Whiplash-2014

Director Damien Chazelle

Starring Miles Teller

Scott’s Review #192

Reviewed November 13, 2014

Grade: A

Whiplash (2014) is a film about an aspiring nineteen-year-old Jazz drummer, Andrew Neyman, played by rising star Miles Teller (known for 2013’s indie teen drama The Spectacular Now).

He attends one of the country’s most revered music schools, the Schaffer Conservatory in New York.

He is both mentored and terrorized by his intense, sometimes sadistic conductor, Terence Fletcher, played by J.K. Simmons.

Andrew aspires to be the best drummer and worships Buddy Rich, a famous Jazz drummer from the 1930s and 1940s, whom he constantly listens to and emulates.

While Andrew aspires to make the school orchestra that desperately needs a new drummer, he meets a cute girl, Nicole, at the concession stand of his favorite movie theater, and they bond.

Also in the mix is Andrew’s father, played by Paul Reiser. Once an aspiring writer who never made it big, he struggles as a high school teacher.

Andrew’s mother left the family when Andrew was just a toddler, leaving just father and son.

The film centers on the tumultuous relationship between Andrew and Terence, and Andrew’s determination to become the best drummer in the world.

J.K. Simmons is mesmerizing as Terence and wonderful to see, as he has struggled as a character actor for years.

He delivers a powerhouse performance, plowing full steam ahead in his viciousness and extreme brutality toward the students, and on more than one occasion reducing a student to tears.

If the tempo is not to his liking, he shakes his clenched fist in disapproval.

The audience wonders if Terence is mean and sadistic or is tough on the students to make them work harder and achieve great things.

Throughout the film, I wondered whether to hate this character or sympathize with him for wanting the students to excel.

The sexuality of Fletcher is ambiguous.

He belittles and ridicules the students with fat jokes. He hatefully taunts an overweight student about Mars bars and Happy Meals, uses Irish digs, and inevitably uses gay slurs on other students, but is he hiding something in his personal life? Is he a closet case? His private life remains a mystery.

As brutal as Terence can be, there are moments of sensitivity that the character exhibits. He tearfully tells the orchestra a heartbreaking story of a former student, whom he admired, who recently died in a car accident.

In another scene, he warmly bonds with a friend’s young daughter.

As brilliant as Simmons is, we must not forget Teller’s immense talent. The young actor does a fantastic job of portraying determination, drive, anger, and vengeance.

Andrew has a wonderful relationship with his dedicated father, a love/hate relationship with Terence (are they bitter enemies or do they have the respect of a mentor/student?), and a sweet yet uneven relationship with Nicole.

He successfully portrays a myriad of different emotions throughout the film.

Paul Reiser is wonderful in an overlooked, thankless role as Andrew’s unsuccessful yet forever faithful father.

Thankfully, the film centers on the conductor/student dynamic. The romantic relationship with Nicole did not take center stage or usurp the main story, as I felt the dynamic between the two was less important to the whole.

The finale, an intense concert performance scene focusing on the intensity between Terence and Andrew, is superbly done. Close-up shots of the two add much to the climax.

Throughout Whiplash, extreme close-ups of sweat, blood, and intensity during performances and practices add to the film’s overall rawness.

Whiplash (2014) is an intense, sometimes brutal, assaulting experience, but an amazing film.

Oscar Nominations: 3 wins-Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor-J.K. Simmons (won), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Mixing (won), Best Film Editing (won)

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 2 wins-Best Feature, Best Director-Damien Chazelle, Best Supporting Male-J.K. Simmons (won), Best Editing (won)