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The film Baby Driver (2017; Wright, Edgar) seems like a standard action movie on its surface. Most of the characters are defined by their archetypes, and the visuals tend to emphasize the movie’s style. However, delving deeper into the movie uncovers commentary on sexism within real life as well as the film industry. One of the most interesting commentaries is made subtly by changing the way in which the characters are shot, costumed, and written.
Baby Driver switches between the male and female perspectives throughout the film, juxtaposing the two and making the argument that the male gaze is inherently performative while the female gaze is intimate.
When this film utilizes the male gaze, the viewer sees a theatrical cast of characters who are putting on a display towards their peers in order to appear untouchable. They fit stereotypes within genres that center the male gaze, appearing shallow and one dimensional in the process.
What Are The Male & Female Gazes In Film?
The Tatsenko sisters, authors of A Journey Through the Female Gaze: Media and Art Perspective, give their insight as to what the male gaze entails in the context of how it has been used and described historically. They claim that
“The notion of a ‘male gaze’ defines, among other things, the process of framing the objects of visual art in such a way that perceiving their value implies accepting the ‘masculine’ perspective of appreciation.”1
This perspective presents characters, especially female characters, as something to be aestheticized and romanticized. Many of the tropes created through this perspective use feminine characters as plot devices to further the man’s story, often limiting their agency.
Despite the men being more fleshed out than the women, they too have limits on the emotions that they can express. Stoicism is very common within the male gaze, and moments of weakness are few and far between.
These characters are often painted as more competent and reasonable than their peers. this is seen in the film, The Mummy (1999), as Rick O’Connell (Brendan Frasier) is juxtaposed with characters such as Beni (Kevin J O’Conner) to make him seem more competent and qualified than he may have seemed without them.
Many film genres rely on these characteristics to define themselves. Film noir is a prime example, as there is a heavy overlap between the characteristics of the male gaze and the defining features of noir films. Male characters within these films are often morally grey, masculine characters who are led astray by a sexually promiscuous woman.2 In this way, this type of movie perpetuated the patriarchal ideals of its time.
Performing Masculinity — Baby’s Dual Identity & Cinematic Perspective
Throughout the film, Baby (Ansel Elgort) is only filmed in ways that focus on his masculinity when he is putting on a performance at his job. The editing is fast paced, and flows with the music. He artfully weaves through traffic for his own survival, proving to those around him that he is useful enough to live another day. In the office, the camera is drawn to him whenever he says something witty, and he rarely reacts to things that may be upsetting to others.
When out of the car, he keeps quiet and reserved. Despite this, the others within his teams keep an eye out for any weakness that they can exploit. His interests, background, and personal life are kept private to make himself seem competent, so things such as his hearing disability are harped on by his peers instead.
Due to this, his entire personality on the job is a means of protection, and is immediately abandoned when he is out of their presence. His stoicism is replaced with humor around his loved ones, and he dances through the streets to his music. He is also more expressive.
He conveys a lot of emotion with his eyes, giving the viewer a look into his inner world without any auditory indicators. You are forced to look at him rather than with him when he is on a job, as he puts up a visual barrier by donning sunglasses and adopting a stoic personality. Wright intentionally chooses when you can get a glimpse into Baby’s inner world in these scenes by positioning the camera in a way that you can see his eyes behind the glasses, or removing them entirely.
Baby’s stoicism is one example of his personality leaning towards that of a noir protagonist. These morally grey characters follow a personal code rather than acting out of concern for others. This becomes apparent in Baby, as he seems to be fine with aiding in crimes such as theft, even going as far as robbing two men of their car. The one thing he refuses to do is kill. Even so, as long as he is removed from the situation, he is perfectly fine endangering someone else’s life. This facade is for his protection. Without it, his peers would likely not give him the same level of respect as they do in the movie.
The way that he interacts with the world is starkly different when he is off the job. Baby removes his facade and shows his authentic self. He signs jokes to his deaf stepfather (CJ Jones), opens up to Debora (Lily James), and even makes his own music. You walk through life with him, experiencing everything from PTSD flashbacks to his first love.
Stefani Forster, author of Yes, there’s such a thing as a ‘female gaze.’ But it’s not what you think, explains that “the female gaze is about experiencing”.3 Wright makes the reader experience Baby’s feelings more in these scenes by taking away the thing that keeps the audience from viewing his face: the sunglasses. By tinting the windows of the soul, he makes the barrier between Baby’s emotions and his colleagues visible. Furthermore, he uses the barrier to limit the audience’s understanding of Baby in these scenes.
Taking away the ability to read his emotions in various scenes heightens the audience’s sensitivity to his emotions whenever the ability is given once again. You are let into his mind without a voiceover, and glean new information through his perspective.
Deborah, Darling, & The Limits Of Female Agency
Two characters that are highly impacted by this change in gazes are Darling (Eiza González) and Deborah. This is due to the objectifying way that female characters are written through the lens of the male gaze.
Everything about Darling’s character centralizes men. The little that we get of her backstory is centered around her relationship with Buddy (Jon Hamm) and the pleasure that she gives him. Her dialogue is either focused on the hypersexual nature of her relationship, her sex appeal, or the accomplishments of the men around her. Most of the men who interact with her in Baby Driver look at her as a mere object, constantly looking at her body and making rude comments about her relationship.
In the scene in which she is introduced to Bats (Jamie Foxx), there is an eyeline camera shot of him looking directly at her rear, showing his blatant objectification. Soon after, she makes a joke about her sex life with Buddy. This is while she is on the job, indicating to the viewer that she isn’t able to be professional at any moment without herself or someone else sexualizing her.
Compared to Deborah, her appearance is promiscuous. Darling is oftentimes seen in tight, revealing clothing while Deborah is dressed in practical outfits that match her bubbly personality. Furthermore, many of her mannerisms are meant to seem sexual. For example, in one scene, she is sucking on a lollipop. The camera is focused on this movement as she uses her tongue to play with it. In another scene, she sits in Buddy’s lap and touches his chest while listening to the others speak.
Her code name emphasizes her sexual appeal as well as her place when she is on the job. Darling is something that you would call a lover, giving her the feeling of a girlfriend rather than a partner in crime. Furthermore, the pet name, ‘darling,’ is often used by older men to emphasize their power over women, especially young ones.4 It is a way to remind them of their place and keep them down. Using it as her code name keeps her in the shadows of the men around her.
There are many points where Baby Driver has a chance to flesh out her character, but it rarely does. Even when her and Buddy’s backstory is explained, all that you get is that she was his favorite stripper. Even her death is worth nothing but a man’s character development. She is quickly gunned down, and the movie instantly focuses on Buddy’s reaction rather than her final moments. One moment she is there, and the next she isn’t. Due to this, she is a very one-dimensional and forgettable character.
On the other hand, Deborah is written to have a unique sense of agency that Darling could never achieve within the movie. The audience learns about what she likes through her unique taste and witty jokes. Baby conforms to her schedule and works to know more about her and become better for her rather than vice versa.
A great visual example of their relationship is the laundromat scene. They are sharing earbuds while waiting for the laundry to be done, and their conversation turns into a dance. She takes the lead by standing up, leaning against a washer, and then spins him in a circle and leans in. In this moment, they go back and forth as equals in a waltz of respect and admiration. They both take charge, and it makes for a much healthier depiction of a relationship.
Deborah is also less objectified than Darling when she is the focal point of shots. Both characters are the main subjects of eyeline matches in Baby Driver. When Deborah is the subject, the camera is trained on either her jacket or the whole of her person. As seen above, the camera is trained on her face, highlighting her reaction to the scene rather than her body. On the other hand, Darling’s assets are often the main subjects of her shots, making her seem oversexualized.
Despite all of this, Deborah does not fully escape the male gaze or misogyny. Deborah’s character is centered around her love for Baby. Though she has motivations and a life outside of him, she is willing to abandon everything at the drop of a hat for a boy she has known for a few weeks. Her job, her friends, and her own safety do not take precedence over romance.
When she first meets Baby, she catches him playing an audio recording of her singing. She is not alarmed or even concerned by this. Rather, she records her name with it. Realistically, this behavior could encourage someone with ill intentions to progress their behavior towards something that may further push boundaries and become uncomfortable. Deborah doing so is the byproduct of her being written by a man, as he doesn’t have to worry about these issues.
Furthermore, Deborah is willing to run away with Baby after a single phone call. She does not change her mind when her life is threatened by someone Baby knows. She does not change her mind when Baby steals a car. She does not even change her mind when someone is killed in front of her. This loyalty may be believable for a character who has been in a longstanding relationship with the other, but Deborah isn’t. In fact, she only learns his real name during his trial.
Her unrealistic devotion to Baby calls into question how much autonomy she actually has. She has a life and backstory outside of him, but throughout Baby Driver‘s events, she goes along with whatever he wants with little pushback. Additionally, she has no character growth; her development is static. Instead, like Darling, her story is used to further her love interest’s growth.
Beyond Baby Driver — Why Representation & Gaze Matter
Though they seem like a small detail within a movie at first glance, the cinematic framing influences major parts of a movie, such as its writing and editing. It is a political statement, reflecting the author’s and director’s views on women, as well as those of broader society.
Currently, the female gaze is viewed as subversive. It is meant to prove a point and purposely decentralize the misogyny that has been pervasive in film since the art form was born. Many films that utilize this gaze are seen as feminist, and are either ignored or torn apart by some audiences.
Giving female characters agency and a purpose outside of sexualization is uncommon enough that some people still view it as radical. When a movie that incorporates all of these things becomes mainstream, many consider it an attack on men rather than an alternative to the male-centered films that have dominated our media for decades.5
If these framing devices fly under the radar, the misogyny within the film industry and how people are fighting against it become difficult to understand. Deliberate choices may go unnoticed or may be misinterpreted.
Something as complex as differing cinematic gazes may be reduced to only one of its core components. Creating critiques and conversations around the visual framing by playing with it in the way Baby Driver does demystifies it, and allows people to better understand the films that they love and have a newfound appreciation for those that they did not.
Footnotes
- Tatsenko, Polina, & Tatsenko, Nataliia “A Journey through the Female Gaze: Media and Art Perspective.” British and American Studies, vol. 28, no. 28, 233–240. 2022.
↩︎ - Goldberg, Matt. “What Is Film Noir? An Intro to Hollywood’s Heart of Darkness.” Backstage. 2025 ↩︎
- Forster, Stefani. “Yes, there’s such a thing as a “female gaze.” But it’s not what you think.” Medium. 2019. ↩︎
- Orji-Oko, Chukwuemeka. “12 Pet Names Men Give Women That Are Disrespectful, Not Cute.” Easy Everyday Recipes. 2026. ↩︎
- Maryland Smith Research. “Viewer Discretion Advised: How Gender Enters the Picture When Audiences Rate Movies.” University of Maryland. 2024. ↩︎