Episode 16: Baby Driver & Reservoir Dogs

Heist films with music. Max Tarrant, William Chen and Jeremy Downing discuss the films Baby Driver (2017) and Reservoir Dogs (1992). The discussion begins by talking about the tightly woven nature of both films and a clear confidence in each. We focus initially on Reservoir Dogs, talking about the strength of the characters and relationships, particularly the work of Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Steve Buscemi. We then talk about how the narrative is constructed, with the large number of cut-aways that reveal the characters. We discuss Reservoir Dogs in relation to Quentin Tarantino’s other films, like Django Unchained, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight and Inglourious Basterds. We also talk about the intensity of Reservoir Dogs, particularly the large amount of shouting. This develops into a discussion around violence and how violence is used in Tarantino’s films, as well as other films like The Dark Knight, and Guillermo del Toro’s films Pans Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone. We then move into a discussion around Baby Driver, starting with the presence of pop culture in the film and the nostalgia of iPods. We compare the film to musicals, particularly Little Shop of Horrors and The Producers. There has been an upsurge in jukebox retro soundtracks, including Guardians of the Galaxy, Suicide Squad, Kong: Skull Island, Atomic Blonde and Watchmen. We talk about the strength of the actors in Baby Driver, including Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey. We then talk about the weak representation of women in Baby Driver and Edgar Wright’s history with female characters, which also touches on the sexism in Reservoir Dogs, including the famous Madonna “Like a Virgin” speech. We talk about the fatigue around films skipping through their soundtrack to quickly, comparing it to the great amount of space that the TV series Twin Peaks gives to its music. Discussion around music, gender politics, and Edgar Wright and Quentin Tarantino develops into a chat about the TV series Spaced.