
noir, thriller, fantasy, and then horror.
In the end, Wright's dive
into the feminist pamphlet is relevant. It escapes the blandness of Netflix's
thematic avatars to provide a dense, generously cinematographic work. More consistent
for adults than his hollow teenage soundtrack that was “Baby Driver.”
Rather quickly, “Last
Night in Soho’s” second propels the film. We gradually realize that when Jack
took Sandy under his wing, it was less so to make her the new star of Broadway
than for his own ambitions.
Then begins the descent into hell for Sandy, which
Ellie follows closely, especially as she begins to have visions, pursued by a
specter of Jack and his army of predatory men. This brings us to the heart of
the film's purpose, which succeeds in conveying all the anguish that
patriarchal domination can arouse in its victims.
Beyond its feminist
message, “Last Night in Soho” strongly evokes the current tendency to idealize
the past.
The film concludes
with a rather unexpected revelation, which reveals the whole point: it’s better
to detach oneself from the obsessions of the past, and instead use it as a guide.
Focus on the present.
A flashy and sublime
work, deeply haunted by its ghosts, “Last Night in Soho” is a hallucinatory,
mystical, and magical trip to the 1960s. With his multifaceted horror-thriller,
Wright is reinventing himself.
Read more Lifestyle
.jpg)
.jpg)
