Edgar Wright’s first foray into horror is stylish and visually beautiful. Although the horror elements may miss their mark, the film shines with its giddying cinematography, witty dialogue and empathetically portrayed female characters.
We follow 18-year-old aspiring fashion designer Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie), a Cornwall native thrown into the chaos of Soho when she’s accepted into a top London fashion school. What follows is a progressively surreal, time travelling journey into the life of Eloise’s alter ego – a singer named Sandy (Anna Taylor-Joy), navigating 1960’s Soho’s club scene.
The opening time travelling dream sequences are gorgeously shot and left tantalisingly ambiguous – does Eloise become Sandy, or is she simply following her? Or is it a blend of both? Neither is made clear and to its benefit. Eloise and Sandy are dual protagonists, and we inhabit their worlds just as much as they inhabit each other.
With Wright’s disappointing track record with female characters, it is refreshing and surprising to see two female leads portrayed as sensitively as they are here. Sandy, in particular, could very easily have fallen under a sexualised lens in the hands of another director, but Wright ensures we are in her shoes at every step. Even in the more provocative scenes, shots of leering male onlookers are immediately cut next to close ups of Ellie or Sandy – we are not the male onlookers, but the women watching them back. Ultimately, we always see Sandy through the awed and dazzled gaze of our Eloise.
The film swims in neon lights and colours, pulling us into the glitzy dreamscape of 60’s Soho. Yet whilst this time period is clearly romanticised through the naïve eyes of Eloise (until it’s really, really not), Wright doesn’t fail to paint the harsh, jarring reality of moving to present day London.
In fact, ghosts aside, I found the scariest sequence to be Eloise’s first night in her fashion school halls. Bullied and alienated by sneering dorm mates, Wright knows how to tap into that hollow feeling of not belonging. Razor sharp acting and camera shots perfectly capture Eloise’s isolation, and we are on her side from the get go. Wright’s signature smash cuts and creative transitions provide brilliant comedic effect here.
But the real horror lies in the depiction of a complete loss of sense of self, sexual assault, and misogyny, that rip through Sandy’s world and thrust both women into a nightmare. Splintering mirrors and disorientating reflections are used beautifully to convey their feelings of dissociation and entrapment.
Has Wright successfully translated to horror, then? His trademark camerawork and pacy, observational humour are all present and make for an enjoyable watch. Where the film falters, however, is the second half’s dip into supernatural horror. The ghostly male callers – whilst effectively spooky the first scene they’re used – quickly become overdone, and multiple plot twists make for a convoluted ending that loses the films earlier poignancy.
Nevertheless, this is an original, slick and dreamy thriller, with genuine empathy for its characters pulsing throughout.
3.5/5