Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy sparkles with her haunting, downtempo cover of Petula Clark’s iconic 1964 hit “Downtown” in the trailer for Last Night in Soho. In the preview, Taylor-Joy, her voice slathered in echo, stands behind a mic in a recording studio and croons the track’s iconic hook, “When you’re alone and life is making you lonely/ You can always go/ Downtown.”
Backed by a haunting string section, the 25 year-old Golden Globe-winning actress flies high above the action in her ethereal voice as the screen fills with images from the upcoming Edgar Wright-directed horror thriller that also stars Thomasin McKenzie, Matt Smith and Terence Stamp; the film is due out on Oct. 29.
A description of the film from the Baby Driver director finds aspiring fashion designer Eloise (McKenzie), “mysteriously [entering] the 1960s where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, Sandie [Taylor-Joy)]. But the glamour is not all it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker.”
Clark’s signature hit “Downtown” — featuring then-session player Jimmy Page on guitar — climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in January 1965 and was ushered into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003. Over the years, it has been covered by everyone from Dolly Parton to Marianne Faithfull, the Osmond Brothers, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Frank Sinatra, Yo La Tengo, The Saw Doctors and Baby Spice Emma Bunton.
Watch Taylor-Joy get mellow in the trailer below.
