By: Tessa Perkins
It’s all about the music. Baby (Ansel Elgort) pulls up to a bank, three robbers brandishing machine guns hop out, and Baby hits play. While waiting for them to grab the cash, he jams out to “Bellbottoms” by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. He’s having so much fun you almost forget that he’s waiting to flee a crime scene. The robbers hop back into the car and Baby hits the gas. The right song is all he needs to stay focused and be the best at what he does: drive. That opening car chase scene contains all of the requisite moves that we have come to expect: hand brake maneuvers, dodging cross traffic, and escaping the police — but it also contains some welcome surprises.
Baby surprises his fellow con artists with his talent, and also with his constant attachment to his iPod. Baby has “different iPods for different days and moods,” he tells Debora (Lily James) and his musical tastes sure vary. From R&B, to classic rock, to funk and blues, he knows a good tune when he hears one. The other con artists aren’t so sure they can trust him when he is always listening to music and doesn’t seem to be listening as they plan their next heist. As their mastermind, Doc (Kevin Spacey), explains, Baby was in a car accident as a child and has tinnitus, so he has to listen to music to drown out the noises in his head. It helps him focus.
At another heist, the robbers delay in getting out of the vehicle so Baby has to tell them to wait for him to start the song over. Everything is connected to the music. The film’s title is taken from a Simon and Garfunkel song that seems to have been the initial inspiration for the film. The song however, doesn’t play until the final credits.
A ray of light comes into Baby’s bleak criminal life when he meets Debora, a waitress at a diner. Even though he’s a long way from The Fault in Our Stars, Elgort still knows how to put on the charm and make the romance a highlight of this film. That being said, their romance still relies on a few clichés.
Among all the car chases and action-packed heists, one of the best scenes is actually Baby walking down the street. He’s going to get coffee for Doc and the team, but with Bob & Earl’s “Harlem Shuffle” in his ears, he skips and glides along the sidewalk with the background matching his mood. Just as the song hits a glorious saxophone solo, he happens to be in front of a music store, and even the graffiti matches his mood and the song’s lyrics. It’s a very clever scene that exudes the confidence and swagger of this riveting film.
With a killer soundtrack, innovative car chase scenes, and thrilling heists, Baby Driver has everything you want in a summer blockbuster. As Doc says, “He’s a good kid, and a devil behind the wheel. What the hell else more do you need to know?”
