I recently saw the movie Baby Driver with my family, and it seemed to be a hit for everyone. With action-packed scenes combined with a touching story line, it seemed to have all categories covered.

The plot centers around the unique life of the main character, Baby, a young getaway driver for criminals who is rewarded for being incredibly good at his craft, but who experiences conflict with his conscience and morality caused by the demands of his occupation.

Baby lives with a foster parent, his own parents having passed away in an accident when he was a child. A well-meaning soul with a good heart, he became involved in his situation through no intention of his own, and is participating in crime to pay off a debt. Over the course of his controversial career, Baby experiences challenges to his moral strength that force him to grow and change as a person.

As the protagonist of the movie, Baby is both lovable and easy to sympathize with. One of his most noticeable features is his quiet and unassuming manner, demonstrated by his constant use of headphones to listen to music. Curious at first, this quirk becomes a signature aspect to Baby’s character and identity. As a viewer, I was able to relate well to this aspect of Baby’s character, as I too find myself putting in headphones to enhance whatever activity I’m participating in – whether it’s homework, working out, reading, or just going on my phone – because it helps me focus and makes the activity more enjoyable. At times, I’ve even found myself in the middle of work when other people start talking to me. I’ve had entire conversations while listening to loud music, a task I used to find quite distracting. It sometimes feels more strange to not be wearing headphones than it does to be wearing them.

Another significant character in the movie who happens to have a close relation to Baby also happens to be deaf, and therefore requires the use of sign language throughout the movie on the part of Baby and himself. For this reason, the movie resonated highly with the deaf community, which doesn’t often get represented in media or popular culture. However, it also resonated with me, as I am in my second year of ASL here at de Toledo, and am particularly passionate about the language and deaf culture in general. Signing has become a normal part of my day-to-day life, and I practice it whenever possible, in accordance with my goal of becoming an ASL interpreter at some point.

Even without everything that pertained to my life from the plot of the movie, it was still a well written and well executed film. As mentioned before, there was something to interest everyone in my family: expensive and fast cars for my brother, a sweet love story for my mom to enjoy, and a fast enough plot to keep my dad interested. Overall, the movie night was a nice experience for the whole family.