Edgar Wright is my favorite working director. It’s not even a question. Wright just has an eye for the visual part of filmmaking that I feel isn’t appreciated as much as it should be. Movies are such a visual medium to tell a story yet now days too many films rely too much on dialogue to move the story along or give exposition. Or they hand off action sequences and travelling montages to the second unit and they feel more like filler than an actual part of the story. Edgar Wright makes sure every second of the film has purpose. His scripts are tight and he’s really in touch with that visual aspect of filmmaking more so than any director in the business today.
I won’t waste any time. BABY DRIVER is my favorite film this year. Edgar Wright has yet to make anything less than a great movie. This review is going to be me gushing about this film for several paragraphs about the various aspects of the film that filled me with pure joy.
Before I begin praising BABY DRIVER, I do have one complaint. The female characters are very few and underwritten. I wouldn’t say they’re poorly written. But they just aren’t given a whole lot to do. Baby’s main love interest, Debora, is a fun and fleshed out character. But she really seems more like she’s just here to give Baby something to work towards rather than anything else. Lily James does a fantastic job with the character. She’s funny and charismatic enough to root for her and Baby (played by Ansel Elgort). And there are a few moments in the film where she does help with the action. But overall I feel there isn’t a whole lot for her to do. The other main female character is Elza Gonzalez’s Darling. She’s part of the heist crew and Buddy’s (Jon Hamm) significant other. She’s pretty badass but not in the film enough to be fleshed out much. It’s a small complaint, but it is something I did notice while watching the film. Luckily, this is really the only knock I have.
OK, now that that’s out of the way. This movie is awesome! I almost don’t know where to begin. But I’ll start with the soundtrack. Wright has such a clever way to incorporate a soundtrack into BABY DRIVER. Most movies just pick cool songs to fit what’s going on with the film. Most of the time the music is chosen in post production. Wright writes the soundtrack into the script. Every song is part of the story and structure to the film. So much so that the action beats are in sync with the soundtrack. Cuts match beats of the song. Gunshots match snare drums.
There’s a great tracking shot in the beginning of the movie of Baby dancing down the street to a song and I noticed one of those fliers on a telephone pole with lyrics to the song. I thought it was cool, but then the shot and the song went on I noticed even more lyrics popping up in frame. It’s subtle enough where if you’re not looking for it you could completely miss it. But once I saw it, every time it came up it made me smile. There’s even a part where Baby tells the crew to wait to do their heist because he has to restart the song and has them start once he gets the music in sync with the action.
Speaking of action… Edgar Wright knows how to do action in film. I believe Wright actually works with the second unit rather than the second unit just taking over for the action sequences. Every bit of action fits the aesthetic of the film and has purpose behind every shot. Not tight close ups or quick edits to hide what’s going on. You see and feel everything… unless it was purposely put out of view for a storytelling reason. And when you bring on stunt coordinator and second unit director
Darrin Prescott, the man who did the same job for both John Wick movies, you really want to see the action!
What’s more is all the bits of action help develop both the story and the characters. It’s not action for action's sake. Everything reveals something about the characters involved or pushes the plot further. This really pulls you into the action for more than just spectacle, which the movie does not lack. And this isn’t Transformers where the action is grand and massive yet there doesn’t feel like there’s any real stakes since everyone seems indestructible aside from when the plot says so.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt so nervous during an action set piece as I did in Baby Driver. I mean, yeah, I know everything is going to be OK. But in the moment, I actually felt nervous. I haven’t felt that in years. I watch so many movies every year. Basically two or three every weekend. As much as I love Mad Max and the Fast and Furious franchise, none of them actually made me feel as anxious as I did in BABY DRIVER. It’s a feeling I miss having.
That’s what matters most to me in a movie. How the film makes me feel. Does it make me feel at all? I was going through all different emotions during BABY DRIVER. Joy, anger, fear, anxiety, relief. Part of that anxiety came from how cleverly written the movie was. Many times it feels like it could easily fall into these action movie tropes but cleverly side steps them. I gave up guessing what was going to happen next because I couldn’t. And I was so happy with how Wright decided to end the film. It’s far from cliche and fits right into the natural progression of the story. It also gives a chance to make a lot of the tiny little decisions that the characters make through the film pay off in a gratifying way.
As I’m finishing up writing this, I’m getting ready to head out to see it again. Go watch this movie! Please! BABY DRIVER is incredibly original and so much fun. I want to see it do well in the box office so we can get more movies like this to be made. Go watch it now! Even with my one complaint, this is easily my favorite movie of the year. Quite possibly in my top 10 of the decade. GO SEE IT NOW!
10/10
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