In 2017, a new type of action film was released that mixed the world of musical rhythm and visual style in Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver.
Baby, the titular character, is the longtime getaway driver for a crime boss called Doc. At the beginning of the movie, Baby is seen working on one of Doc’s bank jobs. He has been indebted to Doc ever since he got involved in one of his schemes and was forced to pay amends by working for him. In the movie, Baby pays back his debt to Doc, but Doc tells him that their deal will never truly be done. While waiting for Doc’s call, Baby meets a girl, Debora, in a diner, and they immediately hit it off. For the rest of the film, Baby is trying to get away from his life of crime to focus his attention on his new-found love. The one thing that makes every scene exciting and captivating in this movie, other than the characters, the plot, and the action; is the music.
For most movies, music is chosen according to the scenes and doesn’t have much effect on how the movie is directed and played out. In Baby Driver, Baby has tinnitus, which is when you hear noise, but no noise is being made. It’s an internal problem in the body that is caused by many different things, but for Baby, it’s shown that he was in a car accident when he was younger. He is depicted in almost every scene of the movie listening to iPods. These scenes were written to match predetermined music chosen by Edgar Wright, the director. The music and the objects/noises in the movie match up perfectly with the songs in a marriage of harmony. At one point, I found myself thinking: “Wait – is that the song or the movie?”
There are many car chase scenes in this movie and the music in those scenes was supposedly very difficult to perfect. The beautiful melodies that are heard in this movie aren’t without cost. Every song was “tempo-mapped”, which means planning out the tempo of the song, to the actions that the actors were performing. In addition to this, every police siren and gunshot – even voices, had to match the pitch of the songs for it to sound good. This painstaking approach to filmmaking is what sets Edgar Wright apart from his competition. There is one scene in the beginning of the movie where Baby is walking down the street while listening to “Harlem Shuffle” by Bob & Earl and some of the words in the song match up to Baby’s environment. The tempo of the song is matched up with his walking pace and his happy dancing makes the scene more enjoyable. The perfect harmony of visuals, audio, and movement is what makes this movie so compelling to rewatch. The way that Baby experiences music is so emotional and raw that you start to feel the way that he feels about it. The star of the film, Ansel Elgort who plays Baby, portrays the love of music perfectly.
The effortlessness of his acting makes you wonder if he’s truly acting or letting his inner music lover out. People on a daily basis would love to listen to their music all day. Especially in 2023, when music is everywhere, it’s hard for the topic of music not to come up; even for a person who isn’t that invested in music.
At our school, Stroudsburg Junior High School, kids listen to music so frequently that they get disciplined for it. Freshman Hailey Wayland, says, “Without music, I would die.” We listen to music in the hallways, during study hall, in class, etc. Sometimes, music is even played in the hallways between classes.
Your playlist sets your mood for the day and just like Baby, we probably have more than one for different occasions. Some of them make us happy and energetic, but some of them just keep us going throughout the day. In the film, music helped Baby ignore his ear issues and also survive the darkest time of his life.
For us students, music helps us focus on our tasks, gives us the energy boost we need to continue with our day, helps us connect with our emotions, etc. Some people even use music as an activity/class such as band, orchestra, and chorus. Ryleigh Raub, a freshman at SJHS, says, “I’m personally happy when I play my instrument and it’s something I look forward to at the end of the school day. Also, it looks good to colleges that you played an instrument because there’s some type of scientific discovery about how it helps your brain. Also, you haven’t met an interesting sense of humor until you heard Mr. Prichard (the band director).”
Edgar Wright made this movie to show us how important music is and the effects it has on people. Watching this movie will implore you to enjoy the music you listen to in your life.