Baby Driver (2017)

Baby Driver is a 2017 action crime comedy film written and directed by Edgar Wright. It stars Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Eiza González, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, and Jon Bernthal. The plot follows Baby, a young getaway driver and music lover who must work for a kingpin.

Baby Driver was co-produced by Working Title Films, Big Talk Productions and Media Rights Capital, and was distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures and by TriStar Pictures in the US. It premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2017, and was released theatrically on June 28, 2017. The film received critical acclaim and has grossed $224 million worldwide against a production budget of $34 million, making it Wright's highest-grossing film as director.

Baby is a getaway driver in Atlanta, Georgia. He ferries crews of robbers assembled by Doc, a heist mastermind, to pay off a debt he incurred after stealing one of Doc's cars. When he was a child, a car accident killed his parents and left him with tinnitus, which he blocks out by listening to music on various iPods. Between jobs, he creates remixes from snippets of conversations he records, while caring for his deaf foster father Joseph. While visiting a local diner, he meets a waitress named Debora, and the two start dating.

His next robbery goes awry after an armed bystander chases them down, but Baby evades him and the police. Informed by Doc that they are now "straight", Baby quits his life of crime, and starts delivering pizzas. During a date with Debora at an upscale restaurant, Doc blackmails him into performing another heist at a post office, making veiled threats to Debora's safety should he refuse.

The crew consists of easy-going Buddy, his sharpshooter wife Darling, and trigger-happy Bats, who takes an immediate dislike to Baby. While the crew attempts to purchase illegal arms for the job, Bats realizes the dealers are police and opens fire, killing them all. Afterwards, Bats forces Baby to stop at Debora's diner, unaware of Baby and Debora's romance, and nearly kills her in a hold-up.

Doc, furious at the botched deal, tries to cancel the heist, but Baby convinces him to go through with it. He attempts to flee later that night, hoping to take Debora and leave Atlanta, but is stopped by Buddy and Bats, who have discovered his recordings and believe he is an informant. When they and Doc hear his mixtapes, they are convinced of his innocence.

During the heist, Bats kills a security guard. Disgusted, Baby refuses to drive the crew, causing Bats to beat him. Baby rams the car into rebar which impales Bats, killing him. The three flee the police on foot. After police kill Darling, Buddy blames Baby for her death, and vows to kill him. Baby steals another car and flees to his apartment. After leaving Joseph at an assisted living home, Baby drives to Debora's diner to pick her up, where he discovers Buddy waiting. Baby shoots Buddy and flees with Debora as the police close in.

Baby seeks help from Doc, who initially refuses to help as he blames Baby for ruining the heist. After seeing he truly loves Debora, Doc supplies them with cash and directions to get out of the country, stating that he was also in love once. Buddy ambushes them in the parking garage and hits and kills Doc with a stolen police car. A cat-and-mouse game ensues until Buddy has Baby at his mercy. Debora disarms Buddy with a crowbar and Baby shoots him with the pistol, causing him to fall to his death.

Fleeing Atlanta, Baby and Debora run into a police roadblock. Debora prepares to ram it, but Baby stops her and surrenders, telling her she is not a criminal. At Baby's trial, Joseph, Debora, and several people Baby saved during the robberies testify in his defense. Baby is sentenced to 25 years in prison with a parole hearing after five years. He receives postcards from Debora, who promises to wait for him. Baby is released and finds Debora waiting, and they kiss.

Cast

• Ansel Elgort as Baby / Miles, a young man with a love for music who works as the getaway driver for a rotating crew of bank robbers
  • Hudson Meek as young Baby
• Kevin Spacey as Doc, the mysterious kingpin of the rag-tag gang of bank robbers and a veteran criminal mastermind
• Jamie Foxx as Bats / Leon Jefferson III, an impulsive, violent member of Doc's gang
• Lily James as Debora, a young waitress who befriends Baby
• Jon Hamm as Buddy / Jason Van Horn, a handsome party animal and frequent member of Doc's gang
• Eiza González as Darling / Monica Castello, one of Doc's gang of bank robbers, Buddy’s lawless and scandalous wife and partner in crime
• Jon Bernthal as Griff, one of Doc's gang, who mocks Baby constantly
• Flea as Eddie "No-Nose", one of Doc's gang
• Lanny Joon as JD, one of Doc's gang
• CJ Jones as Joseph, Baby's deaf foster father
• Sky Ferreira as Baby's Mother
• Lance Palmer as Baby's Father
• Big Boi as Restaurant Patron ^]
• Killer Mike as Restaurant Patron 
• Paul Williams as "The Butcher
• Jon Spencer as Prison Guard
• Sidney and Thurman Sewell (The ATL Twins) as Hellcat Thug #1 and #2 (cameo)

Filmmaker Walter Hill makes a vocal cameo appearance as a courtroom interpreter during Baby's trial hearing near the end of the film. Wright has cited Hill's 1978 film The Driver as a major inspiration for Baby Driver.