Last Night in Soho
A brilliant high concept, squandered
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$08 – 11MM V $10MM
Mythosis universal quests used
5
Audience appeal
~0.30%
Script Score
0.01
Last Night in Soho directed by Edgar Wright is known for its compelling concept and haunting soundtrack. The movie follows a girl who gets transported to the 1960s whenever she sleeps. She leverages her experiences in the current day until she gets murdered in the past. The story explores the basic human desires of Family, Honour and Power. Mythosis, harnesses mythological tales to extract the unique plot structure of Last Night in Soho. The plot structure uncovers what makes the story engaging and also exposes the gaps.
1. The invisible plot structure of Last Night in Soho
1A. The script of Last Night in Soho borrows 96% of its events from 6 mythological tales
Ellie’s quest is driven by the desire for protecting loved ones and mirrors the tale of Demeter from Greek mythology. Both Demeter & Ellie try to find their lost loved one.
Ellie has another quest of independence which is underdeveloped.
Jack’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology. Both Circe and Jack lure unsuspecting victims and take control of their lives.
Sandie’s quest is driven by the desire for honour and mirrors the tale of Amba from Hindu mythology. Both Amba & Sandie embark on avenging themselves after being betrayed and dishonoured by their loved ones.
Sandie has another quest of remorse which is underdeveloped.
John has an underdeveloped quest of romance. None of the other characters have any quest.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
# 7,123
Tales interweaved
Demeter, Circe & Amba
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of Last Night in Soho’s plot structure: $08 – 11MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Last Night in Soho
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Last Night in Soho uses 3 universal quests of Family, Power and Honour. It also borrows from the quests of independence, accumulation & romance.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Ellie mirrors the universal quests of Family and Independence. Jack mirrors the universal quests of Power. Sandie mirrors the universal quest of Honour and Accumulation.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Ellie borrows 13% of events from the quest of Family and 6% from the quest of Independence. Jack borrows 20% of the events from the quest of Power. Sandie borrows 14% from the quest of Honour and 5% from the quest of Accumulation
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. The quest interweaving score of Last Night in Soho is 0.33 and is below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Sandie & Jack:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Last Night in Soho
The fabulous concept of Last Night in Soho is undone by inconsistent characters and their shallow quests. The plot structure reflects the lead characters of Ellie and Sandie pursuing multiple desires. Multiple desires of a character not only weaken their quest but also makes the plot disjointed.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.01
Audience appeal
~0.3%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Last Night in Soho
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Ellie mirrors the universal quest for Family
Ellie’s desire for Family stems from the need to protect loved ones. The tale of Demeter from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Family.
Quest 2: Jack mirrors the universal quest for Power
Jack’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Circe from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Power.
Quest 3: Sandie mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Sandie’s desire stems from the need to restore her Honour. The tale of Amba from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
Mythological tales are a double edged sword. The plot structure of Last Night in Soho falls prey to borrowing events from multiple tales.
The two lead characters Ellie & Sandie have inconsistent and shallow quests.
Their quests also result in plot gaps.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Last Night in Soho is a subset of Mythosis plot structure # 7,123. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Demeter, Circe & Amba.
Contact us for Last Night in Soho’s plot structure # 7,123
Tags: Circe, Amba, Demeter, Family, Honour, Power, Edgar Wright, Focus Features, Universal Pictures, 2021