Baby Driver
2017
*****
Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Eiza González, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal, C.J. Jones, Flea, Lanny Joon, Sky Ferreira, Lance Palmer
Baby is a quiet getaway car driver who hides behind his shades and drowns out his tinnitus with his iPod. The young man wants to leave the life of crime and have a fresh start with his new girlfriend, but his ruthless boss has other plans. Edgar Wright's self-penned action film put a joyful grin on my face and had my pulse racing and foot tapping from the first moment to the last. Music is as important to Baby as it is to Wright's cinematic storytelling. He has meticulously choreographed many of his scenes to the soundtrack. The exhilarating opening post-heist car chase (Bellbottoms by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) and the aftermath of the climactic heist (Hocus Pocus by Focus) are my personal favourites. This technique could become gimmicky, but the script adds enough emotional heft to the story and its characters. There are some fine performances along the way; Elgort, Spacey, Hamm, and Foxx, to mention a few.
