It’s been a grand year for Edgar Wright, with back-to-back releases of his two most stylistically intuitive works to date: the documentary The Sparks Brothers and this sumptuously mod throwback to the swinging’ 60s when Carnaby Street was the style center of the world. It’s a period Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) yearns to return to, making her scholarship to the London College of Fashion that much sweeter. Her late mother’s spectral presence forever hovering in the background facilitates Eloise’s readiness to embrace the new face staring back from her mirror, that of aspiring singer Sandie (Anya Taylor Joy). The chemistry between the leads is more exacting than the cut of their gowns. Ditto the sleek digital trickery used to parallel the actresses' corresponding movements. Taylor-Joy’s on-screen presence is singularly other-worldly, so much so one questions if beneath the cigarette smoke and scopophilic gaze beats a heart made of flesh. She can’t help but stand out in a frame, but it’s McKenzie’s transformation from wide-eyed awe to harsh reality that anchors the film. On board to add authentic period flavor are Rita Tushingham, Terence Stamp, and the late Dame Diana Rigg. (2021) — Scott Marks
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