Students gather to watch the MC Film Society’s Screening of Baby Driver.
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By Brooke DellaRocco, News Editor
As students got ready to leave for spring break, MC’s Film Society took a seat to watch Baby Driver, a movie newly added to their theme of Violence and Revenge.
Usually twice a month, the club gathers and invites members and non-members alike to partake in a screening consisting of a continuous theme. The theme chosen and voted on for this academic year was Violence and Revenge. Kerry Sullivan, outings organizer of the film society, explained current scheduling changes that will be put into effect.
“They’re traditionally the first Tuesday of every month, but we’re adding in some more on Fridays because we had a lot of interest,” Sullivan said. “We had a lot of films that people wanted in [the] violence and revenge [category].”
Not only does the film society provide snacks, and a comfortable environment to enjoy a film, it also allows for open discussion of the film, which often serves as extra credit for film major students.
Olivia Maddalone, social media coordinator for the film society, originally pitched Baby Driver, starring Ansel Elgort and Lily James, because of her personal connection to the film. After her father attended the premiere of the movie in 2016, Maddalone went to the theaters to see it.
“I watched it with my mom in theaters,” Maddalone said. “It was just me and her and I was like ‘wow, why is this film so cool?’ I was like ‘wait, I’m going to keep watching this movie over and over again’.”
Maddalone also expressed her attraction to this film because of the musical choices made, and the post production sound editing, which was able to shape her future career interests. During the post-screening discussion, consistent comments were made about the music chosen and implemented.
“I think it’s cool that they designed the soundtrack first, and then designed the film around it,” Sullivan said. “That’s a really interesting way to have a score, because most of the time the movie’s shot [and] the score is written [after].”
Although the music tied in with the movie was exceptional, some students didn’t like the pacing towards the end of the film.
“I just feel like the ending’s kind of rushed, for what the movie is trying to set up,” one student said during the open discussion. “Literally just the last five minutes, everything else was perfect. I feel like that could have made it better.”
Baby Driver exists because the main character, Baby, has tinnitus, a hearing condition where your ears constantly ring. To block out that ringing, he listens to music as he works as a getaway driver. At one point, the discussion opens up to the portrayal of hearing loss at the end of the film.
“As someone who is hard of hearing, it is actually so interesting to watch movies that portray deaf or hard of hearing characters, and how the sound design does it,” Sullivan said. “It’s so hard to describe to people how you go through your life. So, the best comparison you have is sound design in a movie because I can’t just tell people, ‘Imagine, only 45% of your ear works.’”
With multiple opinions surrounding the film, the general consensus was that Baby Driver was a great addition to the Violence and Revenge genre of movies. More screenings will be taking place in the coming months for MC’s film society, with even more exciting and enthralling choices.