Baby Driver is a 2017 action comedy crime film written and directed by Edgar Wright. It stars Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Eiza González, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, and Jon Bernthal. The plot follows Baby, a young getaway driver and music lover who puts himself and his waitress girlfriend in danger. The film features choreography in which the actors' actions synchronize with its soundtrack.
Baby Driver was conceived by Wright after he found inspiration from envisioning a post-heist car chase set to the 1994 song "Bellbottoms" by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, which would ultimately be used as the film's opening scene. It was co-produced by Working Title Films, Big Talk Productions and Media Rights Capital, and was distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures and by TriStar Pictures in the US. It premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2017, and was released theatrically on June 28, 2017.
The film received critical acclaim, with praise for its performances, Wright's screenplay and direction, the soundtrack, and the action sequences. It was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2017. The film grossed $227 million worldwide on a production budget of $34 million, making it Wright's highest-grossing film as director. The film received several awards and nominations, including two nominations at the 23rd Critics' Choice Awards (winning one) and the 71st British Academy Film Awards as well a Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy nomination for Elgort at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
Video Baby Driver
Plot
Baby is a getaway driver in Atlanta, Georgia. When he was a child, a car accident killed his parents and left him with tinnitus, which he blocks out by listening to music on iPods. He ferries crews of robbers assembled by Doc, a heist mastermind, to pay off a debt he incurred after stealing one of Doc's cars. Between jobs, he creates remixes from snippets of conversations he records, and cares for his deaf foster father Joseph. At a diner, he meets a waitress, Debora, and they start dating.
Baby's next robbery goes awry after an armed bystander chases them down, but Baby evades him and the police. Having paid his debt, Baby quits his life of crime and starts delivering pizzas. While Baby is on a date with Debora, Doc insists he join a heist at a post office, threatening to hurt Debora and Joseph if he refuses.
The crew consists of easy-going Buddy, his sharpshooter wife Darling, and trigger-happy Bats, who takes an immediate dislike to Baby. While the crew attempts to purchase illegal arms for the job, Bats realizes the dealers are police and opens fire, killing them all. Afterwards, Bats forces Baby to stop at Debora's diner, unaware of Baby and Debora's romance, and nearly kills her in a hold-up.
Doc, furious at the botched deal, tries to cancel the heist, but Baby convinces him to go through with it. He attempts to flee later that night, hoping to take Debora and leave Atlanta. He is stopped by Buddy and Bats, who have discovered his recordings and believe he is an informant; when they and Doc hear his mixtapes, they are convinced of his innocence.
During the heist, Bats kills a security guard. Disgusted, Baby refuses to drive the crew, causing Bats to hit him. Baby rams the car into rebar which impales Bats, killing him. The three flee the police on foot. After police kill Darling, Buddy blames Baby for her death, and vows to kill him. Baby steals another car and flees to his apartment. After leaving Joseph at an assisted living home, Baby drives to Debora's diner to pick her up, where he discovers Buddy waiting. Baby shoots Buddy and flees with Debora as the police close in.
Baby seeks help from Doc, who initially refuses to help as he blames Baby for ruining the heist. After seeing he truly loves Debora, Doc supplies them with cash and directions to get out of the country, stating that he was also in love once. Buddy ambushes them in the parking garage and hits and kills Doc with a stolen police car. A cat-and-mouse game ensues until Buddy has Baby at his mercy and shoots next to both his ears, deafening Baby. Debora disarms Buddy with a crowbar and Baby shoots him with the pistol, causing him to fall to his death.
Fleeing Atlanta, Baby and Debora run into a police roadblock. Debora prepares to ram it, but Baby stops her and surrenders, telling her she does not belong in the world of crime. At Baby's trial, Joseph, Debora, and several people Baby saved during the robberies testify in his defense. Baby is sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, with a parole hearing after five. He receives postcards from Debora, who promises to wait for him. Baby is eventually released and finds Debora waiting, and they kiss.
Maps Baby Driver
Cast
- Ansel Elgort as Baby / Miles, a young man with a love for music who works as the getaway driver for a rotating crew of bank robbers
- Hudson Meek as young Miles
- Kevin Spacey as Doc, the mysterious kingpin of the rag-tag gang of bank robbers and a veteran criminal mastermind
- Lily James as Debora, a young waitress and Baby's love interest
- Jamie Foxx as Bats / Leon Jefferson III, an impulsive, violent member of Doc's gang
- Jon Hamm as Buddy / Jason Van Horn, a gritty party animal and former banker; a frequent member of Doc's gang
- Eiza González as Darling / Monica Castello, one of Doc's gang of bank robbers, Buddy's lawless and scandalous wife and partner in crime
- Jon Bernthal as Griff, one of Doc's gang, who mocks Baby constantly
- Flea as Eddie "No-Nose", one of Doc's gang
- Lanny Joon as JD, one of Doc's gang
- CJ Jones as Joseph, Baby's deaf foster father
- Sky Ferreira as Baby's mother
- Lance Palmer as Baby's father
- Big Boi as Restaurant Patron #1
- Killer Mike as Restaurant Patron #2
- Paul Williams as "The Butcher"
- Jon Spencer as Prison Guard
- Micah Howard as "Barista"
- Morgan Brown as Street Preacher
- Sidney and Thurman Sewell (The ATL Twins) as Hellcat Thug #1 and #2 (cameo)
Filmmaker Walter Hill makes a vocal cameo appearance as a courtroom interpreter during Baby's trial hearing near the end of the film. Wright has cited Hill's 1978 film The Driver as a major inspiration for Baby Driver.
Production
Development
Writer-director Edgar Wright conceived Baby Driver in 1995, while living in North London, after listening to the song "Bellbottoms" by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Wright envisioned a bank robbery and car chase set to the song, which became the first scene of the film. He adapted the first opening he conceived for the film into a 2003 music video he directed for Mint Royale's "Blue Song", starring Noel Fielding as a music-loving getaway driver for a group of bank robbers. A clip of the music video is shown briefly in Baby Driver as the main character flips between television channels. Other inspirations for the film came from the films Straight Time, Point Break, Reservoir Dogs and Heat.
Casting
The film was announced in July 2014. By January 2015 it was reported that Ansel Elgort was in talks to star. Elgort's audition required him to lip sync and dance to the song of his choosing. Elgort chose Easy by The Commodores which resonated with Wright to the point where he would include the song in the movie.
Emma Stone and Michael Douglas were also rumoured to be in the cast. On May 7, 2015, Lily James was reported to be in talks to be the female lead, a waitress and Elgort's character's love interest.
Jamie Foxx was reported to be in talks to join the film on September 8, 2015. On October 20, 2015, Jon Hamm signed on to play one of the villains, a former Wall Street trader turned member of the gang. On November 3, 2015, it was announced that Kevin Spacey had been cast as a veteran criminal and the boss of the crew. On December 16, 2015, Eiza González joined the film to play one of the bank robbers--the wife of Hamm's character. Jon Bernthal was cast as Griff, another one of the gang, on February 23, 2016.
Wright enlisted choreographer Ryan Heffington to sync the actors' timing and movements with the soundtrack.
Filming
Principal photography, which took place in Atlanta, Georgia, began on February 17, 2016, and concluded on May 13.
Soundtrack
Release
In August 2015, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that the film would be released on March 17, 2017. It was briefly pushed back to August 11, 2017 before a final date of June 28, 2017 was settled on. Baby Driver had its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival on March 11, 2017. On the weekend of August 25, the film was re-released in 1,074 theaters.
Home media
Baby Driver was released on Digital Media on September 12, 2017, and on 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray & DVD October 10, 2017, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film debuted at No. 2 on both the NPD VideoScan First Alert sales chart and the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart, behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Reception
Box office
Baby Driver grossed $107.8 million in the United States and Canada and $119.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $226.9 million, against a production budget of $34 million.
In North America, Baby Driver was initially projected to gross $12-20 million from 3,150 theaters over its first five days, with the possibility to earn more due to strong reviews. The film made $5.7 million on its first day (including $2.1 million from Tuesday-night previews) and $3.3 million on Thursday. It made $6 million on Friday, increasing five-day projections to $27 million. It ended up opening to $21 million (and a five-day total of $30 million), finishing second behind another new release, Despicable Me 3 ($72.4 million). This marked the biggest American debut of Wright's career, doubling the $10.6 million opening of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in 2010. In its second weekend, Baby Driver grossed $13 million (a drop of 36.7%), finishing third at the box office; in its third weekend, the film made $8.8 million, finishing fourth. The film was re-released into 1,074 theaters on August 25 and made $1.2 million, up 34% from the previous week.
Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 93% based on 300 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Stylish, exciting, and fueled by a killer soundtrack, Baby Driver hits the road and it's gone--proving fast-paced action movies can be smartly written without sacrificing thrills." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.
Peter Debruge of Variety called the film "a blast, featuring wall-to-wall music and a surfeit of inspired ideas". The New York Times' Manohla Dargis listed the film as a "NYT Critic's Pick", writing that the film "is so good that you want it to be better and go deeper, for it to put down its guns (or at least hold them differently) and transcend its clichés and cine-quotes so it can rocket out of the genre safe box into the cosmic beyond where craft and technique transform into art". Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film five out of five stars, listing it as his "film of the week" and calling it an "outrageously enjoyable petrolhead heist caper".
CNN's Brian Lowry wrote that the film "is a crackling-good ride, one that organically weaves music and humor into a slick showcase for its cast. Despite a few plotholes toward the end, writer-director Edgar Wright's stylish thriller consistently clicks on all cylinders". Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, and called it "fluid and jaw-dropping--the kind of thing you want to see immediately again after it's over to catch all the things you missed". Empire's Terri White gave the film five out of five stars, calling it an "awe-inspiring piece of filmmaking" and "one of the most utterly original films in years".
However, there were several less positive reviews. Rating Baby Driver three out of five stars, Joyce Slaton of Common Sense Media praised the driving sequences and music, but felt that the film "quickly slump[s] into stereotypes" and "fails to grab viewers on a visceral level", particularly criticizing Baby's backstory and the portrayal of Debora and Darling. In a dismissive review, Richard Brody of The New Yorker cited many flaws, calling it "an imitation of generation's worth of imitations."
Accolades
Sequel
On December 5, 2017, Wright confirmed that Sony Pictures wants a sequel to Baby Driver made and he plans to write the screenplay for it.
See also
- List of films featuring the deaf and hard of hearing
References
External links
- Official website
- Baby Driver on IMDb
- Baby Driver at Box Office Mojo
- Baby Driver at Metacritic
- Baby Driver at Rotten Tomatoes
Source of article : Wikipedia
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