Last Night in Soho 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Last Night in Soho 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 20, 2022

With Last Night in Soho, Director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver) has crafted a compellingly dark and macabre but alive and engrossing tale of supernatural suspense and deeply seeded human instinct and raw emotion. The film is a near masterwork of narrative clarity but, at the same time, narrative misdirection. Wright, who also wrote the film, builds a story that is ultimately of deep depravity as it lingers in the human essence. He also blends space-time mergers to elegantly confounding effect that grows more clearly as the film approaches its climax. It's at once both peculiar and powerful, shaped by a fine-tuned script and excellent lead performances, as well as a twist that would make M. Night Shyamalan jealous.

Ellie Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) has lived a quiet life with her grandmother since her mother's suicide some years ago, and she still sees visions of her from time to time. She's an aspiring fashion designer with a love for the 60s music her grandmother also enjoys. When she's accepted into a prestigious London fashion school, she packs up and heads for the big city, alone for the first time. However, she's disliked by her peers, and her roommate Jocasta (Synnøve Karlsen) speaks ill of her behind her back. Desperate to succeed but unable to gain a foothold in the school's social life, she ditchers the dorm and rents a flat nearby run by a kindly elderly woman, Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg), who only has one rule: no boys. It takes little time for Ellie to begin experiencing very vivid dreams that take her back to the 60s. She sees images of a young, beautiful blonde named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) who yearns to succeed as a singer but who finds herself forcibly and unwillingly drawn into a world of sexual depravity. As the dreams grow more fiercely violent and Sandie's story unfolds, Ellie is at once both inspired by the era's fashion and also drawn into exploring what really happened to Sandie all those decades ago, a truth that she might not want to unearth.

Despite its proclivity towards misdirection and narrative confusion, Wright expertly handles the material in such a way that the film is both easily accessible yet complexly crafted. The story's many tentacles, which literally stretch across time, merge to fruitful and satisfying conclusion by film's end. Repeat viewing, particularly a second watch in close proximity, would be of value to look for clues with the true ending revealed, but the film is very well balanced as it is, obtuse as it may be through much of its runtime. Wright's script, with the help of some nifty filmmaking prowess, imaginatively lacks cohesion in the moment and the picture's truths are never evident as the story progresses. This is not the pinnacle of the twisty-turny psychological thriller, but it's a rock-solid entry that genre fans are going to love.

The film's narrative is tight and the story engaging, both elevated by Wright's excellent direction and Chung-hoon Chung's cinematography which, like the script, blends the skewered perspective and the straightforward elements with grace and clarity. Performances are richly realized and full, with Thomasin McKenzie brilliantly portraying Ellie, capturing her own psychological wounds and falling into the scars of a past not even her own to only double down on her own trauma. It's a great bit of work that's vital in selling the story's multitentacled characteristics and complexly woven internals and externals alike.

Last Night in Soho 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Universal's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD release of Last Night in Soho offers a pleasing, but not transformative, stable of visual upgrades when compared to the companion and concurrently released 1080p Blu-ray. The UHD finds moderate sharpness gains, bringing out superior, but not necessarily far advanced, clarity to facial textures and clothing lines. Still, every bit counts and whatever this resolution can squeeze out from the source is certainly welcome and, here, desirable. The clarity helps extend the visual range and total definition of the various Soho environments as well, which allow for more aggressive and immersive clarity throughout the city streets, inside the apartment, and other key locations that bring the movie to more vivid life. The Dolby Vision grading is the real winner here, and while, like the textures, the colors don't offer a major renovation, the improvements to fidelity, depth, vitality, and vividness are unmistakable. These are all key elements for the Soho neon lights in particular and, perhaps less obvious but no less critical, clothes, flesh tones, and whites. Blacks are appreciably deeper and more stable here as well. Noise management is improved, too, and like the Blu-ray there are no consequential encode issues to note, either. While not a dazzler of a UHD, this is the superior to the Blu-ray and the best way to enjoy this great film.

Last Night in Soho 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Universal's Dolby Atmos soundtrack is very good. The track might not have any real distinguishing features, but it does ramp up the intensity as necessary and builds top-level clarity and spacing -- including some intermixed overhead support -- to fully draw the listener into the film's more intense sonic moments. The presentation excels in balance, offering that high yield intensity and spacing while also mustering up plenty of examples of fine-tuned ambience that subtly and effectively draws the listener into the film. Music is very vivid and detailed, presenting with captivating clarity and precision placement. Dialogue is clear and center focused for the duration.

Last Night in Soho 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of Last Night in Soho contains a well-rounded assortment of extras: two audio commentary tracks, deleted scenes, and a number of featurettes. A Blu-ray copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Meet Eloise (2160p/Dolby Vision, 10:05): The movie does a fine job defining the character, but here's a supplement describing her, anyway. It also looks at Thomasin McKenzie's performance, training for the part, and more.
• Dreaming of Sandie (2160p/Dolby Vision, 9:05): Basically, the same supplement as above, this one focusing on Anya Taylor-Joy's Sandie.
• Smoke and Mirrors (2160p/Dolby Vision, 12:36): A look at how the film shifts visual tones as the story progresses. It also looks at making some of the visual effects, including some impressive practical work.
• On the Streets of Soho (2160p/Dolby Vision, 8:36): Shooting in Soho and how the setting works for the film.
• Time Travelling (2160p/Dolby Vision, 10:45): Exploring the film's 60s soundtrack, visual sensibilities, and time travel cautions.
• Deleted Scenes (2160p/Dolby Vision, 9:16 total runtime): Included are Ellie Gets Conned, Hidden Nightmares, The Bridge, Alleys and Shadows, You Know Where to Find Me, and Extended Chase.
• Animatics (2160p/Dolby Vision, 13:06 total runtime): Preliminary storyboards. Included are First Dream, Shadow Men, Murder, and Final Confrontation.
• Extras (2160p/Dolby Vision): A series of shorter, largely self-explanatory extras that all explore some very preliminary tests for the film. Included are Hair & Makeup Tests (7:26), Lighting & VFX Tests (6:20), Wide Angle Witness Cam (1:54), Acton Town Hall Steadicam Rehearsal (1:24), and Steadicam Alternative Take (1:45).
• Music Video (2160p/Dolby Vision, 5:27): "Downtown" by Anya Taylor-Joy.
• Trailers (2160p/Dolby Vision): Included are Domestic Trailer 1 (2:13) and International Trailer (2:29).
• Audio Commentary: With Director/Co-Writer Edgar Wright, Editor Paul Machliss, and Composer Steve Price.
• Audio Commentary: With Director/Co-Writer Edgar Wright and Co-Writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns.

Last Night in Soho 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Last Night in Soho is a richly realized Supernatural Thriller with enough complexity to keep it intense and enough accessibility to keep the audience involved throughout. Strong photography, direction, editing, and acting lift the film to excellence. Universal's UHD is very good. It's got loads of extras as well as high end video and audio presentations. Highly recommended.