Sometimes I drag my heels about checking out something popular simply because I don't like the title. I was OK with Baby Doll, but this title is stranger (I didn't know of the Simon and Garfunkel song), and an R rating means no place for a literal baby. Turns out "Baby" is the nickname of Miles (Ansel Elgort), a youthful-looking driver in his early 20s.
In particular, a getaway driver for a network of armed robbers. Years ago, he stole a car from crime boss "Doc" (Kevin Spacey, eheh), who was impressed and let Baby work off his debt. Alas, he's done such a good job that Doc may never let him retire. Between his burgeoning relationship with waitress Debora (Lily James) and the increasingly troubling jobs, it won't be long before Baby takes the big risk of rebelling....
My first impression of BD was something like Fast Five. Thankfully, it's not half as ridiculous, with reportedly more genuine stunts; and Baby is far more likable to me than anyone in FF. He has little stomach for unnecessary violence, committing crimes mostly if not exclusively when he sees no choice. He cares deeply about his deaf, wheelchair-using foster father (C.J. Jones) as well as Debora. He can be cool without coming across as a showoff. And the ending is likely to make you feel that he got off neither too easy nor too hard. (BTW, if you despise Spacey, you might appreciate what happens to Doc.)
Apart from his mad driving skills and habit of wearing shades, what makes Baby cool is his self-immersion in music, some of which he Auto-Tunes himself. He started listening to multiple iPods and older players in order to drown out his tinnitus; by now he also does it to enhance his attitudes, often quietly singing and/or dancing if he has nothing much to do at the moment. Some of his partners in crime don't like his resulting laconic, detached air, suggesting another reason to call him "Baby." At any rate, the audience generally hears what he hears, including a ringing on the rare occasions that the music's off. His song choices are eclectic, mostly new to me and no less good for that. It might even be a key selling point for the movie.
Doc never assigns the exact same team twice, so we meet several partners for Baby. The most distinctive are "Buddy" (Jon Hamm), an ex-banker; "Darling" (Eiza González), his girlfriend who only pretends not to be tough; and "Bats" (Jamie Foxx), the loose cannon who really makes Baby uncomfortable. Some gangsters are pretty exaggerated, lending bits of deliberate humor to a pic not classified as a comedy.
In case you're wondering about Debora, she gets attracted to Baby's relatively free spirit, hoping he'll soon take her away from her overbearing boss. When she learns the dangerous truth about his career, she's scared but no less in love with him. Can't say I relate, but at least he has more charm than Louis from Elevator to the Gallows.
What BD lacks in moral fiber, character development, and quotable dialog, it largely makes up for in style. I see why it got a lot of technical award nominations and wins. While I don't love it, neither do I feel like I wasted my time on it.
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