WATCH THE TRAILER BEFORE READING!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIP_gtjDtfE]
Normally I don’t say this with films, but believe the hype. Because Whiplash is not only an amazing film, but it’s also one of the greatest films to come out of this year. Already heralded as one of the best films of the year and winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Whiplash is a film you DO NOT want to miss. Here’s why:
Whiplash tells the story of a young jazz drummer named Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) at Shaffer’s Music Conservatory School who becomes selected by Terrence Fletcher (J.K Simmons), perhaps the most prestigious, and most aggressive, instructor at the conservatory to play drums in his studio band. Under Fletcher’s tutelage, Neyman is pushed to the extremes as he struggles to improve his skills and impress his despotic new teacher. Sounds ordinary right? That’s the magic that this movie casts, though. Director Damien Chezelle isn’t one of the most revolutionary film makers of our time, but he is one of the most insightful. Whiplash reinstalls the magic of the movies, the ability to bring drama and suspense into our everyday lives and commonplace struggles, showing it in a different light.
Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons give the greatest performances of their careers, pushing heart and character through intensely real, human performances. Simmons’ violent nature and vulgarity, mixed with the innocent need for a faster tempo not only illustrate him as a demeaning character, but also as a deceitful one. At one moment he’s asking for a moment of silence, in memoriam for a dead friend, and the next he’s mentally and verbally pummeling three drummers to a pulp, all for the need for a desired tempo.
For the entirety of the movie, music takes control. It makes football players seem like wimps (although at the end of the day, that can easily be changed), and reincarnates drumming as a serious, and incredibly difficult hobby and passion. It makes the drummer stereotype “oh you guys just hit things” seem like a fallacy. After you watch this, you’ll come to appreciate the strength, stamina, and mental abilities of a drummer.
As a musician myself, coincidentally a drummer, I felt Teller’s pain through the sweat, tears, blood, and the fast tempos. Through the blisters, sore arms, and slow hands, I felt his frustration, pain, and anxiety and it connected with me on a deep and personal level. I knew how it felt when he couldn’t play at a faster tempo (frustration), or when he couldn’t get a certain drum fill down. And yet, Teller portrays it in a way that everyone (yes, even non-drummers and non-musicians) could completely understand.
Because the core of his character is something we all feel- artists, athletes, and pretty much everyone: the desire to be better. Neyman is the type of person that will do ANYTHING, from losing his girlfriend (an incredibly underrated Melissa Benoist) to breaking his hand AND still trying to play the drums, all for the sake of becoming the next Buddy Rich or Charlie Parker. And at one point in our lives, we’ve done that too. We’ve taken risks and extraneous efforts to become great. The question is: how far will you go? 
Whiplash is not only a genuine drama, wrapped around the world of jazz music. It is a film of great energy, passion, and frenetic anxiety. A film of kinetic editing, colorful dialogue, and aggressive performances. When the film is calm, the camera work and dialogue stays calm, and when the film kicks it up a notch, out come the cursing and two second shots. An interesting dynamic that only heightens the tension and power of the movie.
But as I said, Whiplash is no ordinary film. It’s a film that transforms an otherwise ordinary plot into a passionate ode that preaches desire, greatness, and motivation. It is the tale of how we, as humans, are always striving to be the best, and in order to do so, we need to give 110%. There’s a moment in the film when Teller’s character feels like a slave to his passions as he begins to question: is it worth it? But in the end, the popular anthem “Don’t Give Up” reigns more powerful than ever. In this day and age, that’s advice that we should all take into consideration.
Rating: ★★★★★ Masterpiece
Rating System
★★★★★ Masterpiece
★★★★½ Must See
★★★★ Excellent
★★★½ Great
★★★ Good
★★½ Okay
★★ Meh
★½ Dissapointing
★ Bad
½ Never See This In Your Life
