Edgar Wright’s latest project Last Night in Soho song-and-danced its way to theaters this past weekend (and you should, too). This ambitious psychological thriller follows Eloise Turner (Thomasin McKenzie), a first-year university student who ventures away from her small town to attend the prestigious London College of Fashion to pursue her dreams of being a fashion designer. Upon her arrival into the bustling city, she quickly realizes that it isn’t as glamorous as London was in the 1960s, the era she often fantasizes about. After a few sobering interactions, she moves into a small bedroom that an elderly woman is renting out in her house. And this is where things start to get really interesting.
Every night, Eloise starts to have incredibly vivid dreams where she is transported into the 1960s. In these dreams, she encounters Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), an elegant and stylish young woman determined to make it as a singer. Sandie is everything Eloise wishes she could be and more. She’s confident, fashionable, and perhaps most importantly, she’s being recognized for her incredible gift. As the story progresses, however, Eloise’s immersions into the past become increasingly haunting, revealing the darker and more disturbing reality for female performers in 1960s central London.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s Sandie has some beautifully orchestrated dance sequences with Jack (Matt Smith), a successful manager looking to hire Sandie. In one particularly impressive moment for the aspiring singer, she auditions for a Soho nightclub owner by singing Petula Clark’s "Downtown." This song, along with all the others in the film, was meticulously chosen by Wright. In fact, the playlist for the film came before there was a script. Wright explains that “in the same way that people would maybe use Post-it notes on a wall, or like an idea for a film, I sort of like almost mapped it out in song as reminders” of where the story would eventually go. Wright and his co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns, the latter of whom also wrote 1917 with Sam Mendes, used "Downtown" perfectly, as the song’s lyrics, which reek of desperation and the yearning for greater things, mirror the loneliness and isolation that Eloise feels as she navigates a new city. All of that in mind, combined with the talent of Steven Price, the composer who won an Oscar for scoring Gravity, is sure to create a transformative musical experience.
In general, music has a special place in Wright’s heart and often inspires a lot of his work. His 2017 hit action-thriller Baby Driver, starring Ansel Elgort, Lily James, and Jamie Foxx, revolves around the protagonist’s specific soundtrack he creates to help on his fast-paced job as a getaway driver. More recently, Wright directed a documentary titled The Sparks Brothers about rock duo Ron and Russell Mael.
But, wait a minute. Is that really Anya Taylor-Joy singing in the film? Why yes, yes it is. You can even watch the official music video from Focus Features that shows the actress performing the song mixed in with scenes from the film.
The Queen’s Gambit star spoke in a recent interview about how singing in a movie brought her to a whole new level of vulnerability, saying, “It’s definitely a new experience in terms of how naked you are in that moment.” Despite the nerves that come with singing in front of everyone on set, including director and co-writer Wright, Taylor-Joy was able to enjoy the experience. “It was really fun and I really relished the opportunity to do it.”