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Baby Driver

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For other uses, see Baby Driver (disambiguation).

Baby Driver
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEdgar Wright
Written byEdgar Wright
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBill Pope
Edited by
Music bySteven Price
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • March 11, 2017 (2017-03-11) (SXSW)
  • June 28, 2017 (2017-06-28) (US/UK)
Running time
113 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$34 million[4]
Box office$71.2 million[5]

Baby Driver is a 2017 action comedy film written and directed by Edgar Wright, starring Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jon Bernthal, Eiza González, Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx. The plot follows Baby, a young getaway driver who is coerced into working for a kingpin.

Baby Driver was co-produced by Working Title Films, Media Rights Capital and Big Talk Productions and was distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures and by TriStar Pictures in the US.[3] It premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2017 and was released theatrically on June 28, 2017.[6][7] The film received critical acclaim and has grossed over $71 million worldwide.

Plot

Baby is a young and talented getaway driver in Atlanta, Georgia. When he was a child, a car accident killed both his parents and left him with severe tinnitus, which he blocks out using music. He also records his everyday conversations and remixes them into songs using vintage audio equipment. Baby works for Doc, a mastermind heist planner, to pay off a debt he incurred after stealing one of Doc's cars. Baby lives with his deaf foster father, Joseph, whom he cares for.

After pulling off a robbery, Baby is told that the next job will pay off his debt. Between jobs, Baby meets waitress Debora at a diner he frequents, and the two strike up a friendship. Doc's next planned heist, an armored car robbery with a different crew, encounters difficulty after an armed veteran in the parking lot attempts to stop the robbery. The crew escapes after a brief car chase on the interstate. Doc then informs Baby his debt is paid, and he instructs Baby to get rid of a car carrying the body of one of the crew members, JD, who was killed for being careless and leaving behind his shotgun. Taking Joseph's advice, Baby works as a pizza delivery man. He takes Debora to a fancy restaurant, where he runs into Doc. Doc tells Baby to be ready for another job with the threat of physical harm. Baby agrees in order to keep Debora and Joseph safe.

The job is a post office robbery, where the plan is to steal several boxes of money orders. The crew consists of members from the previous two heists: Buddy, a former stock broker; Darling, who is Buddy's wife; and Bats, an unhinged and ruthless criminal from the armored car robbery. They go to acquire weapons from a dealer nicknamed the "Butcher." Realizing that the Butcher and some of his cohorts are police, Bats starts a gunfight that kills most of Butcher's group and injures Darling. The group stops at the diner where Debora works, but an argument between Buddy and Bats prompts them to leave without eating. Baby prevents Bats from drawing his weapon in the diner. Back at Doc's place, the group are chastised for killing the policemen, who were paid off by Doc and were supposed to fence the money orders. Doc calls off the heist, but changes his mind after Buddy reveals he knows another fence. Baby attempts to leave and run away with Debora, but he's stopped by Bats and Buddy, who find his recorder with their recorded conversation. Upon hearing one of his mixtapes, the group concludes that Baby is not trying to rat on them. However, Doc plays a tape labeled "Debora," and the crew realizes that she is the waitress from the diner they stopped at.

During the heist, Buddy, Darling, and Bats successfully steal the money orders. While getting into Baby's car, Bats shoots and murders a security guard. An enraged Baby stalls for a moment, then drives the car straight into a parked truck, impaling and killing Bats on some overhanging rebar. The remaining three flee the scene on foot. Baby then steals a car, but runs into Darling and Buddy's stolen truck. The police catch up to them and Darling is killed. As Baby flees, Buddy vows revenge on him for getting Darling killed. Baby steals another car and flees to his apartment. After leaving Joseph at an assisted living home with all of his money; Baby returns to the diner to get Debora, only to find Buddy waiting for him. Baby shoots Buddy and flees with Debora as the police close in.

Baby goes to Doc to retrieve one of his tapes. After initially refusing, Doc relents after seeing Baby with Debora. Doc gives them a bag of money, stating he was in love once as well. At the parking garage, they are ambushed by the Butcher's men. Doc kills them, but Buddy, who stole a police car, runs over Doc, killing him. Deciding to stop running, Baby takes a truck and pushes Buddy's car off a ledge. However, Buddy escapes before the car falls, and fires his gun next to Baby's ears, temporarily deafening him. Debora knocks away Buddy's gun, which Baby uses to shoot him in the knee, causing him to fall off the parking garage to his death.

Debora drives Baby away, but they are stopped by police, and Baby surrenders. At his trial, Joseph, Debora and several of the people Baby saved during the robberies testify in his defense. For his crimes, Baby is sentenced to 25 years in prison, with a parole hearing after five. Baby (whose real name is revealed to be Miles) receives postcards from Debora, who promises to wait for him. The movie ends with a scene of Baby walking out of prison to meet Debora, shot in the same way as a prior dream sequence.

Cast

  • Ansel Elgort as Miles/"Baby", a young man with a love for music who works as the getaway driver for a rotating crew of bank robbers and Debora's boyfriend.[8]
    • Hudson Meek as Young Baby
  • Lily James as Debora, a young waitress and Baby's girlfriend.
  • Kevin Spacey as "Doc," the mysterious kingpin of the rag-tag crew of bank robbers and a veteran criminal mastermind
  • Jon Hamm as Jason/"Buddy," a handsome party animal and a regular part of the Doc's gang
  • Jamie Foxx as Leon/"Bats," the impulsive gun-slinging cohort of the bank robbing crew
  • Jon Bernthal as "Griff," one of the bank robbers who mocks Baby constantly
  • Eiza González as Mónica/"Darling," one of the bank robbers, Buddy’s lawless & scandalous wife and partner in crime[9]
  • CJ Jones as Joseph, Baby's foster father
  • Flea as Eddie "No-Nose", one of the bank robbers[10]
  • Lanny Joon as "JD," one of the bank robbers
  • Sky Ferreira as Baby's mom
  • Big Boi as Restaurant Patron #1[11]
  • Killer Mike as Restaurant Patron #2[11]
  • Paul Williams as the Butcher[11]
  • Jon Spencer as Prison Guard[11]

Production

Development

Writer-director Edgar Wright conceived Baby Driver in 1994; he adapted the film's original planned beginning into a 2003 music video he directed for Mint Royale's "Blue Song",[12] which starred Noel Fielding as a music-loving getaway driver for a group of bank robbers.[13] A clip of the music video is shown briefly in the movie as the main character flips between television channels.

Casting

On July 22, 2014, it was announced that Edgar Wright, who had left the film Ant-Man, would instead next direct Baby Driver for Working Title Films. Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Nira Park produced the film.[14] On January 13, 2015, it was reported that Ansel Elgort was in early talks to star in the film, which Sony Pictures Entertainment would release through TriStar Pictures.[15] Emma Stone and Michael Douglas were also being eyed to be cast.[16] On May 7, 2015, Lily James was reported to be in talks to join the film as the female lead, a waitress and love interest to Elgort's character.[17][18] Media Rights Capital and TriStar co-distribute the film together in the US, which Park produced through her Big Talk Productions, with Wright having written the script.[17]

On September 8, 2015, Jamie Foxx was reported to be in talks to join the film.[19] On October 20, 2015, Jon Hamm signed on to star in the film as one of the villains, a part of the bank robbers gang and a former Wall Street trader.[18] On November 3, 2015, Kevin Spacey was cast in the film as the boss of the crew, and a veteran criminal.[20] On December 16, 2015, Eiza González joined the film to play one of the bank robbers, and Hamm's character's girlfriend.[21] On February 23, 2016, Jon Bernthal was cast as Griff.[22] On January 8, 2017, Wright posted via Twitter that "Streep is in my new movie", deleting the tweet shortly afterward, leading some to speculate that Meryl Streep would appear in Baby Driver.[23] Streep cameod in the movie from a previous film, It's Complicated, being played on a television set during a scene.

Wright enlisted Ryan Heffington as the choreographer for the film. Heffington choreographed the actors' timing and movements in order to sync them with the music.[24][25]

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on February 17 and concluded on May 13, 2016, in Atlanta, Georgia.[26][27]

Soundtrack

Baby Driver (Music from the Motion Picture)
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
ReleasedJune 23, 2017 (2017-06-23)
GenreR&B, rock and roll, pop, blues, soul, funk, hard rock, hip hop
Length1:43:53
Label30th Century Records
ProducerDanger Mouse

Baby Driver (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack album of the film. The soundtrack was released on June 23, 2017 on CD, vinyl and digital music via the Columbia Records imprint, 30th Century Records.[28] The album features a combinations of artists, ranging from various decades, including Blur, Run the Jewels, Sky Ferreira, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Queen and Golden Earring.[29] "Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)" by Handsome Boy Modeling School appears in the film, but is not included on the soundtrack.

The film takes its name from "Baby Driver", a song from the Simon & Garfunkel album Bridge over Troubled Water. The song is played at the end credits.[30]

Track listing

The soundtrack features three original tracks – 'Easy' by Sky Ferreira, ‘Chase Me’ by Danger Mouse, featuring Run The Jewels and Big Boi, and 'Was He Slow?' by Kid Koala.[29] 'Chase Me' heavily samples 'Bellbottoms' by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, also featured on the soundtrack.

No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Bellbottoms"Jon Spencer Blues Explosion5:17
2."Harlem Shuffle"Bob & Earl2:52
3."Egyptian Reggae"Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers2:37
4."Smokey Joe's La La"Googie Rene3:02
5."Let's Go Away For Awhile"The Beach Boys2:21
6."B-A-B-Y"Carla Thomas2:57
7."Kashmere"Kashmere Stage Band4:57
8."Unsquare Dance"Dave Brubeck2:00
9."Neat Neat Neat"The Damned2:42
10."Easy (Single Version)"The Commodores4:16
11."Debora"T. Rex3:19
12."Debra"Beck5:43
13."Bongolia"Incredible Bongo Band2:15
14."Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)"The Detroit Emeralds3:53
15."Early In The Morning"Alexis Korner3:01
16."The Edge"David McCallum2:54
17."Nowhere to Run"Martha and the Vandellas3:02
18."Tequila"The Button Down Brass3:32
19."When Something Is Wrong With My Baby"Sam & Dave3:16
20."Every Little Bit Hurts"Brenda Holloway2:57
21."Intermission"Blur2:27
22."Hocus Pocus (Original Single Version)"Focus3:18
23."Radar Love (1973 Single Edit)"Golden Earring3:44
24."Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up"Barry White4:51
25."Know How"Young MC4:02
26."Brighton Rock"Queen5:10
27."Easy"Sky Ferreira4:28
28."Baby Driver"Simon & Garfunkel3:16
29."Was He Slow (Credit Roll Version)"Kid Koala1:47
30."Chase Me"Danger Mouse featuring Run the Jewels and Big Boi3:27
Total length:1:43:53

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 settling on June 28, 2017.[31] It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2017.[32]

Box office

As of July 9, 2017, Baby Driver has grossed $56.9 million in the United States and Canada and $14 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $70.9 million, against a production budget of $34 million.[5]

In North America, Baby Driver was initially projected to gross $12–20 million from 3,150 theaters over its first five days, with a chance to go higher due to strong reviews.[4] The film made $5.7 million on its first day (including $2.1 million from Tuesday night previews) and $3.3 million on Thursday.[33] 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 at the box office, behind fellow newcomer Despicable Me 3 ($72.4 million). It marked the biggest American debut of Wright's career, doubling the $10.6 million opening of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in 2010.[34]

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 96%, based on 219 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. 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."[35] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a score of 86 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[36] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.[33]

Peter Debruge of Variety called the film "a blast, featuring wall-to-wall music and a surfeit of inspired ideas".[37] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times listed the film as an "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".[38] 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".[39]

Brian Lowry of CNN 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".[40] 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".[41] Terri White of Empire 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".[42]

Sequel

On July 5, 2017, it was reported that Sony and Wright were in discussions for a potential sequel to the film.[43]

References

  1. ^ "Baby Driver". South by Southwest. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  2. ^ "Baby Driver". BFI. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "BABY DRIVER (15)". BFI. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "'Despicable Me 3' To Own Crowded Independence Day Weekend Stretch – Box Office Preview". Deadline.com. June 27, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Baby Driver (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  6. ^ "'Baby Driver' Baby out in the UK". The Sun (United Kingdom). July 3, 2017.
  7. ^ "Baby Driver: UK release date, cast and film details". April 24, 2017.
  8. ^ "'Baby Driver' Character Descriptions Revealed; Jon Bernthal Joins Edgar Wright's New Film". Collider. February 23, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  9. ^ "Eiza Gonzalez Joins Ansel Elgort in Edgar Wright's 'Baby Driver'". Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  10. ^ Hewitt, Chris. "Baby Driver Trailer Breakdown With Edgar Wright".
  11. ^ a b c d "Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Edgar Wright couldn't get enough of Atlanta while shooting 'Baby Driver'". Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  12. ^ "Video Archives: Blue Song ~ Mint Royale – dir. Edgar Wright (2003)". Edgar Wright Here. August 28, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  13. ^ "Edgar Wright Makes a Triumphant Return at SXSW with Baby Driver". Vanity Fair. March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  14. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (July 22, 2014). "Comic-Con: Off 'Ant-Man' Hill, Edgar Wright Sets Sights On 'Baby Driver'". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  15. ^ Kroll, Justin (January 13, 2015). "Edgar Wright's 'Baby Driver' Eyes Ansel Elgort; Sony to Release". variety.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  16. ^ Allen, Clark (January 12, 2015). "Ansel Elgort Boards Edgar Wright's Next Film, "Baby Driver"". tracking-board.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  17. ^ a b Kroll, Justin (May 7, 2015). "Lily James to Co-Star in Edgar Wright's 'Baby Driver'". variety.com. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  18. ^ a b Kroll, Justin (October 20, 2015). "Jon Hamm Joins Edgar Wright's 'Baby Driver'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  19. ^ Jaafar, Ali (September 8, 2015). "Jamie Foxx In Talks To Board Edgar Wright's 'Baby Driver'". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  20. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (November 3, 2015). "Kevin Spacey Joining 'Baby Driver' & 'Billionaire Boys Club'". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  21. ^ Kroll, Justin (December 16, 2015). "Eiza Gonzalez Joins Ansel Elgort in Edgar Wright's 'Baby Driver'". Variety. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  22. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (February 23, 2016). "Jon Bernthal Joins Edgar Wright's 'Baby Driver' Ensemble". Deadline.com. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  23. ^ Wakeman, Gregory (January 9, 2017). "Wait, Meryl Streep Is In Edgar Wright's Baby Driver?!". CINEMABLEND. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  24. ^ Murphy, Mekado (27 June 2017). "How They Pulled Off the Perfectly Timed Stunts in ‘Baby Driver’", The New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  25. ^ Fear, David (28 June 2017). "'Baby Driver': How Edgar Wright Staged the Crime Movie's Musical Action Scenes", Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  26. ^ "Edgar Wright's 'Baby Driver' Off and Running". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  27. ^ "Baby Driver: Filming Wraps on Edgar Wright's New Film". Collider. May 16, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  28. ^ Roffman, Michael. "Soundtrack to Baby Driver spans 30 tracks and multiple decades". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  29. ^ a b Connick, Tom. "Queen, Blur, The Beach Boys and more join 'Baby Driver' soundtrack". NME. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  30. ^ http://www.avclub.com/article/edgar-wright-and-rock-present-simon-and-garfunkel--255988
  31. ^ Gettell, Oliver (March 27, 2017). "Baby Driver release date moves up to June". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  32. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 31, 2017). "SXSW 2017 Lineup: 'Baby Driver', 'Free Fire', 'Muppet Guys Talking' & Docus That Matter In Trump Era". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  33. ^ a b "'Baby Driver' Dings 'Transformers' For Thursday Top Spot With $3.3M; 'Wonder Woman' Whips 'Batman V. Superman'". Deadline.com. June 30, 2017.
  34. ^ "'Baby Driver' Speeds To $27M+; Ferrell & Poehler's 'House' Burns Down As 'Despicable Me 3' Dominates". Deadline.com. July 1, 2017.
  35. ^ "Baby Driver (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  36. ^ "Baby Driver reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  37. ^ Peter Debruge (March 12, 2017). "SXSW Film Review: 'Baby Driver'". Variety. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  38. ^ Manohla Dargis (June 27, 2017). "Review: In 'Baby Driver,' It's Kiss Kiss, Zoom Zoom". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  39. ^ Peter Bradshaw (June 27, 2017). "Baby Driver review – Edgar Wright puts pedal to the metal for wildly enjoyable heist caper". The Guardian. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  40. ^ Brian Lowry (June 28, 2017). "'Baby Driver' clicks on all cylinders". CNN. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  41. ^ Brian Tallerico (June 26, 2017). "Baby Driver Movie Review & Film Summary (2017)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  42. ^ Terri White (June 19, 2017). "Baby Driver Review". Empire. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  43. ^ Collis, Clark (July 5, 2017). "Will Baby Driver ride again? Edgar Wright mulling studio's request for sequel". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
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