Edgar Wright’s 2017 action film Baby Driver follows the exciting and thrilling life of a getaway driver named Baby who’s teamed up with a crew of thieves and accomplishes amazing acts. The film shows exemplary action sequences through the shooting styles, cuts and overall tone. The audience is able to follow along each heist as though they are a part of the scene and can fully emerge themselves in the intensity of each mission.
Although the film shows many action sequences, the most engaging and fast-paced is the opening scene as it sets the mood for the rest of the film. The beginning of the scene shows an up angle of a skyscraper to provide a sense of clarity and calmness before the chaos endures. Shortly following this shot, Baby drives up in his getaway car of the day, a red Subaru, to block off the shot of the skyscraper and this would be the start of a riveting opening. “Bellbottoms” by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion begins playing as we are introduced to the remaining main characters. The characters are introduced while sitting in Baby’s car through still shots that each last roughly three to four seconds. They then exit the vehicle and are seen walking into a bank with duffle bags and masks, and are shown entering the bank through a wide shot. While they commence the robbery, the camera is only focusing on Baby for the entire sequence. He is shown listening to his music and singing along through an array of cuts and still shots. As the other characters are running back to the car, the song picks up, indicating that the thrill is about to begin. This leads into a car chase with the police which is shown in an erratic and chaotic manner. The cuts are used in a non-traditional fashion as they are shown in shorter increments than the traditional four to six seconds and the fourth wall is broken multiple times, mainly with Baby. Although the cuts are shorter and happen very frequently, the audience is still able to follow along with the scene and can feel the intensity of the chase, almost as though they are a part of the chase themselves. The smooth, still shots become much more erratic to fully grasp the context of the magnitude within the sequence. When the car is seen drifting around corners or other vehicles, a wide shot is used to show the action in its entirety, which allows even more feelings to pursue as the ferocity and anxiety of the chase becomes even more real. When the chase comes to an end, the foursome is seen driving into a parking garage and switching vehicles. This sequence uses a pan shot to follow them from one car to another, and as they back out and drive off, the camera stands still to watch them drive off to safety, once again allowing that emotion of clarity and calmness to round off the intense scene. The following scene is much more mellow, following Baby in an array of pan shots as he walks through the streets, making it feel as though the audience is following along with him. The majority of the action scenes or everyday scenes are shot in a way that feels as though the audience is a part of the action. The image included shows how the shots make it feel as though the audience is there, as we can see Baby focussed on his task, while the others are in suspense as to whether they will be caught as they look out the back window. The feeling of being within the scene is not only through shots used, but with the emotion we can see within the characters. These four are successful at what they do and show their confidence and capability, but, when it comes to actions like so, being chased by the police, we can see the nervousness they may be feeling, simply by showing them looking out the back of the window at the police cars that are chasing them throughout the city. It shows their vulnerability which isn’t commonly seen in big, mob-like, powerful people in action movies. The success of the movie came with these techniques as it sold $226 million worldwide (Box Office Mojo), and was able to reach thousands of people. Showing this type of vulnerability within an action movie can be well received by action lovers especially, but also those who may be turned off of action movies, which can speak for its’ financial success. Although this movie does show the thrill of action, the consequences on its viewers would most likely be minimal. It not only shows the intensity and relief when they are safe, but it shows the consequences of living a criminal life within the film and the anxiety that goes along with it.
Baby Driver is a phenomenal action film that is very well rounded. The techniques used are well thought out to keep the audience engaged in making them feel as though they are alongside the characters. The success of the movie is shown through box offices, and it comes by it honestly as the film itself can reach a majority of audiences. In comparison to other action films, Baby Driver sets out to feel as though we are following the everyday lives of these criminals and the consequences that follow their actions. The film accomplishes challenging many emotions within each scene and depicts every character in a natural sense, proving how the action film has become a success for all to enjoy.
Bibliography
Dubois, D. “Cruising the Hyper-Real Highway: Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver.” Accessed March 25, 2024. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/81184423/jfilmvideo.73.1.0048-libre.pdf?1645477244=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DCruising_the_Hyper_Real_Highway_Edgar_Wr.pdf&Expires=1711144257&Signature=JfmXJt3d6YXyYaldd-j8sacW2fbvO1ZccJGdU7q~yOruhvQxEitGH1FyLd3ReKzK7XlHmCldyziLGodMjuRRp7N-1REEpzNMuc5vAqomjcrjoOUH1v–NnDaR2Qai5qG9XhaT~KjeZSquAxCvjyX39blsLzFa4W2OBOXhgc1WdjP83tLwGxkWQv7bPoXd-930pwtCx-jFHwu-G96mWlh8OXdovsjwrX2jM7Do0imNIXmmW3n4U~iY7wZgbVsgRNJmaet2386Y7a5bPR-LKTxw6Xcev6GPf76KyVjLkw7mR7braM4qWLVWBxU3CzZ5FKVucndiA5oJO7x3GGblwzcZg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA.
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Ryan, Michael, and Melissa Lenos. “An Introduction to Film Analysis.” Google Books. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WKPeDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=action+film+techniques&ots=crbk8KYAsW&sig=W-fiWFfFqksM1f81SAo3pdCgX-g&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=action%20film%20techniques&f=false.
Sony Pictures. “Photograph.” Daily Break. 2017. https://www.dailybreak.com/break/baby-driver-car-choreography-scene.
Anika Peters
This was an overall nice read, This short essay made me feel like I watched the scene in ‘Baby Driver’ which was nice. The writer really emphasized the type of shots that were being made in the scene which helps us understand the atmosphere the crew was trying to create. I believe this action scene was a really good pick for this response, the cuts and editing helped create a story and build the plot. It would help the read go more smoothly if the writer broke up their essay into smaller paragraphs, this would help construct the different ideas they are bringing up in that part of the response. Another thing I would add is using writing direct quotes, this would bring different concrete ideas into what you’re trying to say and also provide more information for the scene. Overall this was really informative and the writer hit most of the points in the assignment outline, I am definitely adding this movie to my watch list!