"Baby Driver" / "Moment(o)s"

Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver” is obviously the work of a man who is obsessed with both pop cinema and pop music, playing much of the time like an extended, Tarantino-influenced music video. It is the story of a tinnitus-afflicted young getaway driver, played by Ansel Elgort, who gets in too deep with his ruthless boss - Kevin Spacey at his playfully chilling best – whilst falling in love with Lily James’ guileless waitress. The arrival of Jamie Foxx’s truly unpleasant hard-ass criminal signals a turn away from shallow showiness, while Jon Hamm also impresses as a more ostensibly friendly co-conspirator. Boasting much audacious synchronisation of soundtrack with action, and some witty car-chases, “Baby Driver” is technically impressive, whilst not being too cool to make us care about the central protagonists. Beautifully done.

Lily James and Ansel Elgort in "Baby Driver" (Working Title)

My most recent theatre reviewing assignment was “Moment(o)s”, actress and director Elaine Paton’s account of her struggles with mental illness, turned into a kind of cabaret, with the help of local performance art duo Mrs & Mrs Clark. Uneasily entertaining, and full of unhappy reminders of my years working at Whitchurch Hospital.

"Moment(o)s (pic: Kirsten McTernan)