Last Night In Soho: 8 Big Questions Left Unanswered
6. Is Ellie Living The Past Or Merely Watching It?
One issue that pervades pretty much every twist in the film is that we never quite understand Ellie's relationship with everything she sees. To be more specific, it's unclear how much of Sandie's increasingly shattered life Ellie actually experiences herself.
Early on, it seems that Ellie might actually be able to feel what Sandie feels. When Sandie gets a hickey in the elevator during Ellie's first foray into the past, Ellie shows up to class the next day with the same mark on her own neck. There's also that incredible dance sequence during which Jack repeatedly switches partners between Ellie and Sandie.
Yet in other moments, Ellie seems to quite literally stand on the sidelines, helplessly watching from behind dance hall mirrors. In one scene, a character reacts to Ellie's screaming, suggesting that she may have the ability to interact with her environment on her own rather than through Sandie. A later mirror-breaking scene implies that Ellie believes this to be the case as well.
If Ellie experiences everything that Sandie experiences, then the scene in which we're first exposed to Sandie's long string of male visitors takes on some pretty dark implications. Unfortunately, the film seems to hold no interest whatsoever in clarifying what feels like a fairly meaningful plot point.
Speaking of meaningful plot points, MAJOR SPOILER WARNING for the following entries if you've set to see the film.