Spoilers ahead! At a climactic moment in the movie Baby Driver, Doc's (Kevin Spacey) goons have ransacked Baby's (Ansel Elgort) apartment, to find hundreds.
Edgar Wright is someone who's in love with his job as a filmmaker, which has shown in every film he's made thus far. This love affair continues with his latest film Baby Driver. The film's story involves familiar genre archetypes: a getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) who wants to quit the life of crime, the crime boss (Kevin Spacey) who reels him in for another job, the waitress with whom our hero wants to run away (Lily James) and the assortment of criminals along for the ride (Jon Hamm, Eiza Gonzalez, and Jamie Foxx). It's an old song but performed with genuine style, charm and heart.
Speaking of songs, Baby Driver can be best described as a film noir musical. This is because our hero-Baby- listens to music while heists are being pulled off and when he's out-driving the police. He also records conversations and makes songs out of them. The film as an extension of Baby's mindset; Wright shot and edited the action sequences to the music, creating a unique synthesis of sound and visuals that's organic to the film's universe.
We learn Baby listens to music constantly due to a childhood car accident which left with him a constant humming in his right ear. The same accident also killed both his musician mother (Sky Ferreira) and father (Lance Palmer). When he was still a kid, Baby stole from Spacey's Doc. Doc was so impressed that he's used Baby for every heist. Baby is in debt to Doc and is due to retire after one more heist. Like Ryan Gosling's unnamed character in Drive Baby is great at his job but still strikes others as odd. Griff (Jon Bernthal) and Foxx's Bats are antagonistic towards him. However, due to his youth several of the criminals treat him as a surrogate son or little brother.
Hamm and Gonzalez's Bonnie and Clyde married couple Buddy and Darling treat him with a kind of bemusement- not quite affection but a certain level of respect. Baby has a complicated relationship with Doc, who is part extorter/part father figure to Baby. Spacey is one of the best actors at doing quiet menace while being darkly funny. When he brings Baby back in to the fold after debts had supposedly been settled Doc casually remarks that he could cripple Baby and kill everyone he loves if Baby doesn't keep working for him; it's this scene where Baby realizes how much he's still in Doc's grip- and desperately needs a way out.
While James Debora and the whole love story between her and Baby is somewhat underwritten, she and Elgort's chemistry makes the relationship very pleasurable to watch unfold. Wright understands that there's a inherent romanticism inherent in noir- wanting to drive away with a beautiful woman, turning your back on the world of violence and greed- and he portrays the romance in an idealized fashion. The movie believes two people can be brought together by music. I get the impression that Baby sees something of his mother in Debora- a memory of a happier time when he felt protected. Debora and Darling are notably the two major female characters in the film and they are deliberately contrasted. Darling isn't quite a femme fatale but she's certainly a more dangerous and sexual figure than Debora- who projects a virginal innocence. And while Gonzalez is younger than James, Darling does come across as older and seasoned woman.
While Baby may see his mother in Debora, fatherhood an important aspect of this film. I mentioned that Doc is a twisted version of a father figure; but the man Baby views as a father in the film is foster father, Joe (C.J. Jones), who is deaf and whom Baby looks after, being a father of sorts to Joe. This relationship is perhaps the most touching in the film and helps make Baby a more sympathetic character.
While the movie is using well-worn genre tropes, it also manages to subvert expectations- particularly regarding certain characters. Bats is killed before the third act even though he was being built up as possibly the major antagonist of the film. It's actually Buddy who becomes the villain in the finale of the film. We understand Buddy's motivations- Darling is killed by the police after Baby intentionally ruining the heist. We see that Buddy and Darling's love was as or even more genuine than Baby and Debora's. Unlike other noir heroes- Baby lives at the end of the film- but the film doesn't escape tragedy if you look at the film from Buddy's point of view. This makes ending's romanticized reunion of Baby and Debora- after Baby gets out of prison- ironic considering the fact Baby is partly responsible the death of a man's wife.
Hamm- who became famous for his portrayal of Don Draper on the TV show Mad Men- has in his film roles avoided Draper-esque characters. Instead he's played the good-looking doofus (Bridesmaids), rugged detective (The Town), and a doctor who specializes in lobotomies (Sucker Punch). Hamm's smooth grizzled-ness makes Buddy a distinct personality and a character who could likely carry his own movie.
I do want to talk about Elgort's casting in the role of Baby. Elgort first came to audiences' attention with his role in the teen romance The Fault in Our Stars alongside Shailene Woodley, whom he also co-starred with in the Divergent franchise. His casting as a slick getaway driver would appear to be a case of miscasting. But it ends up working due to how Elgort's image as an actor in Young Adult-orientated films offers a humorous contrast to the noir archetype he's playing; at the same Elgort's offbeat stoicism makes him believable as this odd but cool getaway driver. The opening scene establishes the relationship between Baby and his music, how he grooves to it even as a dangerous heist is occurring.
I don't know where I'd rank Baby Driver in the Wright Pantheon, particularly since I still need to re-watch most of his work- but it clearly shows a director high on the joy of making movies and pushing himself as an artist, which makes what he'll do next always very exciting.
Baby Driver (Music from the Motion Picture) | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by | |
Released | June 23, 2017 |
Genre | |
Length | 1:43:53 |
Label | 30th Century |
Baby Driver (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack album to the 2017 film of the same name. The soundtrack was released on June 23, 2017, on CD, vinyl and digital music via the Columbia Recordsimprint, 30th Century Records.[1] The album features a combination of artists, from various decades, including Blur, Run the Jewels, Sky Ferreira, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Queen and Golden Earring.[2]
The film takes its name from 'Baby Driver', a song from the Simon & Garfunkel album Bridge over Troubled Water. The song is played during the end credits.[3][4]Edgar Wright, the film's director and screenwriter, consulted with James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, before Vol. 2 released to ensure the two films did not feature the same songs on their soundtracks.[5]
The soundtrack features three original tracks: a cover of 'Easy' by Sky Ferreira; 'Chase Me' by Danger Mouse (featuring Run the Jewels and Big Boi); and 'Was He Slow?' by Kid Koala.[2]
The soundtrack won the Empire Award for Best Soundtrack at the 23rd Empire Awards.[6]
- 2Charts
Track listing[edit]
Disc one | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
1. | 'Bellbottoms' | Jon Spencer Blues Explosion | 5:17 |
2. | 'Harlem Shuffle' | Bob & Earl | 2:52 |
3. | 'Egyptian Reggae' | Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers | 2:37 |
4. | 'Smokey Joe's La La' | Googie René | 3:02 |
5. | 'Let's Go Away for Awhile' | The Beach Boys | 2:21 |
6. | 'B-A-B-Y' | Carla Thomas | 2:57 |
7. | 'Kashmere' | Kashmere Stage Band | 4:57 |
8. | 'Unsquare Dance' | Dave Brubeck | 2:00 |
9. | 'Neat Neat Neat' | The Damned | 2:42 |
10. | 'Easy' (single version) | The Commodores | 4:16 |
11. | 'Debora' | T. Rex | 3:19 |
12. | 'Debra' | Beck | 5:43 |
13. | 'Bongolia' | Incredible Bongo Band | 2:15 |
14. | 'Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)' | The Detroit Emeralds | 3:53 |
15. | 'Early in the Morning' | Alexis Korner | 3:01 |
Disc two | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
16. | 'The Edge' | David McCallum | 2:54 |
17. | 'Nowhere to Run' | Martha and the Vandellas | 3:02 |
18. | 'Tequila' | The Button Down Brass | 3:32 |
19. | 'When Something Is Wrong with My Baby' | Sam & Dave | 3:16 |
20. | 'Every Little Bit Hurts' | Brenda Holloway | 2:57 |
21. | 'Intermission' | Blur | 2:27 |
22. | 'Hocus Pocus' (original single version) | Focus | 3:18 |
23. | 'Radar Love' (1973 single edit) | Golden Earring | 3:44 |
24. | 'Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up' | Barry White | 4:51 |
25. | 'Know How' | Young MC | 4:02 |
26. | 'Brighton Rock' | Queen | 5:10 |
27. | 'Easy' | Sky Ferreira | 4:28 |
28. | 'Baby Driver' | Simon & Garfunkel | 3:16 |
29. | 'Was He Slow?' (credit roll version) | Kid Koala featuring Kevin Spacey and Jon Bernthal | 1:47 |
30. | 'Chase Me' | Danger Mouse featuring Run the Jewels and Big Boi | 3:27 |
Charts[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
Certifications[edit]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] | Silver | 60,000^ |
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone |
Lawsuit[edit]
In August 2017, Rolan Feld, son of T. Rex lead vocalist Marc Bolan, sued Sony Pictures, Media Rights Capital, and Bambino Films for using the band's song 'Debora' without permission.[27] Both parties reportedly settled during a mediation on January 12, 2018.[28]
References[edit]
- ^Roffman, Michael. 'Soundtrack to Baby Driver spans 30 tracks and multiple decades'. Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- ^ abConnick, Tom. 'Queen, Blur, The Beach Boys and more join 'Baby Driver' soundtrack'. NME. Archived from the original on June 16, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- ^Stahler, Kelsea. ''Baby Driver' Isn't Based On The Simon & Garfunkel Song — It's So Much More Ambitious Than That'. Bustle. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
- ^'Edgar Wright and Rock present Simon and Garfunkel'. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
- ^Bunch, Sonny (June 28, 2017). 'From 'Shaun of the Dead' to 'Baby Driver,' Edgar Wright shatters Hollywood's formulas'. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^Travis, Ben (March 19, 2018). 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi Wins Big at Rakuten TV Empire Awards 2018'. Empire. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- ^'Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Baby Driver'. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
- ^'Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack – Baby Driver' (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
- ^'Ultratop.be – Soundtrack – Baby Driver' (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
- ^'Ultratop.be – Soundtrack – Baby Driver' (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
- ^'Soundtrack Chart History (Canadian Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^'Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack – Baby Driver' (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
- ^'Lescharts.com – Soundtrack – Baby Driver'. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^'Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack – Baby Driver' (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^'Charts.nz – Soundtrack – Baby Driver'. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^'Spanishcharts.com – Soundtrack – Baby Driver'. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^'Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack – Baby Driver'. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^'Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^'Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)'. Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^'Soundtrack Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^'Soundtrack Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^'Soundtrack Chart History (Top Rock Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^'ARIA End of Year Albums 2017'. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^'Soundtracks – Year-End 2017'. Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^'Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2017'. Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^'British album certifications – Various artists – Bbay Driver OST'. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 June 2018.Select albums in the Format field.Select Silver in the Certification field.Type Bbay Driver OST in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter.
- ^Gardner, Eriq (August 3, 2017). 'Sony Sued for Lacking License to Use T.Rex Song in Baby Driver'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^Cullins, Ashley (February 14, 2018). 'Hollywood Docket: 'Baby Driver' Settlement; 'Inside Out' Ruling; TMNT Trademark Fight'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
External links[edit]
- Baby Driver at AllMusic
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