Baby Driver

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

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Edgar Wright (The World’s End) directs the eye-popping and bubbly “Baby Driver,” a gangster film that mixes its gunplay with a healthy dose of off-hand comedy. At times the action seems to be part of a musical or a ballet, punctuated by percussive rap music or fiery lyrics. 

The film is glossy and slick with a teasing, devil-may-care spirit. 

Miles, nicknamed Baby (Ansel Elgort), is a getaway driver for various criminals headed by Doc (Kevin Spacey). Baby dresses like Han Solo from “Star Wars” and carries himself like Ferris Bueller. He seldom speaks but often moves in dance- like gestures. His riders don’t quite get him, but one thing is certain: Baby lives for music. He can’t function without it and carries his iPod like most people carry their phone, close to the hip.

One of the compelling elements about the film is its bull’s-eye focus on pop music and its effect on our everyday life. Almost every character in the film is influenced by music, or if not, they have something to say about it.

Baby wants to leave the gangster business but doesn’t quite know how to go about it. He is a bit passive, perhaps because of being in a fatal car accident with his mom, but perhaps not. Pop songs from various periods are the only things that make him focus. Between jobs, Baby meets the bright and energetic Debora (Lily James) a girl whose external light mirrors the music that he feels inside him. In no time, he makes a promise that he will drive away with her. 

Meanwhile, he is silent. The selfish Buddy (Jon Hamm) makes fun of him and angry Bats (Jamie Foxx) doesn’t respect him, yet each time he drives his client from point a to b, with or without gunfire. The fun of the film comes largely from Baby, who is always a two-step dance ahead of the masses.

Very much like a graphic novel, the film has quirk, sound, color, motion and a free sensibility that puts it on track to be a peculiar sort of cult film, given its emphasis on music and its power to change mental chemistry and mood.

At once percussive, effervescent and jolting, with nods to “Risky Business” and the work of John Hughes, not to mention Tarrantino, this story is full of cinematic references, yet it moves with its own rhythm, peppered with violence, yet oddly light,”Baby Driver” is entertaining from start to finish and its whimsical acceleration will race the heart.

Write Ian at ianfree1@yahoo.com