Wright's Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (22 January 2020)

Edgar Wright's Baby Driver is a triumph. Director Edgar Wright took 22 years to create this film from idea to sensation. Baby Driver is a thriller, comedy, crime film set in modern day Atlanta about an orphan with a gift for driving, which is perfect for heist leader, Doc. Baby (played by Ansel Elgort) never does a job without the perfect playlist. Everything in the movie comes together to create nothing short of a masterpiece. For years the Fast and Furious movies have dominated the driving/car genre, but Baby Driver definitely made a big impression.
Baby Driver not only has multiple action scenes that will have you on the edge of your seat, it also plays with the idea of good vs bad. Baby has been working for Doc since he could see over the dashboard. He's supposed to do one last job, but we all know that will get messy. He falls in love with a beautiful waitress named Deborah (played by Lily James), they bond over their love of music and the idea of an open road. He wants to get out of the crime business so he can drive off with her. Baby shows us that good and bad isn't as black and white as it may seem. Wright made many genius directing decisions that makes it clear that people's actions are not the only indicator of a person's goodness.
The movie moves very quickly and I was left wondering how two people could fall in love so quickly, but for centuries this has been a trend, for example Romeo and Juliet. Although the love story moves quickly, it doesn't take away from the movie and conveys the theme of good vs bad very well.
The editing and scenery were (dare I say) perfection. A film having so many car chase scenes can seem choppy or get boring if the scenes are too long, but Wright did a beautiful job of shooting from multiple angles and editing it to grab our attention and keep us engaged.
Sound in this movie is a major component. Baby Driver is almost a musical because of how vital the music is throughout the film. Every scene is so much better because of the music choices. Baby has a specific song for each job and timing is everything. In one scene the other people on the team didn't get out of the car on que, so he had to restart the song, which was not only funny, but showed us how important music is to Baby. He has ringing in his ears from a car crash when he was little, so he uses music to drown it out. The music is played from Baby's point of view, so we can hear what he hears, which is absolutely genius. When the music stops, we hear the ringing in Baby's ears which not only engages us in the film, but brings us closer to Baby.
Wright does an incredible job making an award worthy film (that has won six awards). This film is an absolute success. It's a must see that will have you wanting to watch it again right after finishing it.