Focus

R.              156 min

 Once in a while I issue a spoiler alert.. Usually it's just a suggestion because I think everybody should see a film as cold as possible.   So I strongly encourage you to go see this on ASAP! The element of surprise really can make a good or a fair movie great. This time I'm not kidding. And honestly from the trailers one might not be anxious to go see this one  thinking that it might just be some sort of stylized surreal wild-ass crime drama  Chick flick 60s period piece.  So while we encourage you to read every word of the voice I’m telling you to leave this  review until after you’ve seen LAST night IN SOHO. You’ll thank me for it.  Besides then you can come back to the article after you’ve seen the film and decide whether or not I’m full of s***.

Ellie  (Thomasin Mckenzie) is a bright young woman with dreams of being a fashion designer. She’s spent her early life with grandma where has become enchanted by the Swinging Sixties era in London the music and styles of Soho, Carnaby Street et cetera.  Her dreams seem to be coming true when she is accepted to apprentice  in the fashion district of London. For a while it's just country girl in the city experiences; finding a place to stay, dealing with the mean girls, avoiding the bad guys and earning enough money to pay the rent.  At this point things start to get weird, and I mean really weird.   Ellie seems to be floating back-and-forth in time back to that late sixties era she is always dreamed of.  On top of that she’s experiencing and alternate reality seeing herself as a glamorous and talented young woman, “Sandy” (Anya Taylor-Joy)  trying to make it into the entertainment world.   She meets a totally disreputable creep named Jack (Matt Smith) and is drawn into a horrible situation in London’s underground.  At this point the line between Ellie and Sandy is almost completely blurred.  Is it a past life phenomena,  possession by spirits who can't rest or is Ellie losing her mind?  The cops believe it’s the latter when she beseeches them to look into unsolved murders.  And even if they did believe her, who could still be alive nearly 60 years later?

 In case you have cheated and read this far I'm not going to tell you exactly what happened but I will say I was 100% clue free until the final moment.   Not sure what kind of Oscar buzz there might be but it's one of my unexpected favorite flicks of the year.

A-

WSS