Last Night in Soho
A murder in the past. A mystery in the future.
Last Night in Soho (2021)
Production
Budget
$43 000 000
Revenue
$22 957 625
Director
Scenario
Edgar Wright
Author
Composer
Producer
Tim Bevan
Actors
Thomasin McKenzie
Eloise Turner
Anya Taylor-Joy
Sandie
Matt Smith
Jack
Rita Tushingham
Peggy Turner
Michael Ajao
John
Synnøve Karlsen
Jocasta
Pauline McLynn
Carol
Terence Stamp
Silver-Haired Gentleman
Short description
Last Night in Soho follows Eloise, a young woman from the countryside who moves to London to study fashion design. Fascinated by the 1960s, she struggles to settle into student housing and takes a room in Soho rented from an older landlady. At night, she seems to slip into the London of her imagination, appearing as a glamorous blonde woman, and encounters Sandie, an aspiring singer. What begins as an escape into the era she loves turns troubling, as dream and reality blur and time itself appears to fragment.
Edgar Wright directed and co-wrote the film with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, with Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Wright producing. It sits between Baby Driver and the documentary The Sparks Brothers in Wright's filmography. Thomasin McKenzie plays Eloise and Anya Taylor-Joy plays Sandie, with Matt Smith, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao and Synnøve Karlsen among a credited cast of 52.
Released in October 2021, the film runs 117 minutes and was made for 43 million USD, earning 23 million USD worldwide. Audiences rate it 7/10 on IMDb from 199,000 votes and 7.3/10 on TMDB from 4,032 votes. A critics' rating of 6.9/10 from 350 reviews places it close to the audience scores, with neither group strongly negative nor enthusiastic.
What's left behind the scenes
- Initially, it was assumed that there would be no dialogue in the flashbacks, only music, but at some point, screenwriter Christie Wilson-Kearns stated the need to make the audience literally “fall in love with Sandy,” as played by Anya Taylor-Joy, and that would be much more difficult if no one ever heard her voice.
- The scene in which Thomasin McKenzie’s character sees Sandy, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, through a mirror was filmed without the use of computer graphics. To achieve the desired effect, the wardrobe attendant was played by twins James and Oliver Phelps.
- During the screening of the end credits, an image of a deserted central London flickers on the screen. These shots were filmed during the height of the Covid pandemic, when a lockdown was declared in the United Kingdom.
- Anya Taylor-Joy sang herself in the film.
- To film students walking the streets of nighttime Soho, the camera was hidden in one of the three-wheeled vehicles used for passenger transport (there are many in the Soho area). The road was not closed, and the students were unaware they were being filmed.
- Thomasin McKenzie chose to work on this film rather than Joseph Kosinski’s action movie “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022).
- According to director and screenwriter Edgar Wright, George Miller was so impressed with Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance when he saw an early cut of the film that he immediately contacted the actress and offered her one of the leading roles in the science fiction action film “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (2024).
- From the very beginning, director Edgar Wright understood that the film had to be shot exclusively on location, rather than searching for similar areas or building sets in studio pavilions. It was extremely difficult to solve the incredible number of logistical problems, as many businesses in Soho operate around the clock. Wright himself compared shooting on location in London to the labors of Hercules and consistently emphasized the assistance provided to the film crew by local authorities. Among other things, it was necessary to ensure that the cars glimpsed in the frame, the characters’ clothing, and the shop windows corresponded to the 1960s.
- While preparing Thomasin McKenzie for the role of Eloise, Edgar Wright compiled a list of 50 mandatory films for her to watch (the list also included several films that Wright himself was fond of). McKenzie later said that she watched them all, except for one – the horror film "Suspiria" (Luca Guadagnino, 2018), written by Dario Argento, who had a huge influence on Wright’s own work.
- The idea for the film "Last Night in Soho" (2021) first came to director Edgar Wright in 2007. He outlined the plot to producers Nira Park and Rachel Prior shortly before starting work on the sci-fi comedy "The World's End" (2013). Wright himself grew up in Somerset and, as a child, often listened to his parents’ recollections of their youth in the 1960s, becoming captivated by that era. His passion was greatly fueled by their record collection, listening to which, he admitted, he "literally dissolved into that decade."
- When filming the taxi scene, where Eloise enjoys the views more than the driver’s attempts to engage her in conversation, three different cars were used. One was used to film Thomasin McKenzie, the second for the driver (the cars with Eloise and the driver traveled parallel to each other and very close together), and the third housed the equipment. Everything had to be synchronized with each other and with the view from the car windows, and the actors sitting in different cars heard each other through speakers installed in the car interiors.
- Edgar Wright first learned about Anya Taylor-Joy during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, where Robert Eggers’ horror film "The Witch," starring Taylor-Joy, premiered. He initially wanted to offer her the role of Eloise, but soon changed his mind, deciding that she would be better suited for the role of Sandy. The actress read the script and agreed to the proposed role. She was cast in February 2019, and shortly after that, Thomasin McKenzie and Matt Smith were also confirmed for the roles of Eloise and Jack, respectively. McKenzie caught Wright’s attention with her performance in Debra Granik’s adventure drama "Leave No Trace" (2018).
- The library scene was filmed at SOAS University of London (a public research university specializing in the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East), and filmmakers were allocated only part of the premises, while students occupied the rest.
- Diana Rigg's final role. She passed away from cancer on September 10, 2020, and the film is dedicated to her memory. Her daughter, Rachel Stirling's name is mentioned in the credits under "Special Thanks."
- Margaret Nolan's final role, as she passed away from cancer on October 5, 2020. The film is dedicated to her memory.
- The final scene had to be partially reshot because audiences at a preview disliked the fact that the characters of Tomassin McKenzie and Synnøve Karlsen became friends and embraced off-camera.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
