Date: 2017
Director: Edgar Wright
Actors/ Characters: Ansel Elgort/ Baby, Jon Hamm/ Buddy,Eiza González/ Darling,Lily James/ Debora, Kevin Spacey/ Doc, Jamie Foxx/ Bats
Summary: After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.
Review
My opinion of Edgar Wright has totally shifted following this film, I have not been the biggest fan of his earlier work such as the likes of Hot Fuzz and The World's End however following watching this film I am tempted to give them a rewatch and see if my opinion changes. This is by far my favourite film of his and I was so impressed with his craftsmanship and artistry. This film truly felt like a homage to the likes of Tarantino, old Hollywood films (it had a certain quality reminiscent of La La Land) and America in general and I absolutely loved it.
The opening of the film set up the tone perfectly, from the editing effortlessly synced with the music to the bright colour palette to the stunning, prolonged tracking shots thatWright used I was gripped right from the exposition. The aesthetic of this film was glorious, it had a real retro and Americana feel to it which I am a huge fan of and I found it to be visually engaging. The look of the film made it feel timeless which really added to the quality of Wright's work.
Obviously music plays a big role in this film as Baby, the main protagonist, had a terrible car accident when he was young which leaves him with constant white noise in his ears which he uses music to drown out. This music is used by Baby to help he be a better getaway driver and makes for some wonderful action/ car chase scenes. The editing of this film paired with the use of sound is what really makes it memorable and is why it deserves so much of the acclaim it has attracted. I truly was blown away with how stunning the use of editing and sound was in this film and loved how music was really a character in itself during the film.
Being a crime/action film there were a lot of twists, unexpected turns and moments of great tension that ensued particularly in the third act. Baby is sucked into this world of crime through unfortunate circumstances and this boiling pot of tension and uncertainty really explodes in the third act. I never expected Baby to lash out in the way that he did when he drives the car into a steel bar which kills Bats and leads to a backlash of violence. I felt this decision was very out of character however I understand that Baby did need to do something in order to escape the loop he was stuck in for the majority of the film. This moment acted as a switch for Baby's character which I felt was a little fragmentary to the rest of his character arc thus far. What I did find interesting about the outcome of this event was that it ultimately led to Darling's death which Buddy blamed Baby for. Buddy up to this point was a character I quite liked and could empathise with but again his character seemed to flick a switch following this incident and he became the antagonist. My take on this disjointed storytelling was that perhaps Wright was presenting the notion that people will go to extreme lengths for the one's that they love: Baby for Deborah and Buddy for Darling.
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