Last weekend, my wife and I finally had some free time, so we decided to make it a double feature at the cinema. Popcorn in hand, we headed
Fantastic Four: First Steps – Honest Review from the Cinema Seat
Fantastic Four returns in First Steps, a retro-styled sci-fi with heart, family dynamics, and a looming cosmic threat. Forget mindless action – this is about relationships, teamwork, and finding humanity in the middle of chaos. It’s stylish, grounded, and finally the Fantastic Four film fans deserved.
No overhype. No blind praise. Just a viewer’s honest take after a real cinema visit with a partner who knows a thing or two about good storytelling.
LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, the 2021 British thriller-horror flick by Edgar Wright, is as slick as they come and it leads viewers ever so smoothly deep down into a neon-lit trippy rabbit hole.
We follow Eloise, an out-of-town introvert naive girl played by Thomasin McKenzie. She is moving to a vibrant London neighborhood near Soho to study at a prestigious fashion school. But nothing is as it seems, and our girl "Ellie” has some serious “abilities” (and/or mental issues) on top of some family drama that makes it difficult for her to navigate the "MEAN GIRL plot" at the school. But her life is turned upside down after she gets what is seemingly the deal of a lifetime and moves into a super roomie room in the middle of London. The thing is, the old landlady (Diana Rigg's last performance) is kinda creepy and the place is decrepit and old, well it is in Goodge Street so guess you get -wayyyyy less than - what you pay for... Everything is like back in the 60s which is perfect since Ellie is obsessed with that decade!
So what should happen happens and at night the girl is transported back in time where she meets, observes, or maybe becomes another young aspiring artist played by Anya Taylor-Joy named Sandie. She is a it-girl type pretty tall and slender bombshell blonde who, with the help of a shady dude played by Matt Smith, wants to become a big-time singer in Sixties' Soho no matter how... From there it all goes downhill and Ellie's beautiful nostalgic dreams turned into terrorizing nightmares where she is trying to figure out if ‘is this real life is this just fantasy’ or maybe something else!
This hence leads to room for all kinds of glorious and freaky shenanigans...plus some unfortunate missteps or plot holes! But the film is so captivating and engaging at all times that one won’t have too much time to dwell on the laters or might be willing to sweep them under… the floor! That being said Edgar Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns wrote a hell of a story that is only elevated to heaven - or more like hell in this case! - thanks to a spectacular show masterly shot (by Chung Chung-hoon who better get that Oscar) and filled with some mind-bending practical and technical effects.
This is all perfectly illustrated in the “highlight of the film” or its piece of resistance (which probs happens a bit too early on for that or that is sadly maybe not topped later on; but how could they top it!) A great party scene where we are introduced to Taylor-Joy's Sandy and Soho's bygone underground world. This scene will undoubtedly go down as one of the best ever made thanks to its technical prowess (one will be seriously blown away by reading about the behind-the-scenes and how they actually did a Texas switch!) and its dizzying intoxicating sight and sound combo.
And sound LAST NIGHT IN SOHO provides! After all, what did we expect from the guy who brought us BABY DRIVER and its music shepherded direction style. The soundtrack is filled to the brim with nostalgic vibing bangers and we even get to witness Taylor-Joy hidden vocal talents perfectly fitted for the mood. It is hard to fathom this movie with another actress as this is 100% a case of casting match made in heaven with Anya who, fresh from the glory of Queen Gambit proves - to those who did not believe the hype way back from THE WITCH - that she is the real deal and one of the most interesting performers of her generation (along with her fellow Brit, Florence Pugh --- Side note: that would have been an awesome pairing - and doubly amusing considering Anya was originally considered for the role of Eloise) But one thing for sure Anya Taylor-Joy is mesmerizing as ever as Sandie and having someone like Pugh playing Eloise might have also brought something a tad different (decisiveness?purpose?) to the role as Thomasin's take or interpretation of the character might be lacking some momentum. Yet her vacillation is why Ellie is so unsettling to watch.
Nevertheless, this is McKenzie's best, and, plausibly, her “always-disturbed-way-of-being” persona and weirdly unique intonation/pitch, that are, to say the least, very specific, might seem over-the-top for LNIS'S heroine but guess it hammered the point that she is the very obvious black swan. In addition, she is also meant to be a weirdo in and out, but at least she is not alone as the only main character of color, Michael Ajao's John, is likewise unmistakably “different” and...well a simpleton like Eloise. And this brought us to LAST NIGHT IN SOHO “problematic” aspect (or one of the "problems"): it was probably not intended but the way this character behaves and its treatment is sometimes quite unfortunate.
But again the pair are like a couple of Dopey, so no real beef here although it will VERY easily irritate some as they might find themselves yelling at them/the screen: “why you gotta be so naive!” Eloise is essentially akin to a wide-eyed old-school Disney princess (a 6-years-old in the body of a 16-year-old!) or some variant of the horror genre “manic-pixie-dream-girl-ingenue it-girl"...Wheew! However, with all the different looks and subtle behavioral/mood changes she goes through throughout the movie, Thomasin seriously displays some versatility as she certainly transforms herself; also thanks to the clothing she's wearing. Like everything in this movie, the wardrobe is outstanding, with all those dresses and coats! And they did a truly outstanding job as indeed those clothes are not wearing the girls, the protagonists are wearing the sh$t outta them!
Moral Of The Story: 9/10
LAST NIGHT IN SOHO....Death Becomes Her And Beautiful Nightmares? Maybe, maybe not and more, for it is safe to say that it is one of the best films of 2021 and no doubt one of the most visually alluring films ever made.
It is a must-see for so many reasons and, despite things clearly needing to be more plainly explained (like how Eloise “abilities” work for one,) its murder mystery story, twist (cuz yes there is a twist!) and, well, mysteries will stay with you for a long long time.
And so will the psychedelic visual or the wonderful soundtrack (that too many of us are obsessing over!) And, lastly, its witchy vibes with nods to the like of THE CRAFT or evidently SUSPIRIA and the Giallo-ness of it all sprinkled all over, because, what less did you expect! There is also something wicked about LAST NIGHT IN SOHO and this can be seen through its many possible influences, references, or callbacks, bringing to mind other surreal movies. Thus all those easter eggs make this film an even more entertaining and bewitching one to watch. So if you haven’t done so, watch it tonight…. or watch it again!
