Baby Driver

Baby Driver

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Edgar Wright
Produced by
Written by Edgar Wright
Starring
Music by Steven Price
Cinematography Bill Pope
Edited by
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • March 11, 2017 (2017-03-11) (SXSW)
  • June 28, 2017 (2017-06-28) (US/UK)
Running time
 113 minutes[2]
Country
  • United Kingdom
  • United States[2][3]
Language English
Budget $34 million[4]
Box office $156 million[5]

Baby Driver is a 2017 action comedy 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.

Baby Driver was co-produced by Working Title Films and Big Talk Productions, and was distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures and by TriStar Pictures in the US, while the independent studio Media Rights Capital provided archive footage possession for the film's US release. It premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2017, and was released theatrically on June 28, 2017.[6][7] Upon release, the film received critical acclaim and has grossed $156 million worldwide against production budget of $34 million, becoming Wright's highest-grossing film as a director.

Plot

Baby is a getaway driver in Atlanta, Georgia. He ferries the crews of robbers assembled by Doc, a heist mastermind, to pay off a debt he incurred after stealing one of Doc's cars. When he was a child, a car accident killed his parents and left him with tinnitus, which he blocks out by listening to music. Between jobs, he creates remixes from snippets of conversations he records, cares for his deaf foster father Joseph, and romances Debora, a waitress.

The next robbery goes awry after an armed bystander chases them down, but Baby evades him and the police. Informed by Doc that they are now "straight", Baby goes legit, delivering pizzas. During a date with Debora at an upscale restaurant, he is threatened by Doc into performing another heist, at a post office.

The crew consists of easy-going Buddy, his 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 ex-police and opens fire. 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, hoping to take Debora and leave Atlanta, but 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 beat him. Baby rams the car into rebar, killing Bats. Buddy and Darling chase Baby 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, but Buddy is waiting. Baby shoots Buddy and flees with Debora as the police close in.

Baby seeks help from Doc. After seeing he truly loves Debora, Doc supplies them with cash and directions to get out of the country. Buddy ambushes them in the parking garage, who kills Doc with a stolen police car. A cat-and-mouse game ensues until Buddy has Baby at his mercy; he fires his pistol close to Baby's ears, deafening him. Debora disarms Buddy with a crowbar and Baby wounds him with the pistol, causing him to fall to his death.

Fleeing Atlanta, Baby and Debora run into a roadblock. Debora prepares to ram it, but Baby surrenders. At his trial, Joseph, Debora, and several people Baby saved during the robberies testify in his defense. Baby is sentenced to 25 years in prison with a parole hearing after five. Baby receives postcards from Debora who promises to wait for him. Upon his release, he finds Debora waiting and they kiss.

Cast

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 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 next direct Baby Driver for Working Title Films instead. 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 in the cast.[16] 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.[17][18]

Jamie Foxx was reported to be in talks to join the film on September 8, 2015.[19] On October 20, 2015, Jon Hamm signed on to play one of the villains, a former Wall Street trader, now a member of the bank robbers' gang.[18] Kevin Spacey was cast as a veteran criminal and the boss of the crew on November 3, 2015.[20] On December 16, 2015, Eiza González joined the film to play one of the bank robbers—the wife of Hamm's character.[21] Jon Bernthal was cast as Griff on February 23, 2016.[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 cameoed in the movie It's Complicated, which is being broadcast on a television set visible during a scene.

Wright enlisted Ryan Heffington as the film's choreographer to work on the actors' timing and movements in order to sync them with the music soundtrack.[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
Released June 23, 2017 (2017-06-23)
Length 1:43:53
Label 30th Century Records
Producer Danger 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 combination of artists, from various decades, including Blur, Run the Jewels, Sky Ferreira, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Queen and Golden Earring.[29]

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.[30][31] Wright 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.[32]

Track listing

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.[29]

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

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[33] 5
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[34] 61
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[35] 55
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[36] 78
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[37] 40
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[38] 66
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[39] 76
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[40] 16
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[41] 52
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 71
US Billboard 200[43] 27

Lawsuit

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.[44]

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.[45] It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2017.[46]

Box office

As of August 7, 2017, Baby Driver has grossed $97.5 million in the United States and Canada and $57.7 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $155.2 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 the possibility to earn more 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.[47] 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). This marked the biggest American debut of Wright's career, doubling the $10.6 million opening of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in 2010.[48] In its second weekend the film grossed $13 million (a drop of 36.7%), finishing third at the box office[49] and in its third weekend made $8.8 million, finishing fourth.[50]

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 265 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."[51] 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".[52] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[47]

Peter Debruge of Variety called the film "a blast, featuring wall-to-wall music and a surfeit of inspired ideas".[53] 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".[54] 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".[55]

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".[56] 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".[57] 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".[58]

Amid the positive reviews, there were several negative reviews. Joyce Slaton of Common Sense Media, rated Baby Driver three out of five stars. Despite praising the driving sequences and music, Slaton 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.[59] Richard Brody of The New Yorker said "It is...an imitation of generation’s worth of imitations." He continues, "Wright’s apparent commercial success in his enterprise...contrasts with—and perhaps depends on—a conspicuous lack of artistic vision. 'Baby Driver' plays like a Disneyfied version of an action film...The action is, in short, thin yet heavy, burdened with a pointless complexity that serves, above all, to mask—with music and quick cuts—the insignificance, impersonality, and indistinctness of each of its elements...In “Baby Driver,” no one has anything to say about anything. The prevailing gentility of “Baby Driver” depends on its absence of substance." He concludes: "[This] movie has still satisfied critics who are in love with the idea of Hollywood providing something that’s not based on a superhero franchise, providing something that, with its retro soundtrack and retro cleanness, reminds them of a Hollywood that no longer exists."[60]

References

  1. ↑ "Baby Driver". South by Southwest. Archived from the original on March 11, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Baby Driver". BFI. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  3. ↑ Sweney, Mark (21 July 2017). "Big-budget films receive increase in tax relief to almost £600m". The Guardian.
  4. 1 2 "‘Despicable Me 3’ To Own Crowded Independence Day Weekend Stretch – Box Office Preview". Deadline.com. June 27, 2017. Archived from the original on June 29, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Baby Driver (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  6. ↑ "‘Baby Driver’ Baby out in the UK". The Sun (United Kingdom). July 3, 2017. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Baby Driver: UK release date, cast and film details". 2017-04-24.
  8. ↑ "‘Baby Driver’ Character Descriptions Revealed; Jon Bernthal Joins Edgar Wright's New Film". Collider. February 23, 2016. Archived from the original on March 11, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Eiza Gonzalez Joins Ansel Elgort in Edgar Wright’s ‘Baby Driver’". Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  10. ↑ Hewitt, Chris. "Baby Driver Trailer Breakdown With Edgar Wright". Archived from the original on March 13, 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Edgar Wright couldn't get enough of Atlanta while shooting ‘Baby Driver'". Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "Video Archives: Blue Song ~ Mint Royale – dir. Edgar Wright (2003)". Edgar Wright Here. August 28, 2009. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Edgar Wright Makes a Triumphant Return at SXSW with Baby Driver". Vanity Fair. 2017-03-12. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  14. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (July 22, 2014). "Comic-Con: Off ‘Ant-Man’ Hill, Edgar Wright Sets Sights On ‘Baby Driver’". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  15. ↑ Kroll, Justin (January 13, 2015). "Edgar Wright’s ‘Baby Driver’ Eyes Ansel Elgort; Sony to Release". variety.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  16. ↑ Allen, Clark (January 12, 2015). "Ansel Elgort Boards Edgar Wright's Next Film, "Baby Driver"". tracking-board.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  17. ↑ Kroll, Justin (May 7, 2015). "Lily James to Co-Star in Edgar Wright’s ‘Baby Driver’". variety.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  18. 1 2 Kroll, Justin (October 20, 2015). "Jon Hamm Joins Edgar Wright's 'Baby Driver'". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  19. ↑ Jaafar, Ali (September 8, 2015). "Jamie Foxx In Talks To Board Edgar Wright’s ‘Baby Driver’". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  20. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (November 3, 2015). "Kevin Spacey Joining ‘Baby Driver’ & ‘Billionaire Boys Club’". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  21. ↑ Kroll, Justin (December 16, 2015). "Eiza Gonzalez Joins Ansel Elgort in Edgar Wright’s ‘Baby Driver’". Variety. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  22. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (February 23, 2016). "Jon Bernthal Joins Edgar Wright’s ‘Baby Driver’ Ensemble". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  23. ↑ Wakeman, Gregory (January 9, 2017). "Wait, Meryl Streep Is In Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver?!". CINEMABLEND. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  24. ↑ Murphy, Mekado (27 June 2017). "How They Pulled Off the Perfectly Timed Stunts in ‘Baby Driver’" Archived July 7, 2017, at the Wayback Machine., 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" Archived July 9, 2017, at the Wayback Machine., Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  26. ↑ "Edgar Wright’s ‘Baby Driver’ Off and Running". www.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Baby Driver: Filming Wraps on Edgar Wright's New Film". Collider. May 16, 2016. Archived from the original on May 17, 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. 1 2 Connick, 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.
  30. ↑ 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.
  31. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  32. ↑ 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.
  33. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Baby Driver". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack – Baby Driver" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  35. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack – Baby Driver" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  36. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack – Baby Driver" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  37. ↑ "Soundtrack – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Soundtrack. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack – Baby Driver" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  39. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack – Baby Driver" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  40. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  41. ↑ "Top 100 Albumes — Semana 28: del 07.07.2017 al 13.07.2017" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  42. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack – Baby Driver". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  43. ↑ "Soundtrack – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Soundtrack. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  44. ↑ 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.
  45. ↑ Gettell, Oliver (March 27, 2017). "Baby Driver release date moves up to June". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  46. ↑ 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.
  47. 1 2 "‘Baby Driver’ Dings ‘Transformers’ For Thursday Top Spot With $3.3M; ‘Wonder Woman’ Whips ‘Batman V. Superman’". Deadline.com. June 30, 2017. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017.
  48. ↑ "‘Baby Driver’ Speeds To $27M+; Ferrell & Poehler’s ‘House’ Burns Down As ‘Despicable Me 3’ Dominates". Deadline.com. July 1, 2017. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017.
  49. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 10, 2017). "‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Still Swinging In As Sony’s Second Best Domestic Opening Ever With $116M-$118M". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017.
  50. ↑ "‘War For The Planet Of The Apes’ Loots $56.5M In Box Office Spoils". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  51. ↑ "Baby Driver (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on June 17, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  52. ↑ "Baby Driver reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 17, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  53. ↑ Peter Debruge (March 12, 2017). "SXSW Film Review: ‘Baby Driver’". Variety. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  54. ↑ Manohla Dargis (June 27, 2017). "Review: In ‘Baby Driver,’ It’s Kiss Kiss, Zoom Zoom". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  55. ↑ Peter Bradshaw (June 27, 2017). "Baby Driver review – Edgar Wright puts pedal to the metal for wildly enjoyable heist caper". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  56. ↑ Brian Lowry (June 28, 2017). "'Baby Driver' clicks on all cylinders". CNN. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  57. ↑ Brian Tallerico (June 26, 2017). "Baby Driver Movie Review & Film Summary (2017)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  58. ↑ Terri White (June 19, 2017). "Baby Driver Review". Empire. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  59. ↑ Joyce Slaton. "Baby Driver Movie Review". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  60. ↑ Richard Brody (July 3 2017). "“Baby Driver,” an Artificially Sweetened Hollywood Heist Film". The New Yorker. Check date values in: |date= (help)
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