@@mollywalker5790 These were my thoughts exactly!!! Me and my friends were pissing ourselves at how bad that final runway was 💀 it's a shame because I pretty much disliked the whole movie but I at least expected looks out of it
I think the reason Ellie sees a vision of Sandy dying is because in a way she did die. The light and drive in her was killed everytime a man took advantage of her. A piece of her died little by little until finally Jack took the last bit of her. Until she was completely gone and was no longer the Sandy with a dream or passion. So in a way, Jack did kill her
I totally agree with you, she's death but not in the literal way and that's the saddest thing about her character. I don't get why people think of her has a "villain".
@@mmneverold the really should’ve done more with that. There needed to be more resolution after she almost stabbed the girl with scissors. If the main character was drugged than it makes more sense that she was forgiven
As far as Ms. Collins’ past tenants, she actually mentions the fact that many past tenants left in the middle of the night without a word, which is why she initially wanted Ellie to give her so much money upfront. It’s heavily implied that they saw visions too, and left because they got scared
she could've been lying. ellie gave her the deposit and ms collins would've killed her, which meant she'd get to keep the deposit. let's say the others had visions too and confronted her about it and she "gave them some tea" as well, again she would've been able to keep the deposit. she could've done it for money, who knows.
ellie is a medium, that's why she can see the visions. she's sensitive to people and energy and there's so much in that room that she can fully be transported back there. they mention at some point the idea of important events leaving a mark on the place it happened in, and this is the thought behind the paranormal aspects. the room where sandie lived not only held the memories of her, but the men who were murdered there. this is why she is seeing sandie even though sandie is not dead, the imprint of the memory is so strong. the fact that ellie is a medium is why she can see her mom and sandie in mirrors, they've left marks on her, so she carries a bit of them around with her. i know that not everyone would get this whole thing on one watch or even at all, but it explains a lot of the paranormal stuff, i think.
i also found the depiction of her assaults, and how she changed because of them, very well done. it was triggering a little to see it for me, but i think they showed exactly what they needed to. focusing on how it affected her was a very good decision, and i love that ellie was 100% on sandie's side, because she understood what she'd been through.
I really enjoyed this flick, especially Thomasin, Anya and Matt's performances. The set design and cinematography was gorgeous, especially when Eloise first arrives in 1960's London, and the various sets allowing Ellie to peek into Sandie's life.
I LOVED watching ellie's ghost eye makeup as it slowly gets ruined.....I often replicate it just to go to the grocery store. From the cheap party city white and black face paint that would run at the slightest drop of water. It's so amazing that within the first few hours of it on her face, the white has already wiped off, and the black started streaking in the rain. However I've found that even though it's cheap clown makeup, it sticks in the weirdest places. So for it to still be on ellie's eyes the next day is completely realistic
I don't think they showed a wrong vision when sandie got stabbed, i think it was more about the mental feeling of abuse, it was so traumatizing, and considering that the room kept that trauma more than being haunted per se, that when she was being abused she felt like dying that moment was her turning point and it was then when Sandie lost the person she was before for good.
Regarding Ellie's vision being wrong when she sees Sandy die; I interpreted that as the effect of her being roofied earlier in the night, I assumed that her being drugged messed with her perception, she saw struggle and blood, and assumed that Sandy was the one who died, because Jack was clearly already established as a violent person to Ellie.
@@girlsgokawaii My only problem with that interpretation is that it renders Ellie getting roofied completely useless to the plot so i like to think the reason it happened was to blur her perception of the vision.
@@NeonUFO I think it's a mixture of both tbh. the scene exists mostly to establish that ellie was drugged but also had an underlying metaphor that the audience would understand after the twist
As a black person, John character was most definitely giving parental black friend/overly supportive black friend vibes. Like the way he was so enamored and stood beside Ellie through ALL OF HER EPISODES even though he barely knew her and her situation was just so… odd lol. Also that part where she and him were about to get intimate and the visions of Sandy’s murder happened at the same time kinda left a bad taste in my mouth because obviously she was the only one who saw what was happening and from a stranger walking in it looked like a black man was about to assault a white woman and that situation could’ve got really bad really quick so that bothered me. But besides that I actually really enjoyed the movie it kept me on the edge of my seat and it was STUNNING visually I can’t wait till it gets on steaming sites so I can binge watch it !! lol
@@blablablablablibla hmmm that’s fair but it still shows the casting team didn’t really see the implications of having a black man play that type of character could imply especially with a lot of black people being traumatized by the events of summer 2020 and so many people talking about harmful tropes like John’s. It just seemed like they wanted to be “diverse “ but they didn’t really think it all the way through.
i think the ghost of ellie's mom is there to imply that she's schizophrenic and that her mom was too (i don't remember the exact words but ellie tells the rest that she killed herself because of mental illness), like we're meant to wonder if ellie's visions are actually real or if she's just delusional, at least at first.
i interpreted it as ellie’s mum protected her from other spirits, and that’s why in london she started seeing ghosts, because her mum’s ghost wasn’t there
It seems like her grandmother and mother & herself can see spirits and that in London there are so many ghosts that it could overwhelm Ellie like it had her mother.
I also felt that in the interview with the police it was heavily hinted at Schizophrenia or some other similar mental health disorder, that I think could of been the entire plot all along (don't ask me how her 'visions' could have been right or that they weren't showed in Sandy's death)
That´s what i originally thought. when i first saw the movie that ending felt more as wish fulfillment on ellie's mind. I mean she almost stabbed one of her classmates, how in the world she ended still at school having her first fashion show? she would at least been expelled right?. Since then i saw some spoilers reviews of the movie and realized that the ending is considered reality rather than one last hallucination. But I still think she had some degree of schizophrenia.
It’s nice to hear you liked it even though it has flaws-I feel the exact same way, and it was kind of disheartening to see how critics just ruthlessly bashed it. (Also, I’ve been wondering if you were going to do a video on this!)
I couldnt disagree more about her schizophrenic visions of her mom. That was vital in establishing our main character as an unreliable narrator. If they didnt do that, then we might have believed her when she started having these visions and the end twist wouldnt have been so successful. The movie was fantastic in my opinion.
@@papasscooperiaworker3649 we are watching the story through her eyes but it was established early on that not everything she sees is really there, like her dead mom in the mirror. From that moment on, we as the audience didnt know what to believe.
To me this has the same feel as the neon demon. I don't know if anyone remembers that movie but that movie was phenomenal the fashion in that movie The lighting the message it just all seems a lot like this movie. Even though these movies are pretty different plot wise. I would LOVE to see her do a neon demon video.
I wouldn’t use the term “schizophrenic visions” as this is offensive and sounds ignorant. Ellie does not have schizophrenia, and visions/hallucinations are a symptom of psychosis. These are not always present in those who have schizophrenia, and not everyone who has hallucinations is schizophrenic.
My theory was that the detective who seemingly tried to help Sandy actually ended up taking advantage of her just like the rest and that's why he had such a sinister aura about him
I think he didn't, because that explains why he was the only one who survived, he was compliant but never actually went to her bedroom so she didn't kill him
This was odd to me too. And also the whole eerie, “sandy wasn’t innocent” was also odd to me. Did he suspect that she murdered the men? And if so why did he allude to the idea that sandy was dead in the beginning when he talked to Ellie?
@@fabfemme800 he probably saw her slowly lose her old self (the whole dreaming of being a performer thing) and saw in her what had happened to numerous girls before her, so he meant the old sandie died, also why he refers to her as alex
I thought the "don't overromanticize the past" message was very minor. Everyone says that's what the movie was about, but it seemed kind of irrelevant. Ellie liked the fashion and music and culture, she wasn't saying there was no crime or bad people or anything. The movie seemed to be mainly about sexualization and abuse of women and how harmful that is. That a woman can be so talented and men will still want her to take her clothes off.
But at the start Ellie says that she would want to live in london in the 60's if she could, and she clearly wasn't expecting sandy to get abused the way she was. It wasn't just the art, she was also clearly attached to it because she was romanticizing the stories about her mum and grandma.
@@Aisha_Luv I think the point is she was romanticising the time but the movie didnt focus much on that message, as her mum's suicide happened likely because of abuse too ?
I watched a different video that explained the type of ghosts the movie was going for. Basically the ghost aren’t people haunting and area, it’s the physic energy of an emotionally charged moment that is trapped in a space. Going off that I see Ellie’s vision of Sandy’s death as the methodical death of Sandy. Once she killed Jack the person that Sandy was at the beginning of the movie was dead. Killed my circumstance and trams. So it wasn’t that her vision was wrong, it was more like it was as literal as we had originally assumed.
one of the most visually stunning films i have EVER seen. so much inspiration for a mod/swinging 60s nerd like me. there were a few plot holes that bothered me a bit and i felt like the boyfriend wasn’t really utilized much but it wasn’t enough to ruin the experience as a whole. everyone in the cast killed it, designers killed it, director killed it, writer killed it, overall a great film and maybe my favorite that i saw this year. *eta* as a survivor of numerous SA’s, the twist really took me by surprise and shocked me to my core. i don’t know that i can watch that part again if i choose to do so but in a weirdly sardonic way it almost felt like my own kind of revenge fantasy that i was watching play out in front of me. i can’t say for certain how others that haven’t been in that situation reacted to it but it really left a mark on me.
As a victim of SA myself, I definitely felt something similar when the twist was revealed. I don't condone violence but watching all that unravel, it felt like my own revenge fantasy too (just like that one particular scene in The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo) It felt satisfying in a weird way. But when Last Night in Soho ended, it left me feeling unsettled. Issues like these should be taken more seriously, not marketed as some edgy, spooky, thrilling Halloween movie. I hope you're in a better place now btw. Sending you a virtual hug!
Why did Ellie wake up with a hickie but then that physical connection between them never comes up again? Why could Ellie see Sandy's "ghost" when Sandy is still alive? (I know she symbolically "died" but is that how ghosts work? Is Ellie not seeing ghosts but just memories?) I really liked this movie right up until the third act, then it became so over the top and silly.
to be completely honest, it felt like they were building up to Ellie reliving exactly what happened to Sandie, ultimately leading to her own death. the scene where she realizes the disco / dancefloor(?) Jack took Sandie was now a massage parlour made me think that she would live the best moments of Sandie's life in those dreams but in reality she would spiral down into drug abuse and prostitution; and there were so many signs for that, the notes advertising "the hottest blonde" glued to the phone booth, the massage parlour scene, the hickey / physical connection between them... the second act completely debunked this for me and felt so bland compared to the beginning. and it sucks because up until that point i was like "holy shit this movie is so genius for doing this", and it did but it also didn't??? it's a great movie, don't get me wrong, but the plot really let me down somehow :((
@@idilio You're totally right! It kind of feels like another plot got cut from the film! It's too bad because the concept is so fun and refreshing, but the execution just didn't stick it.
I thought the supporting character/boyfriend had no personality and story of his own, except for being overly nice and having no boundaries with a girl he barely knows (basically doing anything for her). Which is a shame. He could have been interesting. But besides that and the fact that it lacked subtlety at times, I thought it was very exciting, and I loved the fact that the horror of the movie was something actually very real and disturbing about society (and not a scary ghost or a random psychopath). Still, I was also disappointed by the last scene. I was hoping that she would have turned the dress into something kind of gory but in a stylish and impactful way. Instead, it's simply the dresses she saw from the past with a small twist of modernity. Oh, I also thought he was inspired by Repulsion but I didn't know about the film Don't Look Now. Sounds interesting.
Agreed! He was so flat and kind of just popped up whenever she was really overwhelmed and was nice to her but they didn’t really have chemistry or a reason to date each other minus him being nice to her and lowkey obsessed
True, while I liked John as a character, he seemed to serve no real purpose other than being a red herring, and not being a dick, unlike most of the men in Ellie and Sandie's stories, yet if he was written out of the film, nothing substantial would really change all that much.
(Copy/pasting my comment from Amanda The Jedi’s review of Last Night In SoHo, hope you don’t mind!) I think that John definitely suffers from Edgar Wright Love Interest Syndrome (see: Debora from Baby Driver) where he doesn’t really give them a life outside of being there for the main character through thick and thin. It’s also pretty loaded that John is the first Black protagonist Wright has ever written, and having him not only have no personality or motivation outside of caring about his white maybe-girlfriend, but ALSO having him very casually brush off that he was accused of raping her and was physically attacked as a result of that…it really didn’t sit well with me. I absolutely love this film, but Wright still has things to learn as an artist, especially regarding characters of color.
Ditto, while I liked John fine enough, he just seemed to be a textbook Satellite Love Interest, who was understanding about Ellie stabbing Jacosta, that he gave her a lift home, and yet we never learned anything about him.
Couldn't agree more, I was happy to see a black main character in an Edgar Wright movie, it's an step in the right direction, but it's definitely what I'm gonna call Manic Pixie Dream Black Boy
@@nattmazzoni just because a character has no traits / personality, does not automatically make them a manic pixie trope. John is definitely not one per definition
Last Night in Soho reminded me so much of 1997's Perfect Blue, which I thought was executed absolutely perfectly-it follows a very similar vision and idea, but I think the main difference between them is that I don't know whether the visions of Sandie are hallucinations or reality, which confuses me, rather than in Perfect Blue where the lack of clarity is what makes it thrilling. Anyways, love love love Anya Taylor-Joy and if you love this genre of film, pls check out Perfect Blue! The animation, use of color, lighting, everything is so perfect.
Honestly this movie was so good but at the start (before her visions) the vibe of the movie felt like it was already shot quite in the past and i was almost shocked to see the use of technology and the mention of kylie jenner
This movie was also heavily influenced by Giallo films from the 70s. She’s far too obscure, but there’s an actress named Edwige Fenech, who was like the 70’s scream queen in Italian horror. Her look and style is just flawless.
Speaking of Edwige Fenech, I would like to see moderngurlz' review on The Love Witch. That movie is a much thorough homage to 60s-70s movies, especially the actress resemble Fenech.
I knew there had to be a reason there was so much blood. obviously there's going to be blood when someone is stabbed but they really amplified the splatter. giallo is known for being ridiculously bloody lol
Jocasta in 7:42 is acrually the protagonist of scottish horror miniseries Clique, where she portrays brilliantly the dark underground of womanwood in a univerity setting. it's shocking and amazing, you'll like it if you liked this film.
Ngl, I definitely swooned when Sam Claflin made his brief appearance in the film (had no idea he was in this), and from the moment I saw him, I was like, "Oh, he's definitely a good guy. There's no way he's as skanky as the rest of Sandy's clients." And I'm just glad that I was right about that lol too bad he made no sense as an elderly detective in terms of his character aside from being a red herring
i'm so glad i'm not the only one who enjoyed this movie and thought the costumes were gorgeous. i will say hearing you call matt smith a "veteran actor" truly shook me as in my head he's still a 26 year old newcomer
i didn’t love Ellie’s designs at the end either !! they were so underwhelming and just not what I was expecting based on her sketches she’s still a student so I’ll cut her some slack lol
i think the fact that ellie sees her mothers ghost is very important to the story. it’s implied that her sensitivity to the supernatural is why she can see all the apparitions and no one else can. ellie seeing her mother is an early indication that she is sensitive to that kind of thing.
I really loved the movie in general, but I found the way fashion was integrated in the plot a little bit disappointing. It is implied that Ellie is an amazing design talent, which has brought her from a little English village straight to London College of Fashion. And we also see this, the craftsmanship of the paper dress she probably did for the application is amazing, as are the clothes she says she made herself, and her general sense of style. I think this makes it feel weird when Jocanda and the girls dunk on her for her clothes, when it so obvious that Ellie is much more skilled when it comes to fashion. But I agree that this happens. I also think that this is what John immediately sees in her, that she is at LCF because of her talent, not because of clout. That makes it so infuriating that her recreation of the 60s dress is so basic. And when she dresses more like Sandy, i find it very apparent that this look does not suit her, or at least she applies it like a 16 year old who has just discovered vintage fashion. When you interpret this as her having a mental breakdown that turns her 60s interest into an obsession, this makes sense, but the other characters, like her teacher and John, don't seem to mind and compliment her on her suddenly subpar fashion. The fashion show at the end is similar, Ellie returns to her usual, great style, but the outfits she has designed look like someone much less inspired riffed on the 60s dress Ellie did (though it looks reasonable as something someone would do for their first fashion show). Personally, I think fitting for Ellie, and also fitting for 2021 would be 60s inspired street wear fashion, but that of course would lose the direct visual symbol of the dress.
My in-universe explanation is that she spent so long recreating the first dress, and then she had her mental breakdown and had to stay in hospital for however long, alongside John (who got done hella dirty) that the fashion show was rushed, and she got those dresses designed and done in like a day rather than actually having fun with it and showing off her talent. Fully agree with you though and I think it’s a shame they didn’t take more care with it.
Last Night in Soho was, without a doubt, my favourite film this year! Thomasin, Anya and Matt were absolutely BRILLIANT in their respective roles! The cinematography, the lighting, the costumes and the music absolutely knocked my socks off!! STUNNING!! And that dance scene with the switching between Thomasin and Anya!! Some of the cleverest camera work I've seen in a film!! Also, loved seeing the Phelps Twins together on screen again :)
At first I was sooo into this, the visuals, the costumes and the first 60s flashbacks/visions were amazing imo. As time went by though I kind of lost interest as things became too messy for my liking. The ending wasn't that interesting and the love interest, John, was basically a manic pixie dream boy with nothing going for him
I kinda interpreted the visions / Ellie’s ‘gift’ as extreme form of being an empath, with the strong, intense emotions that sandy (and the men who were murdered) felt trapped within the walls of the flat and then absorbed by Ellie and shown to her in visions. This would also explain why Ellie saw Sandy get ‘killed’ as in sandy’s mind, Jack metaphorically killed her over and over and who she was. The grief Ellie feels with her late mother and from her grandmother also would also provoke the intense emotions to see her mum’s ‘ghost.’
I agree that Ellie having the ability to see ghosts from the beginning was a mistake. I was also wondering throughout the film why she didn’t see them more often and it also made the instances where she is meant to question her reality feel unrealistic. If she’s always had the ability to see the dead why would she suddenly begin to question herself? Her extreme reactions to some of the apparitions also dosen’t make sense, because if she were truly used to seeing ghosts she would likely have a certain amount of self control when seeing them. If she had this ability all along, wouldn’t she have caught on that showing any reaction to the ghosts would cause her to face ridicule/scrutiny from those around her? It, along with the jump scares in act three really took me out of an otherwise amazing film.
I absolutley adored this movie and am very happy to see my favorite channel talk about it! While It did had its flaws the experience was almost otherworldly for me, especially since I love visual storytelling
as someone who was downright pissed off by how awful i thought the movie was by the end, i appreciate you going into more detail about your criticisms. i’m definitely in the “don’t even know where to start” camp, which i find sad considering i’m probably the exact audience member they had in mind and went in excited to find another favourite movie
This seems to be a polarizing topic because I loved the movie. Obviously it had many flaws and I agree with everything said in this video, but I still thought it was great. Creative concept and relatable, realistic horror elements but with a mediocre execution and predictable plot twist. I don’t think those negatives make it awful though. I’m curious, what about the move did you hate so much?
I watched it twice in the cinema and that really tells everything about how much I liked it. But to add on to that: both times I watched it not a single person got up and walked out during the credits. Everyone just sat there until they finished. Not even when the lights turned on halfway through them did people start to leave. Whilst John was very much given a supportive black friend role, I think he tried to make the most out of it and was genuinely super funny with his running gag of South vs. North London which he delivered perfectly. The second time I watched it was with my best friend who was back in Norway on break from her first semester at uni in London which was obviously added so many layers seeing Ellie experience some of that as well.
I went to watch this by myself in a cinema in Soho, London, and cried because I related to so much of the pre-horror part as an expat who moved to London from a small town and fell for the charm and inexplicable gravitational pull of the Soho area (also having the dream of a fashion design career and in love with retro and vintage, but not being able to afford fashion school atm😩) The film has a layer of meaning that can be better appreciated by those who know the Soho area of central London these days. How much it has changed from the swinging sixties but how somehow some eerie and scary phantoms of glamour and debauchery remain in the ether of it when you walk through (especially it at night)
I remember after watching this movie I had the distinct feeling of being unsettled for hours afterwards, which was probably a good thing for it being a psychological thriller. I also felt that the message at the end got a little muddled for me and I couldn’t quite figure what the intended message was. It felt like it started off as “hey nostalgia is good and all but don’t romanticize the past bc it’s not as nice as you think” and I thought that got lost as the movie delve deeper into the ghosts and hauntings and I couldn’t tell if we were meant to feel sympathetic towards the dead men. But I overall liked the movie and absolutely adored all the actors’ performances.
to be honest,i loved this whole. the concept,and the way that it makes you tense without a jumpscare. the way Anya Taylor-Joy makes us feel sympathy for her even at the ending makes movie so terrifying. in this society,unfortunetly,men tend to take advantage of womans that persuade a dream or ambition,(not a reason to kill them but still,)i honestly felt sorry for Anya's character.
I remember someone telling me it’s not a 6th sense that Ellie has but an extra sensitivity to unrest energy. Amanda the Jedi explains the exact psychological theory this comes from.
I was loving the first half, but the end started to loose me. The ending felt so force that I thought Eloise was hallucinating again. I wish there was more depth to the guy friend and grandmother and less cgi pls. Should of used actual film effects from the 60s. Would of been so cool and more immersive.
You had me at Edgar Wright, Tessa. And the fashion in this movie from what you’ve shown is the cherry on top. I’m definitely going to check out this film thanks for the review!
This is thoughtful and professional-level criticism; eloquent and well-written. I contrast that to many other reviews of this film I've seen on YT and elsewhere that are off-the-cuff and ill-thought-out. I've now read or seen or listened to just about everything I can get my hands on relating to this film, and this is one of the best, including when measured against seasoned professional critics in prestige MSM outlets (NYT, New Yorker, Financial Times, etc.). It is perhaps no accident that the better criticism has been from women than men.
The outfits and the fashion/set/art direction of the 60s were brilliant. I didn’t think all the acting was that good (excluding Anya and Diana Rigg) and for a Edgar Wright film, I didn’t feel the same magic as before. There was a moment close to the end, which almost ran the story in the completely wrong direction and I’m so glad the story didn’t end up going that way, I was about to leave the screen all together if that happened. I was really looking forward to this film but for personal reasons I found it extremely triggering and incredibly hard to watch. I know it’s extremely important to talk about these issues and stories like Sandie’s have to be heard but I don’t think it should be within a film that was marketed as a spooky, edgy halloween film. Something about it just completely unsettled me and I felt stick to my stomach when I left. I don’t know if that was just through my own personal experience or whether it was something about the way the film was made, I still can’t pin point it. The hair and costumes though 😅 they were incredible, especially for Sandie.
I loved the film! I agree that having all the visions be accurate except for one was odd, and confusing to the story. He said in a Polygon interview that it isn't solely a giallo film or a murder mystery based on Alfred Hitchcock and the likes, but that he took elements from some of his favorite directors and also looked deeper into the inspirations of those directors. Dario Argento, famed Giallo horror director of Suspiria and Deep Red (Deep red being quoted as a direct influence to the film by Wright, and the neon light color scheme being an homage to Suspiria) actually went to see the film, and Edgar Wright considered it an honor, and said on twitter that many scenes were inspired by Argento's work, including one direct reference he supposedly made to Argento's film Inferno. I think that with that knowledge, Wright may have included more giallo horror inspiration than he is putting on, and if that's the case, most of the giallo films are horror mysteries with twist endings that don't always add up... which may explain the disjointed ending or the loose ends that weren't tied up. Many directors are resurrecting the giallo in a modern way, such as Malignant, which also came out this year and had similar story of dreams that disorient and reveal truths, leading to a twist ending. But all the directors and the fans of horror will swear up and down that any modern attempt is NOT a giallo film, putting the genre on a pedestal, as if it can't be touched or replicated. In reality, many of the original giallo films were flawed in terms of story arc or traditional film-making, but they changed the way we think of filmmaking and stories, and that's what makes filmmakers want to try their hand at it, hoping to crack the code to a perfect giallo. The paradox being, the perfect giallo they may have made, but it will be considered a flawed film to the regular movie goer, because the story doesn't completely add up, but that's also what makes it perfectly giallo.
I did find her designs at the end hideous but then I thought that she is a first year student (i just graduated from graphic design) so after thinking about it, Im kinda glad they were kinda meh, I remember my first projects looking soo bad, so while they did maintain some similarities, I like to think the weird designs were thought to be "almost good" since she has little experience, maybe other people who have studied things related to the creative area (arquitecture, designs, etc) can kinda get my point? Maybe is a stretch but maybe not since most of the costumes were so beautifully executed, justa. thought
I thought the end designs in the movie made sense because originally she is so infatuated with 60’s she is literally just recreating the dress that Sandy wore. In the end you see a more modern take along with the styles, showing her living in the present but taking inspiration from the past. I thought it showed her growth as a character through her work, since she no longer saw the 60’s through rose tinted glasses
Odile Dicks-Mireaux understood her assignment! All the outfits were cest magnifique! I especially want the scarf/Vinyl coat/gogo boots/mod sunglasses. I would wear the hell out of that ensemble!
The dresses at the end were awful!! Other than that, the film was beautiful & Anya and Thomasin were brilliant. My issue is that they spent so much time building a picture of gender-based violence being nightmarish to ending with Sandie, who was repeatedly sexually abused, being a villain equally as horrible as the abusers, and choosing to die in a fire because it’s “too late for her” AND it felt like we were being asked to sympathise with the ghosts/abusers? After the first half of the film, it is unclear what they were trying to say? Not at all satisfying as a revenge film and any messages about gender-based violence are confused and muddied by the twist. Also… John’s character. A lot of the characters were underdeveloped, but it was never clear why’d he liked her and why he’d stay with her without seeming to know her well. I didn’t hate it, I enjoyed the first part and aesthetically wonderful, just a lot of confused storytelling and messages for me Great review!
I think it kind of touches on the criminalization and stigmatisation of gbv survivors who had to restort to violence, which is a thing. The message I got was different, because my reading was that even when she became a perpetrator of violence, to the film's narrative, Sandy was still a tragic victim and hence had some moral dignity. Even in the very end Ellie (the vehicle for the audience) refuses to fully see Sandy only as a murderer which I thought was very powerful. The usefulness of victim narratives can be up for discussion, but the call to empathize with Sandy was sustained throughout the film.
@@CinnamonCari Thank you for replying! It’s an interesting point re gbv victims and the criminalisation of victims responding with violence, which I am aware of. I did not interpret this as the intention. I prefer the message you got from it and I liked that Sandie was not the “perfect victim”. Nonetheless, even if the call to empathise with Sandie is present throughout (which I feel is again complicated by her attempt to murder Ellie & John), I think that the ghosts asking Ellie for help is an issue in how we are meant to understand Sandie and her response to sexual violence & the wider implications about victims & perpetrators.
I've been in full defense mode for Soho from everyone coming at this movie saying it's bad (especially on letterboxd) because I love it so much. All the faults that you mention tho I 100% agree with! I've also noticed that a lot of male viewers go in and come out of the movie with this like anti-capitalist surface level "don't romanticize the 60's" view... instead of also considering a more feminist lens regarding SA and the trauma. My guy friend walked out saying he really didn't like it bc it didn't stay true to the whole don't romanticize the past theme by having Ellie still use the 60's inspo for her fashion show and having her still see Sandie in the mirror. But I saw it more like Ellie will carry Sandie with her, there's a collective trauma that generations of women will carry forever. The 60's is no better than now clearly. But what Ellie can do is keep going and honor Sandie (and her mother I guess lol) and try to do what they never got the chance to do.
I agree with almost all the points you brought up, except the (spoilers) wrongness of the vision of Sandie dying. The second time I watched the movie, now knowing the twist, I payed more attention and it is never shown who is stabbing who, but because of the way it's edited, cutting between the vision and the things happening around the room (Mrs. Collins knocking and yelling, and John trying to run), as well as seeing that right before the stabbing Jack had the knife and was on top of her, you assume what happened, without it really showing. Also that scene is why it's important you know Jocasta probably put something in her drink at the party, it confused her and she also assumed that she saw something she didn't. I couldn't agree more on the ugliness of the clothes that Ellie designed, that was my biggest beef with the whole movie and I would LOVE to see you make a video dissecting the costume of this film!
I agree with everything you said! I loved the film but had many specific critiques. I thought they tired to hard to convince us that the old man at the bar was matt smith, which made me instantly sceptical that he was. I thought the reveal of his character would have landed better if they had made him more "normal", even charming to Ellie, in the way he was to Sandy years ago. The audience would still think he was older matt smith. Also, I thought it was a bit odd to cast Sam Claflin as the cop, but then not develop the cops character in the 60s? the final third of the film was just so weird and sloppy? It felt like we were watching a draft of the script - where the characters are still caricatures and the plot wasn't fully develop but the general idea was there. I think it needed a few more rewrites before going into production.
i feel like the movie was a mess, i didnt like the main actress, i found the plot of the vision confusing the same way you did - like why did they made the whole thing just to twist sandy at the end? it makes more sense and it wouldve been sooo much more tense if we actually didnt knew her intentions - and i feel like whright lost his focus some times. also, the love interest was not organic AT ALL. and ALSO, one more thing, i dont mind edgars visuals, i think they are OK at best.
I enjoyed Last Night in SoHo. I liked that Ellie saw her mother because it made the ending sweet. But I agree that her end-of-year or term 60's inspired clothing designs were not good.
Hell yes. I'm not a cinematic genius but watch it for the fashion and aesthetic. You wont regret. don't watch this spoiler if you haven't already watched it.
I've watched so many of your videos, sometimes binging them and find that they are incredibly well done! Everything is on point! The format of the videos, your voice, the descriptions and analysis of the movie/costumes are all superb!
It wasn't the best movie in the world as the plot got kind of confusing and the ending was like "......okay?" lol BUT I loved how overtop and camp it was. The SFX, costume designs and cinematography were all GORGEOUS and made it worth watching in the end.
i watched craft for the first time VERY shortly before seeing last night in soho, and seeing the jocasta & co dressed as the witches gave me a serious pointing leonardo dicaprio from once upon a time in hollywood moment lmao
For me I was slightly disappointed, I kinda expected more psychological horror than just the twist at the end. (Perhaps im not very well versed in horror but the message the twist created was confusing - dont trust apprariations?). I think it had a strong start but the way that Ellie is allowed to continously hv these visions and act crazy while the rest of the world just acted like there was no consequences for skipping work and hving a mental breakdown in class took me out of the movie a little. The boyfriend acted too nice, it was really hard to believe that someone who go out of their way like that, almost as if he didnt hv any feelings of his own, not even self preservation. I think the school aspect could have either been better tied to the story or cut out entirely, it was really distracting to the main story, since they spent quite a while at the start setting up the party, London, Jocasta etc, only for them to pretty much be irrelevant past moving into the house. Overall i rate it a hipster level of one Life is Strange.
I am a fan of your channel however, I wanted to point out the theory surrounding the room and why it was that Ellie and Sandy saw the ghost of the men passed. The reason is The Stone Tape theory which is the speculation that ghosts and hauntings are analogous to tape recordings, and that mental impressions during emotional or traumatic events can be projected in the form of energy, "recorded" onto rocks and other items and "replayed" under certain conditions (Wikipedia).
I quite enjoyed the movie, not nearly as much as I adore Shaun Of The Dead, but liked it a lot nonetheless! Completely agree about the fashion show, and the ghosts at the end where quite, kitschy. Also, to quote an episode of Bob’s Burgers, a lie is not a twist!
I absolutely adored this movie but I agree that Ellie's final designs were insulting at best.
Fr the dress she made at the beginning was way better. She went through all that trauma and the fashion show she got out of it wasn't even lit 😭😭
@@mollywalker5790 These were my thoughts exactly!!! Me and my friends were pissing ourselves at how bad that final runway was 💀 it's a shame because I pretty much disliked the whole movie but I at least expected looks out of it
I agree, I was quite disappointed with her final designs they just lost their touch that they had intially
Yes, just terrible!
oh my god yes they were so underwhelming, i barely saw any 1960s in them
I think the reason Ellie sees a vision of Sandy dying is because in a way she did die. The light and drive in her was killed everytime a man took advantage of her. A piece of her died little by little until finally Jack took the last bit of her. Until she was completely gone and was no longer the Sandy with a dream or passion. So in a way, Jack did kill her
I totally agree with you, she's death but not in the literal way and that's the saddest thing about her character. I don't get why people think of her has a "villain".
It was the drugs and her hysteria at the moment she was hysterical and the drugs made her not see the vision clearly
no i think it was because jocasta dosed her drink at the party
@@mmneverold the really should’ve done more with that. There needed to be more resolution after she almost stabbed the girl with scissors. If the main character was drugged than it makes more sense that she was forgiven
Sandie even said in the film "I was killed a thousand times by every man in that room" or something like that
I will literally watch anything with the queen Anya Taylor Joy
Same bestie
Same
Luvin the pro uncle iroh want some Jasmine tea
Same
honestly
As far as Ms. Collins’ past tenants, she actually mentions the fact that many past tenants left in the middle of the night without a word, which is why she initially wanted Ellie to give her so much money upfront. It’s heavily implied that they saw visions too, and left because they got scared
They probably smelled or stumbled upon the dead bodies
Or were probably warned by the police officer
she could've been lying. ellie gave her the deposit and ms collins would've killed her, which meant she'd get to keep the deposit. let's say the others had visions too and confronted her about it and she "gave them some tea" as well, again she would've been able to keep the deposit. she could've done it for money, who knows.
Hmm I think all of you guys above have really plausible theories, interesting!
Yeah i caught that too
I think they left coz they're creeped out by the ghosts
ellie is a medium, that's why she can see the visions. she's sensitive to people and energy and there's so much in that room that she can fully be transported back there. they mention at some point the idea of important events leaving a mark on the place it happened in, and this is the thought behind the paranormal aspects. the room where sandie lived not only held the memories of her, but the men who were murdered there. this is why she is seeing sandie even though sandie is not dead, the imprint of the memory is so strong. the fact that ellie is a medium is why she can see her mom and sandie in mirrors, they've left marks on her, so she carries a bit of them around with her. i know that not everyone would get this whole thing on one watch or even at all, but it explains a lot of the paranormal stuff, i think.
i also found the depiction of her assaults, and how she changed because of them, very well done. it was triggering a little to see it for me, but i think they showed exactly what they needed to. focusing on how it affected her was a very good decision, and i love that ellie was 100% on sandie's side, because she understood what she'd been through.
brynnie fresh I agree. The scene where sandie is introduced to the world of trafficking was a lot, but the way it was shit made it hard to look away.
I really enjoyed this flick, especially Thomasin, Anya and Matt's performances. The set design and cinematography was gorgeous, especially when Eloise first arrives in 1960's London, and the various sets allowing Ellie to peek into Sandie's life.
u are everywhere lmfao i can't escape u 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
Wait is there someone in this movie lich rally called Thomasin? And it has Anya Taylor-Joy? Wow cinematic parallels lmao
@@tovi3280 lmao right?
I LOVED watching ellie's ghost eye makeup as it slowly gets ruined.....I often replicate it just to go to the grocery store. From the cheap party city white and black face paint that would run at the slightest drop of water. It's so amazing that within the first few hours of it on her face, the white has already wiped off, and the black started streaking in the rain. However I've found that even though it's cheap clown makeup, it sticks in the weirdest places. So for it to still be on ellie's eyes the next day is completely realistic
Somehow it still looked nice too😁
U replicate it to go grocery shopping? ☺️
I don't think they showed a wrong vision when sandie got stabbed, i think it was more about the mental feeling of abuse, it was so traumatizing, and considering that the room kept that trauma more than being haunted per se, that when she was being abused she felt like dying that moment was her turning point and it was then when Sandie lost the person she was before for good.
Regarding Ellie's vision being wrong when she sees Sandy die; I interpreted that as the effect of her being roofied earlier in the night, I assumed that her being drugged messed with her perception, she saw struggle and blood, and assumed that Sandy was the one who died, because Jack was clearly already established as a violent person to Ellie.
I think its because that's when Sandy as the person we saw at the beginning died.
@@girlsgokawaii My only problem with that interpretation is that it renders Ellie getting roofied completely useless to the plot so i like to think the reason it happened was to blur her perception of the vision.
@@NeonUFO yea that also makes sense. Idk tbh, I guess it depends entirely on your interpretation
@@NeonUFO I think it's a mixture of both tbh. the scene exists mostly to establish that ellie was drugged but also had an underlying metaphor that the audience would understand after the twist
I really hope it gets nominated for Best Costume because they were absolutely gorgeous!!
as if the academy would recognise a horror movie 😭
As a black person, John character was most definitely giving parental black friend/overly supportive black friend vibes. Like the way he was so enamored and stood beside Ellie through ALL OF HER EPISODES even though he barely knew her and her situation was just so… odd lol. Also that part where she and him were about to get intimate and the visions of Sandy’s murder happened at the same time kinda left a bad taste in my mouth because obviously she was the only one who saw what was happening and from a stranger walking in it looked like a black man was about to assault a white woman and that situation could’ve got really bad really quick so that bothered me.
But besides that I actually really enjoyed the movie it kept me on the edge of my seat and it was STUNNING visually I can’t wait till it gets on steaming sites so I can binge watch it !! lol
I agree!
Thank you! I felt the same!
the script is writted before the cast
@Georgina Victoria I see your point but in this instance I think it's the former.
@@blablablablablibla hmmm that’s fair but it still shows the casting team didn’t really see the implications of having a black man play that type of character could imply especially with a lot of black people being traumatized by the events of summer 2020 and so many people talking about harmful tropes like John’s. It just seemed like they wanted to be “diverse “ but they didn’t really think it all the way through.
i think the ghost of ellie's mom is there to imply that she's schizophrenic and that her mom was too (i don't remember the exact words but ellie tells the rest that she killed herself because of mental illness), like we're meant to wonder if ellie's visions are actually real or if she's just delusional, at least at first.
i interpreted it as ellie’s mum protected her from other spirits, and that’s why in london she started seeing ghosts, because her mum’s ghost wasn’t there
@@grace3112 ohhh that's interesting i like that theory!
It seems like her grandmother and mother & herself can see spirits and that in London there are so many ghosts that it could overwhelm Ellie like it had her mother.
I also felt that in the interview with the police it was heavily hinted at Schizophrenia or some other similar mental health disorder, that I think could of been the entire plot all along (don't ask me how her 'visions' could have been right or that they weren't showed in Sandy's death)
That´s what i originally thought. when i first saw the movie that ending felt more as wish fulfillment on ellie's mind. I mean she almost stabbed one of her classmates, how in the world she ended still at school having her first fashion show? she would at least been expelled right?. Since then i saw some spoilers reviews of the movie and realized that the ending is considered reality rather than one last hallucination. But I still think she had some degree of schizophrenia.
It’s nice to hear you liked it even though it has flaws-I feel the exact same way, and it was kind of disheartening to see how critics just ruthlessly bashed it. (Also, I’ve been wondering if you were going to do a video on this!)
Same. I haven’t seen it yet but most reviews I hear are just like ‘it wasn’t the literal masterpiece we were expecting therefore it sucks’
@@toxicsugarart2103 take it from me, I expected more but I was still satisfied
I couldnt disagree more about her schizophrenic visions of her mom. That was vital in establishing our main character as an unreliable narrator. If they didnt do that, then we might have believed her when she started having these visions and the end twist wouldnt have been so successful. The movie was fantastic in my opinion.
Sounds very interesting I may give it a view because of your comment!
How did it establish unreliable narrator tho
@@papasscooperiaworker3649 we are watching the story through her eyes but it was established early on that not everything she sees is really there, like her dead mom in the mirror. From that moment on, we as the audience didnt know what to believe.
To me this has the same feel as the neon demon. I don't know if anyone remembers that movie but that movie was phenomenal the fashion in that movie The lighting the message it just all seems a lot like this movie. Even though these movies are pretty different plot wise. I would LOVE to see her do a neon demon video.
I wouldn’t use the term “schizophrenic visions” as this is offensive and sounds ignorant. Ellie does not have schizophrenia, and visions/hallucinations are a symptom of psychosis. These are not always present in those who have schizophrenia, and not everyone who has hallucinations is schizophrenic.
My theory was that the detective who seemingly tried to help Sandy actually ended up taking advantage of her just like the rest and that's why he had such a sinister aura about him
I don’t think he ever got the chance to actually, but that didn’t really explain if he was good or bad y’know?
I think he didn't, because that explains why he was the only one who survived, he was compliant but never actually went to her bedroom so she didn't kill him
This was odd to me too. And also the whole eerie, “sandy wasn’t innocent” was also odd to me. Did he suspect that she murdered the men? And if so why did he allude to the idea that sandy was dead in the beginning when he talked to Ellie?
@@fabfemme800 he probably saw her slowly lose her old self (the whole dreaming of being a performer thing) and saw in her what had happened to numerous girls before her, so he meant the old sandie died, also why he refers to her as alex
I just thought he was in love with her and bitter that she never reciprocated
I thought the "don't overromanticize the past" message was very minor. Everyone says that's what the movie was about, but it seemed kind of irrelevant. Ellie liked the fashion and music and culture, she wasn't saying there was no crime or bad people or anything. The movie seemed to be mainly about sexualization and abuse of women and how harmful that is. That a woman can be so talented and men will still want her to take her clothes off.
But at the start Ellie says that she would want to live in london in the 60's if she could, and she clearly wasn't expecting sandy to get abused the way she was.
It wasn't just the art, she was also clearly attached to it because she was romanticizing the stories about her mum and grandma.
it was...what the writer and Edgar Wright said themselves....I went to a screening and met them
@@Aisha_Luv I think the point is she was romanticising the time but the movie didnt focus much on that message, as her mum's suicide happened likely because of abuse too ?
I watched a different video that explained the type of ghosts the movie was going for. Basically the ghost aren’t people haunting and area, it’s the physic energy of an emotionally charged moment that is trapped in a space. Going off that I see Ellie’s vision of Sandy’s death as the methodical death of Sandy. Once she killed Jack the person that Sandy was at the beginning of the movie was dead. Killed my circumstance and trams. So it wasn’t that her vision was wrong, it was more like it was as literal as we had originally assumed.
one of the most visually stunning films i have EVER seen. so much inspiration for a mod/swinging 60s nerd like me. there were a few plot holes that bothered me a bit and i felt like the boyfriend wasn’t really utilized much but it wasn’t enough to ruin the experience as a whole. everyone in the cast killed it, designers killed it, director killed it, writer killed it, overall a great film and maybe my favorite that i saw this year.
*eta* as a survivor of numerous SA’s, the twist really took me by surprise and shocked me to my core. i don’t know that i can watch that part again if i choose to do so but in a weirdly sardonic way it almost felt like my own kind of revenge fantasy that i was watching play out in front of me. i can’t say for certain how others that haven’t been in that situation reacted to it but it really left a mark on me.
As a victim of SA myself, I definitely felt something similar when the twist was revealed. I don't condone violence but watching all that unravel, it felt like my own revenge fantasy too (just like that one particular scene in The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo) It felt satisfying in a weird way. But when Last Night in Soho ended, it left me feeling unsettled. Issues like these should be taken more seriously, not marketed as some edgy, spooky, thrilling Halloween movie.
I hope you're in a better place now btw. Sending you a virtual hug!
Why did Ellie wake up with a hickie but then that physical connection between them never comes up again? Why could Ellie see Sandy's "ghost" when Sandy is still alive? (I know she symbolically "died" but is that how ghosts work? Is Ellie not seeing ghosts but just memories?)
I really liked this movie right up until the third act, then it became so over the top and silly.
to be completely honest, it felt like they were building up to Ellie reliving exactly what happened to Sandie, ultimately leading to her own death. the scene where she realizes the disco / dancefloor(?) Jack took Sandie was now a massage parlour made me think that she would live the best moments of Sandie's life in those dreams but in reality she would spiral down into drug abuse and prostitution; and there were so many signs for that, the notes advertising "the hottest blonde" glued to the phone booth, the massage parlour scene, the hickey / physical connection between them... the second act completely debunked this for me and felt so bland compared to the beginning. and it sucks because up until that point i was like "holy shit this movie is so genius for doing this", and it did but it also didn't??? it's a great movie, don't get me wrong, but the plot really let me down somehow :((
@@idilio You're totally right! It kind of feels like another plot got cut from the film! It's too bad because the concept is so fun and refreshing, but the execution just didn't stick it.
@@darkraven2116 you’re absolutely correct, but hey, at least we still got something interesting not terrible, and not great but good enough
Because it's energy from the place and trauma that happened there. It's actually explained in the movie. Idk about the physical connection tho.
@@girlsgokawaii that’s a good point, it explains how Sandie doesn’t have to be dead for Ellie to see her
I thought the supporting character/boyfriend had no personality and story of his own, except for being overly nice and having no boundaries with a girl he barely knows (basically doing anything for her). Which is a shame. He could have been interesting. But besides that and the fact that it lacked subtlety at times, I thought it was very exciting, and I loved the fact that the horror of the movie was something actually very real and disturbing about society (and not a scary ghost or a random psychopath). Still, I was also disappointed by the last scene. I was hoping that she would have turned the dress into something kind of gory but in a stylish and impactful way. Instead, it's simply the dresses she saw from the past with a small twist of modernity. Oh, I also thought he was inspired by Repulsion but I didn't know about the film Don't Look Now. Sounds interesting.
Agreed! He was so flat and kind of just popped up whenever she was really overwhelmed and was nice to her but they didn’t really have chemistry or a reason to date each other minus him being nice to her and lowkey obsessed
Gotta give John some credit for being the only man in this film’s world that wasn’t gross, but that’s about it
True, while I liked John as a character, he seemed to serve no real purpose other than being a red herring, and not being a dick, unlike most of the men in Ellie and Sandie's stories, yet if he was written out of the film, nothing substantial would really change all that much.
Hes as bland as baby driver love interest too. I dont think Egdar writes them well
@@sarah-leamanning2946 cough* Ramona cough* Knives
(Copy/pasting my comment from Amanda The Jedi’s review of Last Night In SoHo, hope you don’t mind!)
I think that John definitely suffers from Edgar Wright Love Interest Syndrome (see: Debora from Baby Driver) where he doesn’t really give them a life outside of being there for the main character through thick and thin. It’s also pretty loaded that John is the first Black protagonist Wright has ever written, and having him not only have no personality or motivation outside of caring about his white maybe-girlfriend, but ALSO having him very casually brush off that he was accused of raping her and was physically attacked as a result of that…it really didn’t sit well with me. I absolutely love this film, but Wright still has things to learn as an artist, especially regarding characters of color.
I agree, turned me off aa completely especially as a black person myself 😣
Ditto, while I liked John fine enough, he just seemed to be a textbook Satellite Love Interest, who was understanding about Ellie stabbing Jacosta, that he gave her a lift home, and yet we never learned anything about him.
Couldn't agree more, I was happy to see a black main character in an Edgar Wright movie, it's an step in the right direction, but it's definitely what I'm gonna call Manic Pixie Dream Black Boy
liking the comment again, you couldn't be more right
@@nattmazzoni just because a character has no traits / personality, does not automatically make them a manic pixie trope. John is definitely not one per definition
Last Night in Soho reminded me so much of 1997's Perfect Blue, which I thought was executed absolutely perfectly-it follows a very similar vision and idea, but I think the main difference between them is that I don't know whether the visions of Sandie are hallucinations or reality, which confuses me, rather than in Perfect Blue where the lack of clarity is what makes it thrilling. Anyways, love love love Anya Taylor-Joy and if you love this genre of film, pls check out Perfect Blue! The animation, use of color, lighting, everything is so perfect.
YES!!!!!!
Blackswan was also inspired by Perfect Blue. They have a lot of similarities
Honestly this movie was so good but at the start (before her visions) the vibe of the movie felt like it was already shot quite in the past and i was almost shocked to see the use of technology and the mention of kylie jenner
This movie was also heavily influenced by Giallo films from the 70s. She’s far too obscure, but there’s an actress named Edwige Fenech, who was like the 70’s scream queen in Italian horror. Her look and style is just flawless.
Her eye makeup will ALWAYS be one of my favorite eye looks! love Edwige
Speaking of Edwige Fenech, I would like to see moderngurlz' review on The Love Witch. That movie is a much thorough homage to 60s-70s movies, especially the actress resemble Fenech.
I knew there had to be a reason there was so much blood. obviously there's going to be blood when someone is stabbed but they really amplified the splatter. giallo is known for being ridiculously bloody lol
Jocasta in 7:42 is acrually the protagonist of scottish horror miniseries Clique, where she portrays brilliantly the dark underground of womanwood in a univerity setting. it's shocking and amazing, you'll like it if you liked this film.
she’s also one of the main characters in the last two seasons of medici. her name’s synnøve karlsen. i really like her and her work
Ngl, I definitely swooned when Sam Claflin made his brief appearance in the film (had no idea he was in this), and from the moment I saw him, I was like, "Oh, he's definitely a good guy. There's no way he's as skanky as the rest of Sandy's clients." And I'm just glad that I was right about that lol too bad he made no sense as an elderly detective in terms of his character aside from being a red herring
i'm so glad i'm not the only one who enjoyed this movie and thought the costumes were gorgeous. i will say hearing you call matt smith a "veteran actor" truly shook me as in my head he's still a 26 year old newcomer
i didn’t love Ellie’s designs at the end either !!
they were so underwhelming and just not what I was expecting based on her sketches
she’s still a student so I’ll cut her some slack lol
i think the fact that ellie sees her mothers ghost is very important to the story. it’s implied that her sensitivity to the supernatural is why she can see all the apparitions and no one else can. ellie seeing her mother is an early indication that she is sensitive to that kind of thing.
I really loved the movie in general, but I found the way fashion was integrated in the plot a little bit disappointing. It is implied that Ellie is an amazing design talent, which has brought her from a little English village straight to London College of Fashion. And we also see this, the craftsmanship of the paper dress she probably did for the application is amazing, as are the clothes she says she made herself, and her general sense of style.
I think this makes it feel weird when Jocanda and the girls dunk on her for her clothes, when it so obvious that Ellie is much more skilled when it comes to fashion. But I agree that this happens. I also think that this is what John immediately sees in her, that she is at LCF because of her talent, not because of clout.
That makes it so infuriating that her recreation of the 60s dress is so basic. And when she dresses more like Sandy, i find it very apparent that this look does not suit her, or at least she applies it like a 16 year old who has just discovered vintage fashion. When you interpret this as her having a mental breakdown that turns her 60s interest into an obsession, this makes sense, but the other characters, like her teacher and John, don't seem to mind and compliment her on her suddenly subpar fashion. The fashion show at the end is similar, Ellie returns to her usual, great style, but the outfits she has designed look like someone much less inspired riffed on the 60s dress Ellie did (though it looks reasonable as something someone would do for their first fashion show). Personally, I think fitting for Ellie, and also fitting for 2021 would be 60s inspired street wear fashion, but that of course would lose the direct visual symbol of the dress.
My in-universe explanation is that she spent so long recreating the first dress, and then she had her mental breakdown and had to stay in hospital for however long, alongside John (who got done hella dirty) that the fashion show was rushed, and she got those dresses designed and done in like a day rather than actually having fun with it and showing off her talent. Fully agree with you though and I think it’s a shame they didn’t take more care with it.
Last Night in Soho was, without a doubt, my favourite film this year! Thomasin, Anya and Matt were absolutely BRILLIANT in their respective roles! The cinematography, the lighting, the costumes and the music absolutely knocked my socks off!! STUNNING!! And that dance scene with the switching between Thomasin and Anya!! Some of the cleverest camera work I've seen in a film!!
Also, loved seeing the Phelps Twins together on screen again :)
At first I was sooo into this, the visuals, the costumes and the first 60s flashbacks/visions were amazing imo. As time went by though I kind of lost interest as things became too messy for my liking. The ending wasn't that interesting and the love interest, John, was basically a manic pixie dream boy with nothing going for him
Ms. Collins/ Sandie explaining that the house smells to Ellie foreshadows that there’s actual corpses in there.
I kinda interpreted the visions / Ellie’s ‘gift’ as extreme form of being an empath, with the strong, intense emotions that sandy (and the men who were murdered) felt trapped within the walls of the flat and then absorbed by Ellie and shown to her in visions. This would also explain why Ellie saw Sandy get ‘killed’ as in sandy’s mind, Jack metaphorically killed her over and over and who she was. The grief Ellie feels with her late mother and from her grandmother also would also provoke the intense emotions to see her mum’s ‘ghost.’
I didn't really think those were literal ghosts tbh, they felt to me more like some form of energy tied to the trauma in that house
With all due respect, I don’t quite understand what you mean. Could you please explain?
I agree that Ellie having the ability to see ghosts from the beginning was a mistake. I was also wondering throughout the film why she didn’t see them more often and it also made the instances where she is meant to question her reality feel unrealistic. If she’s always had the ability to see the dead why would she suddenly begin to question herself? Her extreme reactions to some of the apparitions also dosen’t make sense, because if she were truly used to seeing ghosts she would likely have a certain amount of self control when seeing them. If she had this ability all along, wouldn’t she have caught on that showing any reaction to the ghosts would cause her to face ridicule/scrutiny from those around her? It, along with the jump scares in act three really took me out of an otherwise amazing film.
I absolutley adored this movie and am very happy to see my favorite channel talk about it! While It did had its flaws the experience was almost otherworldly for me, especially since I love visual storytelling
as someone who was downright pissed off by how awful i thought the movie was by the end, i appreciate you going into more detail about your criticisms. i’m definitely in the “don’t even know where to start” camp, which i find sad considering i’m probably the exact audience member they had in mind and went in excited to find another favourite movie
This seems to be a polarizing topic because I loved the movie. Obviously it had many flaws and I agree with everything said in this video, but I still thought it was great. Creative concept and relatable, realistic horror elements but with a mediocre execution and predictable plot twist. I don’t think those negatives make it awful though. I’m curious, what about the move did you hate so much?
I watched it twice in the cinema and that really tells everything about how much I liked it.
But to add on to that: both times I watched it not a single person got up and walked out during the credits. Everyone just sat there until they finished. Not even when the lights turned on halfway through them did people start to leave.
Whilst John was very much given a supportive black friend role, I think he tried to make the most out of it and was genuinely super funny with his running gag of South vs. North London which he delivered perfectly.
The second time I watched it was with my best friend who was back in Norway on break from her first semester at uni in London which was obviously added so many layers seeing Ellie experience some of that as well.
I went to watch this by myself in a cinema in Soho, London, and cried because I related to so much of the pre-horror part as an expat who moved to London from a small town and fell for the charm and inexplicable gravitational pull of the Soho area (also having the dream of a fashion design career and in love with retro and vintage, but not being able to afford fashion school atm😩)
The film has a layer of meaning that can be better appreciated by those who know the Soho area of central London these days. How much it has changed from the swinging sixties but how somehow some eerie and scary phantoms of glamour and debauchery remain in the ether of it when you walk through (especially it at night)
I've met many girls like Jocasta. Everywhere you look you'll find one these days lol. I think it was realistic as well.
Caught this movie in cinemas and let me tell you, the men look more menacing on the big screen.
This is just a matt smith appreciation post cuz he was my fave doctor growing up.
I remember after watching this movie I had the distinct feeling of being unsettled for hours afterwards, which was probably a good thing for it being a psychological thriller. I also felt that the message at the end got a little muddled for me and I couldn’t quite figure what the intended message was. It felt like it started off as “hey nostalgia is good and all but don’t romanticize the past bc it’s not as nice as you think” and I thought that got lost as the movie delve deeper into the ghosts and hauntings and I couldn’t tell if we were meant to feel sympathetic towards the dead men. But I overall liked the movie and absolutely adored all the actors’ performances.
Finally there's someone speaking about this film! I absolutely loved this movie and I'm sad to see that so few people have even heard about it
to be honest,i loved this whole.
the concept,and the way that it makes you tense without a jumpscare.
the way Anya Taylor-Joy makes us feel sympathy for her even at the ending makes movie so terrifying.
in this society,unfortunetly,men tend to take advantage of womans that persuade a dream or ambition,(not a reason to kill them but still,)i honestly felt sorry for Anya's character.
adored the wardrobe and makeup for this film - so insane
Loved the movie despite everything can't wait to hear what you think!
A part two on the fashion? Or about 60's fashion? Fab video, loved it
I remember someone telling me it’s not a 6th sense that Ellie has but an extra sensitivity to unrest energy. Amanda the Jedi explains the exact psychological theory this comes from.
I was loving the first half, but the end started to loose me. The ending felt so force that I thought Eloise was hallucinating again. I wish there was more depth to the guy friend and grandmother and less cgi pls. Should of used actual film effects from the 60s. Would of been so cool and more immersive.
I LOVE their hair, I think I'm going to show a picture of Ellie's blonde look to my hairdresser
You had me at Edgar Wright, Tessa. And the fashion in this movie from what you’ve shown is the cherry on top. I’m definitely going to check out this film thanks for the review!
This is thoughtful and professional-level criticism; eloquent and well-written. I contrast that to many other reviews of this film I've seen on YT and elsewhere that are off-the-cuff and ill-thought-out. I've now read or seen or listened to just about everything I can get my hands on relating to this film, and this is one of the best, including when measured against seasoned professional critics in prestige MSM outlets (NYT, New Yorker, Financial Times, etc.). It is perhaps no accident that the better criticism has been from women than men.
i love anya taylor joy so much!! i love her acting.
The outfits and the fashion/set/art direction of the 60s were brilliant. I didn’t think all the acting was that good (excluding Anya and Diana Rigg) and for a Edgar Wright film, I didn’t feel the same magic as before. There was a moment close to the end, which almost ran the story in the completely wrong direction and I’m so glad the story didn’t end up going that way, I was about to leave the screen all together if that happened.
I was really looking forward to this film but for personal reasons I found it extremely triggering and incredibly hard to watch. I know it’s extremely important to talk about these issues and stories like Sandie’s have to be heard but I don’t think it should be within a film that was marketed as a spooky, edgy halloween film. Something about it just completely unsettled me and I felt stick to my stomach when I left. I don’t know if that was just through my own personal experience or whether it was something about the way the film was made, I still can’t pin point it.
The hair and costumes though 😅 they were incredible, especially for Sandie.
I absolutely loved this movie, especially because we haven’t seen movies like this in such a long time.
I love “bad movies are so bad that you don’t even know where to start fixing them”
I loved the film! I agree that having all the visions be accurate except for one was odd, and confusing to the story. He said in a Polygon interview that it isn't solely a giallo film or a murder mystery based on Alfred Hitchcock and the likes, but that he took elements from some of his favorite directors and also looked deeper into the inspirations of those directors.
Dario Argento, famed Giallo horror director of Suspiria and Deep Red (Deep red being quoted as a direct influence to the film by Wright, and the neon light color scheme being an homage to Suspiria) actually went to see the film, and Edgar Wright considered it an honor, and said on twitter that many scenes were inspired by Argento's work, including one direct reference he supposedly made to Argento's film Inferno.
I think that with that knowledge, Wright may have included more giallo horror inspiration than he is putting on, and if that's the case, most of the giallo films are horror mysteries with twist endings that don't always add up... which may explain the disjointed ending or the loose ends that weren't tied up. Many directors are resurrecting the giallo in a modern way, such as Malignant, which also came out this year and had similar story of dreams that disorient and reveal truths, leading to a twist ending.
But all the directors and the fans of horror will swear up and down that any modern attempt is NOT a giallo film, putting the genre on a pedestal, as if it can't be touched or replicated. In reality, many of the original giallo films were flawed in terms of story arc or traditional film-making, but they changed the way we think of filmmaking and stories, and that's what makes filmmakers want to try their hand at it, hoping to crack the code to a perfect giallo. The paradox being, the perfect giallo they may have made, but it will be considered a flawed film to the regular movie goer, because the story doesn't completely add up, but that's also what makes it perfectly giallo.
Girl if you don’t get to reviewing the house of Gucci 😭
they have to release it to streaming first!! 😩
Short answer: absolutely yes
I loved this movie, and Sandie, Anya’s character actually finally convinced me into getting that haircut lol.
I did find her designs at the end hideous but then I thought that she is a first year student (i just graduated from graphic design) so after thinking about it, Im kinda glad they were kinda meh, I remember my first projects looking soo bad, so while they did maintain some similarities, I like to think the weird designs were thought to be "almost good" since she has little experience, maybe other people who have studied things related to the creative area (arquitecture, designs, etc) can kinda get my point? Maybe is a stretch but maybe not since most of the costumes were so beautifully executed, justa. thought
One of the best films I’ve seen In a few months so good.
I thought the end designs in the movie made sense because originally she is so infatuated with 60’s she is literally just recreating the dress that Sandy wore. In the end you see a more modern take along with the styles, showing her living in the present but taking inspiration from the past. I thought it showed her growth as a character through her work, since she no longer saw the 60’s through rose tinted glasses
Odile Dicks-Mireaux understood her assignment! All the outfits were cest magnifique! I especially want the scarf/Vinyl coat/gogo boots/mod sunglasses. I would wear the hell out of that ensemble!
I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE
Hooray, a new video from ModernGurlz! Thanks for reviewing this movie, it looked quite good!
The dresses at the end were awful!! Other than that, the film was beautiful & Anya and Thomasin were brilliant.
My issue is that they spent so much time building a picture of gender-based violence being nightmarish to ending with Sandie, who was repeatedly sexually abused, being a villain equally as horrible as the abusers, and choosing to die in a fire because it’s “too late for her” AND it felt like we were being asked to sympathise with the ghosts/abusers? After the first half of the film, it is unclear what they were trying to say? Not at all satisfying as a revenge film and any messages about gender-based violence are confused and muddied by the twist.
Also… John’s character. A lot of the characters were underdeveloped, but it was never clear why’d he liked her and why he’d stay with her without seeming to know her well.
I didn’t hate it, I enjoyed the first part and aesthetically wonderful, just a lot of confused storytelling and messages for me
Great review!
I think it kind of touches on the criminalization and stigmatisation of gbv survivors who had to restort to violence, which is a thing.
The message I got was different, because my reading was that even when she became a perpetrator of violence, to the film's narrative, Sandy was still a tragic victim and hence had some moral dignity. Even in the very end Ellie (the vehicle for the audience) refuses to fully see Sandy only as a murderer which I thought was very powerful. The usefulness of victim narratives can be up for discussion, but the call to empathize with Sandy was sustained throughout the film.
@@CinnamonCari Thank you for replying! It’s an interesting point re gbv victims and the criminalisation of victims responding with violence, which I am aware of. I did not interpret this as the intention.
I prefer the message you got from it and I liked that Sandie was not the “perfect victim”. Nonetheless, even if the call to empathise with Sandie is present throughout (which I feel is again complicated by her attempt to murder Ellie & John), I think that the ghosts asking Ellie for help is an issue in how we are meant to understand Sandie and her response to sexual violence & the wider implications about victims & perpetrators.
I've been in full defense mode for Soho from everyone coming at this movie saying it's bad (especially on letterboxd) because I love it so much. All the faults that you mention tho I 100% agree with! I've also noticed that a lot of male viewers go in and come out of the movie with this like anti-capitalist surface level "don't romanticize the 60's" view... instead of also considering a more feminist lens regarding SA and the trauma. My guy friend walked out saying he really didn't like it bc it didn't stay true to the whole don't romanticize the past theme by having Ellie still use the 60's inspo for her fashion show and having her still see Sandie in the mirror. But I saw it more like Ellie will carry Sandie with her, there's a collective trauma that generations of women will carry forever. The 60's is no better than now clearly. But what Ellie can do is keep going and honor Sandie (and her mother I guess lol) and try to do what they never got the chance to do.
I’m surprised men didn’t like it with how misogynistic it came off
@@urhexgirl why are you letting that be your biggest issue?
Agreed!
First time being early, just wanted to say I enjoy every video you watch! Keep up the good work 🤠
I've been torn between watching this so this video is going to be excellent! I just dunno if I can handle so much of that voice
I agree with almost all the points you brought up, except the (spoilers) wrongness of the vision of Sandie dying. The second time I watched the movie, now knowing the twist, I payed more attention and it is never shown who is stabbing who, but because of the way it's edited, cutting between the vision and the things happening around the room (Mrs. Collins knocking and yelling, and John trying to run), as well as seeing that right before the stabbing Jack had the knife and was on top of her, you assume what happened, without it really showing. Also that scene is why it's important you know Jocasta probably put something in her drink at the party, it confused her and she also assumed that she saw something she didn't. I couldn't agree more on the ugliness of the clothes that Ellie designed, that was my biggest beef with the whole movie and I would LOVE to see you make a video dissecting the costume of this film!
I agree with everything you said! I loved the film but had many specific critiques. I thought they tired to hard to convince us that the old man at the bar was matt smith, which made me instantly sceptical that he was. I thought the reveal of his character would have landed better if they had made him more "normal", even charming to Ellie, in the way he was to Sandy years ago. The audience would still think he was older matt smith. Also, I thought it was a bit odd to cast Sam Claflin as the cop, but then not develop the cops character in the 60s? the final third of the film was just so weird and sloppy? It felt like we were watching a draft of the script - where the characters are still caricatures and the plot wasn't fully develop but the general idea was there. I think it needed a few more rewrites before going into production.
This channel is just pure therapy
IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS
This was my absolute favorite movie in like two years! It was so good!
I've watched this movie 3 times and still can't get enough of it
i feel like the movie was a mess, i didnt like the main actress, i found the plot of the vision confusing the same way you did - like why did they made the whole thing just to twist sandy at the end? it makes more sense and it wouldve been sooo much more tense if we actually didnt knew her intentions - and i feel like whright lost his focus some times. also, the love interest was not organic AT ALL. and ALSO, one more thing, i dont mind edgars visuals, i think they are OK at best.
I personally don’t agree with all of that but I respect your opinion
im so happy you did a review for this film
I enjoyed Last Night in SoHo. I liked that Ellie saw her mother because it made the ending sweet. But I agree that her end-of-year or term 60's inspired clothing designs were not good.
Hey girl wake up ModernGurlz just posted
Hell yes. I'm not a cinematic genius but watch it for the fashion and aesthetic. You wont regret. don't watch this spoiler if you haven't already watched it.
Thank u for going over this film!
Me having to stop myself from watching this (for now) so I don’t spoil anything 😭😭😭
You should do a fashion analysis on princess Diana
I've watched so many of your videos, sometimes binging them and find that they are incredibly well done! Everything is on point! The format of the videos, your voice, the descriptions and analysis of the movie/costumes are all superb!
I still don’t know how I feel about this film…but I stan Anya Taylor Joy ❤️❤️
Ditto, while the plot might be so so, you can't deny that Thomasin and Anya were fantastic! 💞
@@trinaq Agreed. Both did amazing ❤️
If it makes you feel any better, she was one of the best parts
@@Jackattack359 lol ngl she was one of my fave parts. I really liked her in the movie!
@@aoife-burns who didn’t?
It wasn't the best movie in the world as the plot got kind of confusing and the ending was like "......okay?" lol BUT I loved how overtop and camp it was. The SFX, costume designs and cinematography were all GORGEOUS and made it worth watching in the end.
Since you mentioned it, please review Vertigo!
i watched craft for the first time VERY shortly before seeing last night in soho, and seeing the jocasta & co dressed as the witches gave me a serious pointing leonardo dicaprio from once upon a time in hollywood moment lmao
YES! The answer is yes, you should.
Literally stopped this review to watch the movie first. I liked it. Love this channel!
Oh my god I‘ve been waiting for you to make a video about this movie!! Thank you soo much!! ❤️❤️
For me I was slightly disappointed, I kinda expected more psychological horror than just the twist at the end. (Perhaps im not very well versed in horror but the message the twist created was confusing - dont trust apprariations?). I think it had a strong start but the way that Ellie is allowed to continously hv these visions and act crazy while the rest of the world just acted like there was no consequences for skipping work and hving a mental breakdown in class took me out of the movie a little. The boyfriend acted too nice, it was really hard to believe that someone who go out of their way like that, almost as if he didnt hv any feelings of his own, not even self preservation. I think the school aspect could have either been better tied to the story or cut out entirely, it was really distracting to the main story, since they spent quite a while at the start setting up the party, London, Jocasta etc, only for them to pretty much be irrelevant past moving into the house. Overall i rate it a hipster level of one Life is Strange.
I am a fan of your channel however, I wanted to point out the theory surrounding the room and why it was that Ellie and Sandy saw the ghost of the men passed. The reason is The Stone Tape theory which is the speculation that ghosts and hauntings are analogous to tape recordings, and that mental impressions during emotional or traumatic events can be projected in the form of energy, "recorded" onto rocks and other items and "replayed" under certain conditions (Wikipedia).
That Pink dress has captured my fashion imagination. I LOVE it
I wanna wear Sandy's dress so bad, and I didn't even like those types of dresses before the movie 😩😩
I'd like to see her talk about the neon demon.
I quite enjoyed the movie, not nearly as much as I adore Shaun Of The Dead, but liked it a lot nonetheless! Completely agree about the fashion show, and the ghosts at the end where quite, kitschy.
Also, to quote an episode of Bob’s Burgers, a lie is not a twist!
Boy, have I used that quote a lot to describe many a major new movie