Baby Driver is an original film by British director, Edgar Wright, the man that co-created the best Cornetto Trilogy out there (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End) with Simon Pegg. Wright is renowned for his unique style of film making and his ability to give us a fresh visual aesthetic when it comes to portraying comedy within his films – check out this video that breaks down his auteur style of directing and shows some of the shots he’s synonymous for in his films.
After Edgar Wright publicly fell out with Marvel over his interpretation for Ant-Man, the British director was looking for a new film to get his teeth stuck into. Wright had been developing Ant-Man since 2005, and in 2014 he parted ways with Marvel citing “differences in their vision for the film” only a few months before filming was set to begin. However, with every cloud, comes a silver lining, and this gave us an opportunity to see an original film from Edgar Wright sooner rather than later with Baby Driver.
It stars Ansel Egort (Divergent), as the titular character “Baby” who unsurprisingly from the title, is a driver. Many people predicted Ansel Egort would take Hollywood by storm, after he swooned and impressed in The Fault In Our Stars, the film adaptation from the best-seller book by author John Green. However, in the last couple of years his name has gone somewhat off the radar. Baby Driver could be the kick into gear he needs to cement his place as the next emerging star in Hollywood. He’s already rumoured to be starring in the highly anticipated Dungeons & Dragons film, but if the Box Office results are favourable towards Baby Driver, then there’s a strong chance we’ll be hearing the name Ansel Egort a lot more.
Release Date
Baby Driver will hit UK theatres on the 28th of June, one week after the 5th installment of the Transformers franchise; Transformers: The Last Knight. It was originally intended to be coming out in August, but after its premiere at the South-by-South West film festival the release date was pushed forward to June 28th after it was met with high praise from fan and critic alike.
Story
The first trailer for the film (see below) was released a little while back and provided us with a better understanding of the story. Baby Driver centers around a young getaway driver called Baby. After an accident as a child he is left with Tinnitus in his ears. This causes a constant ringing sound, that only the person with Tinnitus can hear. Baby, as a result, uses music as a relaxation method, which fuels his talents for driving.
Baby is involved with a crime boss called Doc (Kevin Spacey), who uses our main character as a getaway driver for his heists. Doc coerces and blackmails Baby into breaking the law for him, and with the promise of one last job, Baby agrees to be the getaway driver for a heist that seems doomed to fail.
His life is thrown upside down when he encounters Deborah (Lily James) who he hopes he can run away with for good and escape Doc forever. However, in their line of business having people you care about can be a costly mistake, and Baby will have to use all his skills and expertise to save himself, and the woman he loves.
Baby Driver trailer:
Cast
The film is packed with a stellar cast; as already mentioned, Ansel Egort plays our main character “Baby”. The rest of the cast includes two Oscar winners, Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) and Jamie Foxx (Ray). Spacey plays the crime boss Doc, who looks to be a manipulative and calculated individual that would have you killed in a heartbeat if you ever crossed him. Foxx plays Bats, and from what the trailer suggests he’ll be the lead henchman for Doc, and Baby’s biggest physical threat in the film.
Also, in the fantastic ensemble is Lily James (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) who plays Deborah, Baby’s love interest. Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Jon Berenthal (Daredevil Series 2), Eiza Gonzalez (From Dusk till Dawn: The Series) and Flea (Back to the Future: Part II) play the aggressive cohorts to the crime boss Doc, and look to be heavily involved with a large bulk of the films action sequences.
Production
Edgar Wright’s script and vision has enticed some of the biggest names in Hollywood for Baby Driver. In his earlier years, Wright directed all 14 episodes of the cult British comedy Spaced and now in 2017 is directing Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx in an action thriller that he wrote, which proves the talent and versatility of Edgar Wright. Bill Pope (Spider-Man 2) is the cinematographer for Baby Driver, and has worked on Edgar Wright’s last two films (The World’s End and Scott Pilgrim Vs The World). Bill Pope has been the cinematographer on some of the best action films in the last 20 years including The Matrix Trilogy. If you remember the car chase on the freeway from The Matrix Reloaded then we know Baby Driver’s action sequences are going to be in safe hands.
Rounding out the production crew are editors Jonathan Amos and Paul Machliss (Scott Pilgrim Vs The World), production designer Marcus Rowland (Shaun of the Dead) and costume designer Courtney Hoffman (The Hateful Eight). More on the production and promotion of the film can be found on Edgar Wright’s Twitter.
First Impressions
The initial reception for Baby Driver is overwhelmingly positive. It was shown for the first time at the SWSX film festival and the reaction was so encouraging that distributors for the film, Sony and TriStar Pictures, moved the release date from August 11th to June 28th. This is considered to be a prime spot in the film calendar, which shows there are high expectations for Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver. With the incredible cast involved, and Edgar Wright in the director’s chair, we’re in for a film that could be the surprise movie hit of 2017.
By Mark Hughes
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