Edgar Wright's passion project is a delight to behold.
This is a spoiler-free advance review of Baby Driver from its premiere at SXSW.
The first scene in Baby Driver is its best. A car pulls up outside a bank, and three thieves get out to begin a bank heist. The driver is left behind, earbuds in and iPod on, as the song blaring through his headphones syncs up to the choreography of the heist and the bank robbers' subsequent getaway. The car chase and shoot out are all timed to the music the driver, Baby (Ansel Elgort), is listening to. It's a delight to behold, all style that is uniquely director Edgar Wright's, and sets the stage for the action-musical heist flick that follows.
Edgar Wright's latest film isn't a musical per se, but what sets it apart from the '90s action films that inspired it (the "holy trinity" of Point Break, Reservoir Dogs and Heat, as Wright called them) is how its soundtrack is integral to the filmgoing experience. Choreographed by Ryan Heffington, who also choreographed Sia's "Chandelier" music video and Netflix's The OA, everything in the movie is set to the beat of the music playing in Baby's iPod. (It's worth noting Wright first tried out this concept when he directed Mint Royale's 2003 "Blue Song" music video.)
Wright makes the smart to choice to ground Baby's near-constant iPod-listening in reality: Baby listens to music because he suffers from tinnitus. But the focus of this film is clearly to lean into the glossiness of its stylized direction and not to be grounded in grittiness. Because of that, every scene is thrilling to behold, from the many car chases -- Baby is an excellent driver, after all -- to him getting coffee for the crew. Wright's decision to have the soundtrack be so much more than just a film backdrop for the film heightens its intensity from beginning to end in all the right ways.
The plot of Baby Driver is a straightforward heist tale: Baby is working for crime boss Doc (Kevin Spacey) to whom he owes a debt. The talented young driver is close to paying off this debt when he meets a young waitress named Deborah (Lily James) who he begins to fall for, and who embodies the life out of crime that he wants to live. But Doc isn't ready to let someone as talented as Baby go that easily and brings him on for one last job with several of his other go-to criminals (played by Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx and Elza Gonzales) that, as expected, quickly spins out of control.
It's the details that Wright puts into this world that make it special. Baby, who is an orphan, cares for his failing foster father, played by deaf comedian CJ Jones, and their relationship adds a lot of heart and stakes to the story. Elgort's dance and musical theater background gives him a fluid grace as he moves through the film, channeling classic movie star charm with rock star confidence. And the soundtrack itself is going to quickly develop its own cult following, as Wright put together a thumping musical backdrop featuring everything from Queen to Blur to Young MC to T. Rex to The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. And the cars? The amount of time and care that Wright put into this feature -- his first since 2013's The World's End and one based on an idea he's been sitting on since 1994 -- make it so special.
Baby Driver does go off the rails a bit toward the end of the movie, as the story is never quite as good as the stylized veneer that surrounds it. Elgort is perfectly cast as Baby, bringing in the necessary swagger and understanding of choreography needed to pull off such a specifically directed movie. But we never fully care about Baby as much as his moves, and when the film culminates in the shoot-'em-up type of finale you'd expect from this type of story, it doesn't pack the weight that it should in order to have the most impact on the audience.
But Baby Driver could glide through its 115-minute run time with style alone and still be good enough to satisfy Wright's fans. That it's more than that is a testament to how he's grown as a filmmaker over the years. He moved away from the comedy of the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy to try his hand at a more serious take on an action film, and that he still creates something we've never seen before is something to be recognized and respected. (That's not to say it's not funny, which it is. There's one Michael Myers gag that's especially hilarious.) It goes back to the first scene in Baby Driver being its best; it sets you up for the two-hour journey you're about to go on in an exciting, exhilarating way and from there on out you're just along for the ride.
The Verdict
Edgar Wright's Baby Driver is a slick heist drama elevated by his decision to choreograph the whole movie along to its fantastic soundtrack. Ansel Elgort has all the necessary grace and swagger needed to play the title character of Baby, and the action set pieces coupled with musical accompaniment are incredible. Even though the story isn't as impactful as its stylized packaging, Wright creates a delightful new film that is sure to satisfy his legions of fans.
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