Opinion Weekdays #7: ‘Baby Driver’ Pays Homage to Music
For a long time now, I’ve thought that ‘Baby Driver’ is a bit overhyped and overrated.
I’m not the biggest Edgar Wright fan. I do think that he is a good director; his films are objectively really great, as are his creative decisions. I appreciate what he’s doing and I think Hollywood is lucky to have someone like his. It’s just that his films are just not to my particular taste. Still, I can understand and appreciate something without particularly thinking that it’s ‘brilliant’.
The first time I saw ‘Baby Driver’, I thought it was his best film. This one is just closer to what I like.
And yet still, I didn’t think it was amazing. I mean, I enjoyed it, I thought it was a quality movie, but never got the hype.
Over these last few days, I couldn’t help but doubt my past self. I thought that maybe I was wrong? Maybe there is so much more to the movie that I didn’t notice and appreciate the first time around?
So, I thought, I’ll rewatch ‘Baby Driver’. Here are my thoughts on second viewing.
Not gonna lie: I still think this movie is a tad overrated. Believe me though, I enjoyed the film. I think there is a lot to it and I think it’s definitely quality cinema. It still doesn’t make my top 10 of 2017 though. It’s great, but, in my opinion, it’s not as great as most people say.
So why write this article?
Well. As I was watching ‘Baby Driver’, having a damn good time sipping gin&tonic and snacking on chips, I struggled to find ‘the layers’. There are a lot of articles on OurMovieLife where I go much more in-depth about this, but here is the tl:dr:
A great story should do three things: be accessible and interesting to everyone, have good characters all throughout, and be layered.
That layered bit is where things get complicated. A lot of films tell amazing stories, but very few of those are layered.
And keeping in mind the public’s opinion about ‘Baby Driver’, I knew this movie had to be layered. I knew I was missing something.
For a long time there, I struggled. Even during my rewatch, it wasn’t evident to me. Until…
Well.
It’s music.
I never, in my entire life, have seen a film that tells a story through music. It’s always the music that underlines the story, not the other way around.
Not here though. In this film, the story underlines the music. ‘Baby Driver’ does something very few films have done well in the past: it’s puts its plot on the back end. It let’s its story resolve around something that is usually merely a tool to highlight emotions.
‘Baby Driver’ is, in its entirety, a homage to music. So much of this film is perfectly synced with the tunes. The beats, the shots, entire story-arcs; ‘Baby Driver’ is one perfectly synchronized dance.
Music is the deeper meaning. ‘Baby Driver’ is a different type of cinema.
I may be contradicting myself with what I’m about to say, but any story can be layered. And yet, not any story can pay a homage to music. Not any story can be told through music. Not any story can explore something so different and do it so well.
‘Baby Driver’s layering is not within the story: it’s the way the story is told. And that is, quite frankly, absolutely brilliant.
Do you like ‘Baby Driver’? Why or why not? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Don’t forget to LIKE and SHARE this article if you enjoyed it and also to SUBSCRIBE to Our Movie Life!
As always, thank you so much for reading,
Pouty Boy