Do you ever sit in your car, put on that killer track, and find yourself picking up speed while you drive down the road? Or maybe tap your fingers on the steering wheel while you sing every line? Together, Edgar Wright and Steven Price perfectly encompass this feeling, as well as a musically driven adrenaline rush beyond our wildest dreams with Baby Driver.
There's something really beautiful about this movie and its music selection. At times, the track list may not initially strike everyone's fancy, but these tunes synced with the visual montage of fast cars, and shoot-outs is truly incendiary. These audio-visual pairings give the songs a whole new context, achieving great levels of style.
One might argue that Edgar Wright redefined the music-motion picture relationship. While this was also seen in moments of Guardians of the Galaxy, this movie's consistency in music synchronization is in its very own league. Since the movie's release, Wright has explained that the music for Baby Driver was established before they even began shooting. It seems as if he treated this movie like a dance or a music video, in which the music would need to come first in order to choreograph the visual display. In case you were wondering how the scenes were so perfectly choreographed to the music, it has been revealed that the actors wore ear pieces that played the songs so they could act accordingly. You can read about Edgar Wright's process of music selection and choreographing scenes here.
The movie begins with Baby (Ansel Elgort) bouncing around in the car, singing along to Bell Bottoms, as if he wrote the song himself. He even has the windshield wipers wiping back and fourth to the beat. At this point, we can all relate to this moment when a song comes on and it takes over your mind and body... Until the robbers get back into the car, the song flips into overdrive, and it's time to go. At this point, it is safe to say we can no longer relate, but then we get our first taste of high-speed action. The very frantic guitar solos and high energy of the song adds greater excitement to the [already] action packed car chase.
As the movie progresses, we can start to notice certain aspects of the scenes which were clearly in place to complement the music for that scene. When Doc (Kevin Spacey) slaps down stacks of money to the beat of Egyptian Reggae, or Baby playing air piano to Unsquare Dance while listening to the Doc's next robbery scheme. It is very clear that in times like these, their actions are all choreographed to the rhythm of the song. Another great example of this is in the opening credits to Harlem Shuffle. If you didn't notice the first time, the song lyrics appear in the scene of baby walking down the street to get coffee. If you think you missed it, take a second look here.
Right before the second robbery, Baby tells the robbers not to get out of the car until he starts the song over to match up with whats going on. Admit it... we've all done it, whether we are at the gym about to do a set of push-ups, or right before someone new steps into your car.
Lets talk about my favorite action scene of the whole movie; a huge shoot out occurs, paired with the musical stylings of The Champ's Tequila. Not a single gun was fired without permission from the song. As weird of a song pairing that was, it gives the scene a degree of humour, but also a sense of urgency. As baby is rolling on the floor dodging bullets inches away from him in such rhythmic fashion. All I can say about that scene is that it was so. freaking. cool. Check out the legendary scene here.
Another cool sync in the movie is after the final robbery. The group is running from the cops, while Hocus Pocus by Focus plays in the background. Something that I noticed, was that all the guns are firing on all the down strokes of the guitar in the song. While this is not something I noticed my first time watching, the choreographed shooting is what makes these scenes so satisfying, whether you notice it or not. It is the difference that makes it.
At this point, you might be wondering "was there any film scoring involved in this movie at all?" Baby's iPod dictates the soundtrack until his music is taken away from him, which is when Steven Price moves in and works his magic. After the second robbery, Bats (played by Jamie Fox) sits in a parking garage talking to Baby. At this point, you might have stuck your finger in your ear wondering if that last song caused your ears to ring. Incorrect. It seems that Steven Price composed a song of great tension with the addition of a ringing sound. This additional ringing simulates Tinitus, putting the viewer's ears in the buds of Baby's auditory experience without his music.
Baby Driver hits us from so many angles in terms of plot, music, even messages about modern music consumption. But if you ask anyone about the movie, it is almost impossible to discuss Baby Driver without mentioning the music. Music selection as well as the symbolic film score deliver a genuine, gripping experience. It is truly both a visual, and audio masterpiece. Baby Driver is now available OnDemand, and will satisfy any music enthusiast's expectations.
