Two powerhouse movies were released this weekend, Last Night in Soho and the wide release of The French Dispatch. Both have well known directors, Edgar Wright, and Wes Anderson, and I would say that they both held up to their reputations. Visually they were both stunning, but one had a much better story than the other making it one of the best films of the year so far. It was nice to see a decent amount of people in the theater too. Neither of these films are quite on the level of Marvel or other major blockbuster franchises, but both still had decent crowds, which is important to see with more artistic film.
Last Night in Soho was about a fashion student, Eloise, moving away from her small hometown to chase her dream. It does not start out as planned, and she moves out of her student housing and into a rented room in an old lady's house, but when the neon lights turn on, and Eloise closes her eyes, she enters a different world, one from the past. She is transported into the life of Sandy in the late 1960s. Sandy is a wannabe star, and although this life initially seems exciting to Eloise, she quickly realizes that Sandy is not quite living the dream she intended. Sandy makes a deal with the wrong guy and ends up being pimped out and going nowhere. Sandy's nightmarish world starts to bleed into Eloise's, making Eloise look insane, because she is literally seeing ghosts. When Eloise goes to move out of the house, the last secret is revealed.
The French Dispatch is an anthology, which makes it hard to summarize, about the last publication of a news magazine that is stationed in France, but it has its roots in Kansas. The first major story is about an incarcerated artist and his romantic relationship with a guard and his business relationship with a critic. The second story is about student protests in France and a reporter that gets a little too personal with the conflict thus losing her journalistic neutrality. The last story was about a police officer and his son's kidnapping, and how the chef of the precinct saved the day. There were also a couple of minor story lines threaded in as well including Owen Wilson giving a brief bike tour through the city.
Both films had incredible color pallets but in very different ways. Last Night in Soho was incredibly vibrant. It takes place in the night life of downtown London. The neon lights play a massive role in the lighting of the film, and it makes it spectacular. The night scenes are not as bleak when they are being illuminated by the neon signs. It also helped make for great dramatic effect when the neon signs are blinking and when the sign is on there is no one, but when it is off a silhouette appears that creeps closer with each flash. One of the best visual aspects of this film was when they were doing the kaleidoscope effect. It was expertly done and added to the party scenes. The gradual fogging of the camera to represent Sandy drinking more was also excellent. The French Dispatch has large swaths of black and white filming, but when it does go into color, it is beautiful. The pallet is very soft toned with light blues, light oranges, tans, and browns. All this is laid upon a beautiful and intricate set design where every single detail is meticulously picked out by Wes Anderson to create the best possible image in each scene. You could watch it on a loop and never be able to get all the detail.
The other aspect both films address is nostalgia, but again they do so in different ways. Last Night in Soho is all about the negatives of living in the past and staying nostalgic. Eloise initially finds the world of the 60s intoxicating, and she recedes into her shell from the modern world. She quickly realizes she was blinded by the bright lights and that the 60s were not a great time for women. They were being taken advantage of and being used, abused, and thrown out like trash. It attacked toxic masculinity strongly. Whereas Anderson's film holds the past in high regard. It is a story about journalism at its height and the ability to explore a variety of worlds from different people's perspectives in an older time. He holds all his characters in high esteem. The world he creates seems like a joy to be in and one anyone would want to be a part of.
Where Last Night in Soho failed was in its story telling. It just was not that compelling. The story had the foundations to be intense and excellent, but instead it fell flat, especially in the second half. There was not enough development of the story line. The visuals are what really kept the film alive. The French Dispatch however excelled in its story telling. Each story was compelling in its own way. Also, the dialog that was used by the characters was as precisely written as the set was designed. The prose was so articulate that it added to the art.
The star power in both films was also off the charts. Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie are two big names now, especially Taylor-Joy. Taylor- Joy is having a huge moment coming off The Queen's Gambit, a Netflix show where she really shined. She also had a chance to put on a show in The Witch and Emma. Both of which she did an excellent job of performing in, so she will undoubtedly get more chances to star. McKenzie is still on the rise as well, she has not quite reached the height of Taylor-Joy, but she has the potential to do so. She was in Jojo Rabbit and gave an incredible, emotional performance. She was also just in Old where she did a good job in a sub-par movie, and undoubtedly, she will get the chance to star in more films as well. The French Dispatch has too many stars to name. Each story had its own star. Many of which either have an Oscar or have been nominated. It just added to the fun to have so many recognizable faces. It also shows how renowned of a director Wes Anderson is since he has stars lined up and willing to play even a small role in his films.
Overall Last Night in Soho failed to live up to my expectations, but it was still visually beautiful enough to earn three stars, plus it had two of my favorite actresses so that adds some bias to it as well. The French Dispatch was excellent from start to finish. It garnered plenty of awkward laughter and was fun throughout. It earns 4.5 stars for being great in just about every category
Other Films This Week:
The Wicker Man is an older movie that is excellent at creating discomfort despite mainly taking place in broad daylight. It goes into the beliefs of a cult on an island and the sacrifice they are willing to make to revive their island community.
Creep is a found footage film about Josef, who hires Aaron to make a film about his life for his newborn since he is about to die from cancer. From the start it is unnerving, and something is afoot, but as the story continues it gets weirder. Josef has a few skeletons in his closet, and he is not afraid to share. It feels like a bad YouTube video, but it is still fun to watch.
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonght pt. 2: What starts out as a gruesome and gory slasher, turns into an overly self-aware monster rom com that loses its punch. There are still some laughs to be had, but it started out so much better.
Halloween is one of the most formative horror films in history, and it was the spark that ignited one of the biggest film franchises and probably the best horror franchise. The whole movie is excellent, and the music is iconic. If you have never watched this, you are missing out.
New Rankings:
The French Dispatch: 4.5 Stars
Halloween: 4 Stars
The Wicker Man: 4 Stars
Last Night in Soho: 3 Stars
Creep: 2.5 Stars
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight pt. 2: 2.5 Stars
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