You know an Edgar Wright film when you see it, and Last Night in Soho is definitely an Edgar Wright production. It may not have the quick pans or fence jumping of the Cornetto Trilogy, but the style is 100% Wright.
Much of that involves unique in-camera techniques; much of the movie takes place within the dreams of Thomasin KcKenzie’s Eloise “Ellie” Turner, in which she live vicariously through the glamorous 1960s life of Anya Taylor-Joy’s Sandie. To present those moments to the audience, Wright utilized mirrors to reflect Ellie’s out-of-body dream state.
“I certainly have lots of dreams where I am somebody else,” he tells Consequence, “I know I’m me, but I look like somebody else… The way we designed the shots like that, the longer you can go without a cut and the more that you can do in camera, like physically happening in front of you, it just helps you suspend disbelief.”
Wright also discusses his use of classic 1960s songs as diegetic music that both the characters and the audience experience, including Taylor-Joy’s haunting rendition of “Downtown.” “I feel like a lot of those songs are secretly sad songs. That’s the key to it,” he says.
Watch the full interview above.
Last Night in Soho dreamwalks into theaters on October 29th. The movie also stars Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, Michael Ajao, and Diana Rigg.