speaking parts - Jamie Foxx’s
volatile and violent criminal, and
Baby’s housemate, an elderly,
wheelchair-bound deaf man. The
former feels like the worst kind
of ‘angry black man’ stereotype,
while the latter comes off as a
gimmick; like a dog in a horror
movie, he exists merely to give
the audience something to wor-
ry about. Things aren’t helped in
this regard by Baby’s dream se-
quences, which see himself and
Debora dressed in the regalia of
‘50s America, a time and place
his black neighbors certainly
wouldn’t fantasize about. Had
Baby himself been played by a
black actor, it would have added
an extra degree of tension to his
predicament (particularly the
climactic police chase), and an
extra layer of commentary to his
relationship with his master, Doc.
Wright’s film is a wild road trip
through American popular cul-
ture, but in ignoring the less sa-
vory elements of American cul-
ture, it feels like a huge missed
opportunity. w
Baby Driver
3 ½ stars out of 5
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey,
Jamie Foxx, Lily James,
Jon Hamm, Eiza Gonzalez
NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol. 4 No. 6
INDEX
NEXT ARTICLE
21