Baby Driver shows viewers how far a getaway driver will go to protect the people he cares about and cut his ties with a crime boss.
Baby (Ansel Elgort) realized his ability to drive cars well during his teen years. He used those skills to steal cars and play cat-and-mouse with cops. One of his victims, crime boss Doc (Kevin Spacey), enlists his help for each of his missions. Doc saw Baby as his “lucky charm” because he switched every crew member out in between jobs except Baby. He only had one left and then he can leave that life behind.
At the SXSW Film Festival, Baby Driver won the audience award for headliners. This crime film came out on June 28 and grossed more than $5.7 million in its first day in theaters.
Baby threw off expectations from the moment he hit the screen. He’s serious in the car until the criminals exit the car and he can crank the music. Out comes the lip syncing and air violin. Baby cares for the people he loves and strangers alike. He wanted to take care of his girlfriend Debora (Lily James) and his deaf foster dad Joseph (CJ Jones). A defining characteristic of Baby is his sympathetic attitude toward the people he steals from and bystanders of crime.
Car chases in films don’t always make for exciting scenes because they don’t have much variation. Baby Driver did a good job with stunt choreography. Baby drove to whatever Doc arranged, and each scene played with the different sizes and capabilities of vehicles. Sometimes speed was most important, other times aggressiveness became crucial.
A car crash stole Baby’s parents from him when he was a boy. Since then, he had to deal with a hum in his ears and played music to drown it out. Songs, ranging from Egyptian reggae to “Baby”-themed tunes, are constantly playing throughout the entire film and may not match the mood since they’re what Baby is actually listening to through his headphones. Even if he only had one earbud in, melodies still waft from one side of the theater. A slight ringing can even be heard when music isn’t playing, which gave the movie a more first-person perspective.
The main crime team used in Baby Driver consists of Baby, Bats (Jamie Foxx), Buddy (Jon Hamm) and Darling (Eiza González). Bats is a man hardened by crime. Robbing was his life and he doesn’t get along with Baby because of his ethics. Buddy and Darling are married, and they are mostly concerned about themselves but Buddy does try to relate to Baby. There is not a large focus on the dialogue, but the characterization seen through actions makes up for it.
The sweet budding romance between Baby and Debora makes this film a good date movie. Their first meet shows a mutual love for driving and the need to escape both of their realities. Every interaction leaves you wanting the couple to progress more together.
Baby Driver uses subtle comedy that enhances the viewer’s perspective of a character. At one point, Baby lost his iPod. He stole a car from an elderly lady and took time to adjust the radio to a good station.
Some visual shots seemed reminiscent of a comic book. During the first car chase, a shot of police cruisers lined up in the rearview mirror looked like a “V” formation of birds descending on their prey. Another shot in an elevator showed Doc and his current crew in such a way that their personalities were apparent by their body language.
Baby Driver is a solid summer release which redeems Elgort from possible recognition only as a teen movie actor in The Fault in Our Stars and Divergent. However, the movie may be remembered more for how it utilized audio.
4.5/5
