Content Warning: the following contains SPOILERS for Last Night in Soho and mentions of bullying and suicide.
Edgar Wright’s psychological horror film Last Night in Soho is a movie in love with a period in time: the 1960s. As interesting as the retro-setting is, the characters are what pushes the narrative further. Wright’s newest release is similar to his others like Hot Fuzz and Baby Driver in that its characters’ levels of intelligence vary wildly.
Eloise Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) is dragged into a world that she, like director Wright, clearly loves. However, it’s not all that she hoped in more ways than one, and her practical intelligence will be necessary to guide her through the seedier aspects. On the other side, there are more nefarious characters, who rival if not exceed Turner in intelligence.
7 Jocasta
Whereas ignorant characters in former Edgar Wright movies led to funny scenes, Last Night in Soho‘s least intelligent character is just a bully. Jocasta (Synnøve Karlsen) lacks the intelligence to view Ellie as anything other than a target. She fails to see someone who is a little different from herself as anything but that.
Jocasta is also extremely immature. She expresses an odd upbeat attitude to learning that Ellie lost her mother (and didn’t know her father). It turns out it’s because (she claims that) the same thing happened to her. Later on, when Jacosta brings it up in front of their friends, she states how her mother died. When Ellie mentions suicide, Jocasta looks downtrodden, having had the attention briefly removed from her, and she attempts to one-up Ellie by saying she had a family member who did the same. Jocasta is a character who lacks the emotional intelligence necessary to display empathy.
6 Margaret “Peggy” Turner
Margaret Turner (Rita Tushingham) doesn’t get much screen time, but she’s obviously holding a lot of pain. This is particularly true of Ellie’s decision to follow in her mother’s footsteps and travel to London.
Ellie’s grandmother doesn’t get the opportunity to make much of an impression, but she was at least smart enough to attempt and dissuade her granddaughter. However, Ellie’s London journey ultimately ended far more positively than her mother’s, even if there were nightmares, ghosts, and a serial killer on the way.
5 Jack
Jack may be one of Matt Smith’s best roles, but he’s a repulsive human being. However, he also comes across as well-educated. Part of this could be that his appearance is always sterling, with an expensive suit, slicked-back hair, and a soft smile always accompanying his words.
But people, including Sandie, gravitate towards him. When he speaks, it’s with eloquence and exposure, even if his words are eventually revealed to be hollow attempts at humanity. At least he was able to detect Sandie’s talent, arranging for her to sing for him and a colleague at the nightclub. However, he wasn’t smart enough to actually go through with helping her become a star, instead choosing to exploit her body over her talent.
4 John
Last Night in Soho is Ellie’s story, so John (Michael Ajao) isn’t given much to do save for being a bright spot in a sea of mean people. However, he’s able to assist Ellie in figuring out the mystery behind the (apparently substantial) number of men killed around the same time as Sandie’s supposed death.
John also has emotional intelligence; as opposed to the other students, who look at Ellie with raised brows and derision, he extends a helping hand. This emotional intelligence extends to his creative intelligence, as he makes up for stealing a can of Coke in a clever way (which simultaneously builds some trust between himself and Ellie).
3 The Silver-Haired Gentleman/Handsy/Lindsey
The Silver-Haired Gentleman could go on to be seen as one of Terence Stamp’s best roles if only for how well it suits his range. Like some of the actor’s other roles, Lindsey can seem intimidating and scary before ultimately revealing themself to be different.
While the trailer for Last Night in Soho made it look like Stamp was playing an older version of Smith’s character, they couldn’t be more different. Though he was struck by a taxi before revealing the whole truth, he is actually a retired police officer named Lindsey who attempted to aid Sandie in a time of need. Provided Lindsey knows Ms. Collins is a murderer the same way he knows she’s Sandie, he was smart enough to conceal that information from his law enforcement cohorts.
2 Sandie/Ms. Collins
Sandie’s (Anya Taylor-Joy) identity is truly fleshed out by the expansion of Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg). They’re one and the same, yet they have their differences. Collins has seen the evils of the world and reacted in kind.
For a time, however, Sandie is just a sweet young woman trying to make her way in England circa 1966. She has talent and passion, but unfortunately requires the assistance of a man to make it. Worse yet, she falls for the subtle manipulation of a terrible one: Jack. When Sandie (in reality, Alexandra Collins) kills him, it’s in self-defense. But from there she continues to lure and kill more (an amount that is not specified but alluded to as substantial). The fact that Sandie/Ms. Collins was able to cover up her innumerable felonies is indicative of at least a crafty mind. It’s also a long fall from the bright-eyed girl who—in a great usage of a song in a horror movie—optimistically crooned “Downtown” by Petula Clark. Ms. Collins’s intelligence is that of the world-weary.
1 Eloise “Ellie” Turner (Thomasin McKenzie)
Ellie Turner is the film’s smartest character for several reasons. She’s cultured, showing a particular affection for a time outside her own and she also has some sort of second sight, essentially possessing the capacity to communicate with the dead.
Turner is also smart enough to avoid negative influences. She’s guarded and perceptive, only really opening up to John once he’s proven himself. She also has emotional intelligence, proving herself (mostly) able to talk down a homicidal landlady.
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