By Nadia Ranaputri
Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Eiza González, Jon Bernthal.
After ending his Cornetto Trilogy on a high note with The World's End, Edgar Wright returns with a car-chasing tour de force that puts its bounty of music to good use.
Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a getaway driver for a group of heist-goers who drives to the beat of his music collection. Relentless, fast, but filled with a heart of gold, Baby sees a chance to escape his somewhat secretive criminal activity when he falls for a waitress named Deborah (played by Lily James).
Ansel Elgort takes the weight of the lead role, but carries it with great strength and passion that seeps through his performance of the quite yet kind-hearted getaway driver ("A good kid and a devil behind the wheel ", as Spacey's Doc describes him). His fellow supporting cast that boasts the ever familiar names from Kevin Spacey as Doc, Jon Hamm as Buddy, and Lily James as Deborah provide more than just a solid type of performance, but one that threatens to grab hold of the attention from one person to another.
Baby Driver is a relentless chase galore with a grounded sense of crazy. It knows its limits, but it knows how to amp things up a notch. As Damien Chazelle incorporates drums for Whiplash to tell his story, Edgar Wright's use of music through Baby's playlist is a story of its own. Car chases are set to exhilirating tracks, perfectly synced from beat to movement, and the more calming scenes are set to some lighthearted tracks, such as where Baby sings his heart out to a new song he had just discovered. As the film opens to a robbery set to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s energy-pumping Bellbottoms, it sets its sights on one of the most standout aspects of the film: its music.
Like the windingly exhilirating car chases, Baby Driver is one heck of a beat-filled ride. Even the film is well aware of how well a song could fit into their scenes, from Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s Bellbottoms during the opening scene, to an exquisite long take complete with Bob and Earle's Harlem Shuffle. The music plays such a pivotal part to the movements of the film just as much as it plays a part in Baby's life, that even one scene shows Baby's incompetence to start a heist if the movements aren't exact to the beat of his song.
Baby Driver also has a heart to it. Baby, the protagonist, has a life outside of his job; and has a desire to avoid getting his hands dirty despite working with fellow criminals. His co-workers, some crazier than the others; are wild cards with unexpected depth that makes them more than just pieces in a chessboard. The love story, while it slightly derails the main story, pinches a little bit of sweetness to the chase galore, with Baby's developing fondness of diner waitress Deborah sparks an everlasting connection through their love of music after he overhears her sing to Carla Thomas' B-A-B-Y on her way to work.
Plot-wise, Baby Driver's story can be a little paper thin on some parts, but its use of music as a character and the passionate dose of heart makes it more than just a conventional type of story. It's as much of a crazy ride as it is grounded by heart. It's a brimming piece of originality that leaves you wondering what songs would make your playlist if you were to create a story of your own.
Stars: 4/5
Trailer
 |
| Source: IMDB |
Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Eiza González, Jon Bernthal.
After ending his Cornetto Trilogy on a high note with The World's End, Edgar Wright returns with a car-chasing tour de force that puts its bounty of music to good use.
Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a getaway driver for a group of heist-goers who drives to the beat of his music collection. Relentless, fast, but filled with a heart of gold, Baby sees a chance to escape his somewhat secretive criminal activity when he falls for a waitress named Deborah (played by Lily James).
Ansel Elgort takes the weight of the lead role, but carries it with great strength and passion that seeps through his performance of the quite yet kind-hearted getaway driver ("A good kid and a devil behind the wheel ", as Spacey's Doc describes him). His fellow supporting cast that boasts the ever familiar names from Kevin Spacey as Doc, Jon Hamm as Buddy, and Lily James as Deborah provide more than just a solid type of performance, but one that threatens to grab hold of the attention from one person to another.
 |
| Source: IMDB |
Baby Driver is a relentless chase galore with a grounded sense of crazy. It knows its limits, but it knows how to amp things up a notch. As Damien Chazelle incorporates drums for Whiplash to tell his story, Edgar Wright's use of music through Baby's playlist is a story of its own. Car chases are set to exhilirating tracks, perfectly synced from beat to movement, and the more calming scenes are set to some lighthearted tracks, such as where Baby sings his heart out to a new song he had just discovered. As the film opens to a robbery set to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s energy-pumping Bellbottoms, it sets its sights on one of the most standout aspects of the film: its music.
Like the windingly exhilirating car chases, Baby Driver is one heck of a beat-filled ride. Even the film is well aware of how well a song could fit into their scenes, from Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s Bellbottoms during the opening scene, to an exquisite long take complete with Bob and Earle's Harlem Shuffle. The music plays such a pivotal part to the movements of the film just as much as it plays a part in Baby's life, that even one scene shows Baby's incompetence to start a heist if the movements aren't exact to the beat of his song.
 |
| Source: IMDB |
Baby Driver also has a heart to it. Baby, the protagonist, has a life outside of his job; and has a desire to avoid getting his hands dirty despite working with fellow criminals. His co-workers, some crazier than the others; are wild cards with unexpected depth that makes them more than just pieces in a chessboard. The love story, while it slightly derails the main story, pinches a little bit of sweetness to the chase galore, with Baby's developing fondness of diner waitress Deborah sparks an everlasting connection through their love of music after he overhears her sing to Carla Thomas' B-A-B-Y on her way to work.
Plot-wise, Baby Driver's story can be a little paper thin on some parts, but its use of music as a character and the passionate dose of heart makes it more than just a conventional type of story. It's as much of a crazy ride as it is grounded by heart. It's a brimming piece of originality that leaves you wondering what songs would make your playlist if you were to create a story of your own.
Stars: 4/5
Trailer
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