James gets in tune with ‘Baby Driver,’ ‘Exception’
LOS ANGELES — Beyond its high-speed getaways, meticulously planned heists, brutal violence and a nearly nonstop playlist of hits from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, “Baby Driver” takes time for Lily James to find romance.
As Debora, a diner waitress who sparks with Ansel Elgort’s exceptional getaway driver Baby, the “Downton Abbey” and “Disney’s Cinderella” star tackles her first American movie.
Writer-director Edgar Wright (“Hot Stuff”), who scored the entire movie with an eclectic soundtrack years before filming began, named Debora for the T. Rex song.
“She is just a girl working in a diner and then this guy walks in and you get the sense they’re both these old souls,” James, 28, began.
“They bond over music and dream of escaping their lives and give each other something to live for, a reason to have this romantic notion of hitting the road and starting a new life.”
As moviegoers watch “Baby Driver” with music integral to each scene, the actors are hearing exactly what we hear.
“Music is so key. Music creates such a tone and an atmosphere,” she said.
“I use it so much in my life to get into characters and to shut the world out. So I don’t think we could have done those scenes without having the music.
“These little ear bud things just slip in your ear and it’s invisible and playing there. Like whatever tune was in the diner or on our date night.”
Was it ever a distraction with their dialogue?
“It helps. You know when things are good and it all comes in tune with your ears and you feel you’re unstoppable? It’s like the soundtrack of your life.”
James is also on view opposite Jai Courtney in today’s World War II thriller “The Exception” — music turned out to be crucial there as well.
“While Jai and I were in bed, Jai made up a really crass musical version of our film which was very funny and very silly. He did it all to showtunes.
“It was to break the ice with the intimate love scenes we were doing,” she said, laughing at the memory.
Asked what she wants from her career at this point, James declared without a moment’s hesitation: “Baby Driver 2!”
(“Baby Driver” opens Wednesday.)