Some filmmakers are reliable
in that you know exactly what you’re going to get with their movies. When you
see something by Tim Burton, you can always expect a macabre, semi-gothic
setting, a washed out, gloomy color palette, a Danny Elfman score, and for
Johnny Depp and/or Helena Bonham Carter to show up at some point. With Quentin Tarantino,
you can expect loads of gory violence, at least three swear words per minute,
long but engaging conversations about things that don’t factor into the plot at
all, and references to old obscure movies that you’ve never seen. With Wes
Anderson, you can expect awkward dialogue, pastel colors, obsessively
symmetrical shots jammed with meticulous detail, and at least one appearance
from Bill Murray. Some people may say that these directors are one trick ponies
or style over substance, but personally I think there’s nothing wrong with that
if you’re really really good at that particular trick or if your style is
highly distinct. In the case of Edgar Wright, director of the Cornetto Trilogy
and Scott Pilgrim vs The World, he’s
notorious for abusing creative transitions and ultra-tight editing techniques,
and for stuffing his movies with so many multi-layered details that you notice
something new every time you watch them, but when it comes to those things
there’s no one who does them better. Such is the case with Baby Driver.
Our story follows Baby (Ansel
Elgort), the most gifted driver in Atlanta. When Baby was young he was in a car
accident that killed his parents, and left him with tinnitus, so he constantly
listens to music to drown out the ringing in his ears. He becomes a highly
skilled car thief at an early age, which gets him in trouble with Doc (Kevin
Spacey), a no-nonsense crime boss who has him work as his getaway driver to pay
off a debt. The goons that Doc hires to work with constantly underestimate Baby
due to his unassuming appearance and how he’s seemingly off in his own world,
but their tune always changes when he’s behind the wheel. He’s about to finish
the debt try to start a new life with a waitress (Lily James) that he fancies,
when he’s pulled in for another job where he’s paired with a crime couple (Jon
Hamm and Eiza Gonzalez) who are always showing Gomez and Morticia Addams levels
of affection for each other, and Bats (Jaime Foxx), an unhinged psychopath that
not even Doc can control.
That plot synopsis may not
sound too exciting since it’s eerily similar to movies like Drive and Transporter, but what separates it from the rest of the pack is the
execution. I’ve already mentioned Wright’s flair for hyper-precision editing,
which this movie has in spades, but another one of his skills that he doesn’t
get to show off nearly as much is his mastery of scene geography, which is
important when your film involves a ton of bank heists and car chases. The drivers,
stuntmen and stunt coordinator deserve just as much credit for this as the
director. Most movies nowadays that hinge on car chases are hellbent on making
them as big and epic as possible, and while there’s nothing really wrong with
that (hell, one of the best movies of the decade is essentially a two-hour long
car chase), it’s nice to see something done on a smaller scale.
The film is very fast paced, economical,
and doesn’t waste a single second, but what makes this especially impressive is
how rhythmic it is, both literally and figuratively. See, the whole movie is
set to the soundtrack of whatever Baby is listening to on his iPod at the time,
and just about every scene, especially the action sequences, are synchronized
almost perfectly to each song. (Imagine the scene in Shaun of the Dead where
they fend off zombies with pool cues to the beat of “Don’t Stop Me Now”, but on
a much larger scale.) This is exemplified by the two opening scenes; the aforementioned
car chase set to “Bellbottoms” by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and a
tracking shot of Baby dancing through the streets to “Harlem Shuffle” on his
way to get coffee that’s just as elaborate and intricate as some of the dance numbers
in La La Land, with the noise and bustle
of the city becoming woven into the song itself. When it’s not acting as the
back beat for whatever set piece is going on, there are plenty of moments where
the songs almost act like a character commenting on whatever’s going on. The soundtrack
(which includes tracks from Queen, The Commodores, The Beach Boys, The Damned,
Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Barry White, Young MC, Beck, T. Rex, Run the
Jewels, just to name a few) is as much of a character of the film as any actor, much
like the soundtrack to Guardians of the
Galaxy or any given Tarantino flick.
While the hallmarks of Wright’s
filmmaking carry the movie above and beyond, a movie is still nothing without
its cast. This is the closest to an all-star cast that Wright has ever worked
with, and while everybody pulls their weight, the stand-out is strangely
enough, Ansel Elgort. I liked him in The
Fault in Our Stars, but until now, I never really saw anything in him that
would elevate him above the legions of pretty boys trapped in the ghetto of YA
adaptations. He sticks out like a sore thumb because, well, he looks like Ansel
Elgort in a den of thieves, but there’s something very deceptive about that. He
seems quite childlike and innocent despite his profession, hence why his
colleagues tend to patronize and underestimate him, but there also appears to
be some aspect about him that he keeps closely guarded that could go off at any
moment. And that’s not easy to do, especially when your character wears
sunglasses and ear buds 95% of the time.
If I had one complaint, it’s
that the plot isn’t entirely original, but even then, there’s so much in this
movie that makes up for it. That said, I did have a couple friends on Facebook who
dismissed it as an on the nose version of Drive,
and while it misses the point of the whole movie, I have to admit they’re not
entirely wrong. There are more than enough parallels for it to be coincidental.
The romance plot is sweet but is kind of shallow and doesn’t serve much of a
purpose other than to provide Baby a window into a normal life. Unfortunately,
this probably makes this the weakest movie in the Edgar Wright oeuvre, even if
he does make what should be a big deal breaker work. But that’s not an insult
since Wright on his worst days is still miles ahead of most directors at their
absolute best. Concept is one thing, execution is another.
Overall, Baby Driver is a hell of a thrill ride and another feather in Edgar
Wright’s cap. It’s fun, it’s inventive, I never really knew exactly things how
were going to go down, and there’s so much in it to reward multiple viewings. If
you only see one movie in theaters this year, make it this one.
9/10
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