I saw 'BABY DRIVER' in an advance screening at my local multiplex over the weekend, five days ahead of its Australian release. This action thriller getaway driver heist offering comes to us with its pedal pushed firmly to the metal. Directed and Written by Edgar Wright whose previous Directing and Writing credits take in 'The Three Flavours Cornetto' trilogy with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost on 'Shaun of the Dead', 'Hot Fuzz', and 'The World's End' and hot on the heels of his aborted 'Ant-Man' for Marvel Studios which ended up being taken over by Peyton Reed due to creative differences. In his first non-comedic big screen offering, and in film that has been in gestation for over twenty years, Wright has here crafted a stylish musical action heist thriller that features thirty classic music tracks with which our lead character of Baby (Ansel Elgort) the young talented Atlanta getaway driver, listens to in order to drown out the 'hum in his drum' of the severe tinnitus as a result of a motor vehicle accident that he was involved in as a young lad and that killed both his parents. The film has received positive critical Reviews and has so far recovered US$75M from its US$34M budget since its release in the UK and the US at the end of June.
We are first introduced to Baby (Ansel Elgort) in the opening scene as he waits at the wheel of a red Subaru WRX with the engine running, while his three colleagues - Buddy (Jon Hamm), Griff (Jon Bernthal) and Darling (Eliza Gonzalez) are robbing an Atlanta bank during day light hours. The three emerge from the bank carrying bags stuffed full of cash, guns drawn, faces masked.
They jump into the car and Baby floors it, tyres screeching, wheels spinning as the car careers majestically through the city streets, gracefully dodging other vehicles, and onto the freeway as it is pursued by Police cars and a Police helicopter from above. The pace is frenetic, but this is exactly what Baby does best - for he is a demon behind the wheel of a car, and joining two other identical looking cars on the freeway positions himself to evade the Police and escape to their designated meeting point - secure and safe.
Later, Baby is sat in the deserted Bo's Diner, earbuds in, gazing at the menu when in walks Debora (Lily James) a waitress singing 'B-A-B-Y' by Carla Thomas. She saunters up to his table and asks for his order. They strike up a conversation about music and it becomes clear that there is an instant attraction between the two borne out of their love and appreciation for classic music and their desire to get the hell outta Dodge and 'head out west, in a car I can't afford with a plan I don't have' retorts Debora.
Doc calls the team in for the next heist on an armoured car. Doc never uses the same team twice, except for his trusted driver, and so this time are assembled Bats (Jamie Foxx), No-Nose (Flea) and JD (Lenny Joon). After very specific instructions are given, the heist is on and again in broad daylight. Things don't go quite as according to plan, when an armed veteran witnesses the robbery and tries to stop it by pulling out his own hand gun and giving chase in his 4WD pick-up truck. After a brief highway chase sequence in which things go awry for Baby but from which he quickly recovers, Doc informs Baby that his debt is now fully paid off, and to get rid of the car in which is contained the dead body of JD who got careless during the robbery and left his shotgun behind. Baby takes the car to an auto wreckers and has the car crushed down to the size of a shoe box.
Free of the shackles of Doc, Baby takes a job delivering pizza's. He takes Debora to an upmarket restaurant for a romantic dinner where Doc is there and picks up the bill. Baby excuses himself and outside Doc announces that he has another job ready to go. Baby says he's out of it but Doc comes on strong saying 'I said we were straight, but did you think we were done?' Reluctantly to keep Debora and Pops safe, Baby agrees. This job is on a Post Office involving Buddy, Darling and Bats and again in broad daylight with the plan to steal several thousand blank money orders each with a redeemable value of up to $100.
On the way back from collecting new weapons from a bunch of corrupt Police officers that ends up with most of them dead, Bats decides he wants to stop off for a bite to eat as they drive past Bo's Diner where Debora works. Baby tries to dissuade the group for going knowing that Debora will be working, but remains quiet for fear of giving away their connection. Upon entering Debora senses Baby's trepidation and goes along with the ruse. An argument at the table however, between Bats and Buddy sees them leave prematurely. The night before the Post Office heist, Doc orders the crew to remain in his warehouse and sleep to be fresh and coordinated ready to go the next morning. Baby tries to leave for a 2:00am rendezvous with Debora to skip town but is intercepted by Buddy and then Bats. Baby also records conversations which he then remixes into his own music tapes, and it just so happens that he recorded a conversation of earlier that evening. The heist is almost put in jeopardy, but proceeds when Buddy returns with a whole case of Baby's own mix tapes, and realise that there is no danger involved. But, they listen to a mix tape of Debora's voice and make the connection between Baby and her and the Diner they were in previously that night.
On the day of the Post Office heist, all goes according to plan and the money orders are successfully taken. What doesn't go according to plan is Buddy shooting a Security Guard. Baby is outraged by this senseless killing and so stalls driving off, and then accelerates hard headlong into a builders truck which has overhanging rebars sticking off the end of it. The rebars smash through the passengers side front windscreen impaling Bats and killing him instantly. The other three escape on foot.
Baby hails down another car and commandeers that while separated from Buddy and Darling who are now left to their own devices and running a gun totting rampage through the streets of downtown Atlanta chased by heavily armed Police officers (similarities here with Michael Mann's classic heist drama 'Heat'). Baby then collides with Buddy and Darling in a car park who by now are in their own vehicle, and in the ensuing fracas Darling is shot and killed. Buddy swears revenge on Baby for getting Darling killed. Baby steals another car and escapes to his apartment to take Pops to the safety of an assisted living home with his pockets stuffed full of money and a voice recorded message to look after the old man.
Needless to say it doesn't end well for the bad bad guys, and the good bad guys ride off into the sunset in a bullet ridden pick-up truck with their stash of cash, blood on their hands and music in their ears. But the Police were never that far behind and the long arm of the law eventually catches up with Baby and Debora. Baby gets sentenced to 25 years for his crimes and is up for parole in five, and as Baby does his time, so Debora waits patiently for her love until the day comes of his early release.
'Baby Driver' first appeared as a song on the classic Simon & Garfunkel album of 1970 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and plays out at the end of the film. With nods to the aforementioned 'Heat' and Walter Hill's classic 1978 'The Driver' especially, here Edgar Wright has crafted a stylish kinetic heist story where the good bad guy is our strong and silent anti-hero whose growth through the film sees him as a willing participant through to reluctant accomplice prepared to risk it all to save the two people he cares most about in life. The practical getaway driving stunt work filmed on the mean streets of Atlanta is delivered expertly and puts you in the centre of the action; and then there are strong performances from a talented supporting cast that include Hamm and Fox especially as thoroughly convincing career criminals; to the moments of laugh out loud humour, and one-liner quips; through to the emerging love story interwoven with Baby's tragic back story and his reasons for where and who he is. And then of course let's not forget the soundtrack handpicked for every scene by the Writer/Director himself, and a significant factor in the appeal of this film where the action is synched to the music rather than the other way around. This film has heart, exuberance, fast paced action, violence and an originality all its own. Catch this joyride on the big screen while you can - you won't be disappointed.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
