Edgar Wright- Director In Review

Edgar Wright is one of the most creative and stylish directors working today, getting his start in 1995 with a Fistful of Fingers and still releasing films today, with his most recent release being Last Night in Soho in 2021. He is most well known for his specific style of editing, which commonly makes the use of stylish transitions, whip pans and wipes. Alongside his use of editing, he is also most known for the Cornetto trilogy, a series of film using the same actors in Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and his love for the romantic genre, hiding a romance in each of his films. His films are mostly seen as cult classics, with him commonly creating films that spoof genres, creating his own satirical take on each genre that he tackles.

With every film that Wright released, there’s a clear love for each genre he tackles as he clearly takes influence from various films of that genre but putting his own spin on this. This can be seen in his first film release, A Fistful of Fingers, a film that is a love letter to the Western genre, with Wright adopting his fast-paced storytelling to the genre, putting his own stamp using the tropes of the Western. Each Cornetto trilogy film follows suit in this, with Shaun of The Dead serving a both a romantic comedy and a zombie film, with clear influence being displayed by the zombie films from George A.Romero. Hot Fuzz is a cross between a police procedural and an action film, showing specific inspiration from films like Bad Boys, twisting tropes found in action films to convey them in a more comedic way. The World’s End is conveyed as the typical comedic film that Wright excels at, but also including tropes from science fiction films, with the aliens featured in the film taking clear inspiration from films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The War of the Worlds.

His comic book-based film Scott Pilgrim VS The World was a similar case to this, with the film being based on a graphic novel of the same name. Therefore, the film pays specific attention to bringing out the feel of a comic book, using Edgar Wright’s signature editing style to put his own spin on this type of film, including the use of anti-continuity editing to create dead space in the frame as a recreation of the blank space found in graphic novels. Baby Driver is another film that Wright puts his own spin on a specific genre, with the film being a mix of the action and heist genre, using tropes of many heists films but also putting a musical style to it. Even his latest release, Last Night in Soho, puts his own spin on the psychological horror genre, more specifically on the Giallo movie genre, Italian made horror films that have a mix of the supernatural and mystery. The film uses the common tropes of the Giallo genre, with a central mystery among the supernatural elements, but with Wright also putting his own spin on it through his signature comedic flair.

The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy are the films that Wright is known for most commonly, with all three films sharing the same two leads, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Simon Pegg specifically is a frequent collaborator with the director, as he received writing credits on all three of the films featured in the trilogy. With Shaun of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and the World’s End, Wright got his start in the public knowledge for his specific style of filmmaking, with fast and stylish editing alongside his inclusion of popular music and comedy. A lot of the films that Wright directs are written around the songs included, with many scenes being constructed with a specific song in mind. Baby Driver is the most common showcase of this trend in his films, with 36 different tracks used across the film to build the mood and style of each scene, with Wright even describing the film as a movie musical. Last Night in Soho even continues this trend, with the film taking a critical stance on nostalgia, mixing the positives of the past with the negatives people tend to forget. This central theme of the film is shown through the music in each scene, creating a distinct stylistic difference between the modern locations and the nostalgia based past, with the music used to highlight the moments of dread and wonder that is mixed both into nostalgia.

Each film crafted by the director has its own unique genre but also has a distinct level of the romantic genre being hidden in the narrative, a trend that started with Shaun of The Dead, a film that is classified completely as a romantic comedy. Each film in the Cornetto trilogy is brought together by a common theme of growing up, with each of Simon Pegg’s characters being forced to move away from the past and become an adult. However, they are also brought together by each film giving Simon Pegg’s characters a romantic connection, a romantic connection that plays into his character’s development into a grown man. Each film after the trilogy also follows this settlement, with Scott Pilgrim’s whole narrative being based around the title characters romantic endeavours, with each part of the narrative being formed because of the crux of the main romantic pairing. Baby Driver’s narrative is constructed in the second and third act by the decision of the main character to leave the crime life for romance, following the common trend of Wright’s characters going through development through their romantic relationships. Even Last Night in Soho follows this trend, with the romantic relationships between reflected in the modern day and the nostalgic past, using romance as a narrative device to show the horrors of relationships in the past and how they form the dark pasts of the characters.

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