Film Review: Baby Driver (2017)

Creativity is in rather short supply in today’s Hollywood. This is perhaps best exemplified by the fact that nearly all its blockbusters are sequels, reboots, spin-offs, or, at best, adaptations of some obscure Marvel comic book. Filmmakers who attempt to inject creativity there are treated like pariahs, with one prime example being Edgar Wright, the English director renowned for a series of acclaimed comedies starring Simon Pegg. His attempt to utilise his creative talent for a Hollywood superhero blockbuster ended in disaster in the case of Ant-Man, culminating in his firing due to what is now euphemistically termed “creative differences”. And even minimal creativity is sufficient to make a quality film, as seen in Wright’s next project, the action film Baby Driver. Given its protagonist, central concept, plot, and genre classification, it could easily be called a kind of remake of Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn’s acclaimed Drive. However, Wright crafted it in such a way that no one can deny it’s a markedly different film.

The protagonist is Baby (Ansel Elgort), a young man with an extraordinary driving talent forced to use it for illegal activities. Local gang boss Doc (Kevin Spacey) employs him as a permanent member of his bank-robbing crew, tasked with swiftly and discreetly ferrying the team to safety ahead of the police. Baby stands out among his constantly rotating teammates through his modesty, quietness, and peak professionalism. This isn’t surprising, given he’s involved in crime against his will, motivated solely by the desire to repay Doc for his debts through robberies. Dreams of a better, brighter life are ignited by his encounter with Deborah (Lily James), a young waitress he becomes deeply infatuated with. She embodies everything he aspires to, but for Doc, she’s a tool to keep his young employee tied to more spectacular “jobs”. Complicating matters further are Baby’s road-rage-prone colleagues.

Despite striking similarities to Drive, the film’s concept originated as far back as 1994, with Wright partially utilising it for a music video for the song “Blue Song” by Mint Royale. The video later inspired the film’s opening robbery scene. Though the screenplay suggests an “Eurovision-style” frenzy of music videos, and while the protagonist has been envisioned for a younger, less cynical audience as an angelic ingenue thrust into a life of crime (a role perhaps best hinted at by his elderly, deaf-mute bodyguard, played by CJ Jones), Baby Driver is exceptionally original and, by today’s Hollywood standards, unusually auteur-driven. This applies not just to the extraordinary effort in crafting visceral action scenes but also to its effort to distinguish itself from similar fare through its relatively unconventional setting – Atlanta – and the inventive, unconventional use of its stellar cast.

Ansel Elgort, who at the age of 23 managed to establish himself as one of Hollywood’s most promising stars, is in his element as Baby—a role more fitting for icons like Steve McQueen and one that, in any other Hollywood film, would be played by an actor a decade older. Lily James, a young British actress previously known for Downton Abbey, delivers an outstanding performance in her sweet “nice girl next door” role. Kevin Spacey, as the sweet-talking yet terrifying gang boss, is also in his element, though he underperforms compared to his subordinates, including the prolific Jon Bernthal as a veteran robber and Jamie Foxx, who clearly enjoys portraying a villain both obnoxious and unnervingly intelligent. Finally, Jon Hamm, playing a cocaine- and sex-addicted criminal, moves away from his Mad Men Don Draper persona.

Wright’s film shines for its unconventional screenplay. Characters appear only to vanish as if they never existed, while others’ disappearances come in explosions of unexpected, explicit violence, granting Baby Driver a dark, naturalistic undertone far removed from the fairy-tale portrayal of its protagonist. However, the best example of Wright’s creativity is the ingenious idea of making the “cool” soundtrack—a mix of pop hits from the past half-century—serve not just as background music but as an integral, utterly believable plot element. The film does succumb to action clichés, particularly in the apocalyptic final showdown reminiscent of 1980s horror films. The climax, which forces the most satisfying possible happy ending, may strike some viewers as overly saccharine. Others, however, will see it as a perfect payoff—or a reminder that such endings are still possible, at least in the context of Hollywood filmmakers striving to express their creativity.

RATING: 8/10 (+++)

(Note: The text in the original Croatian version was posted here.)

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