Film Review: Whiplash

"Sweeter than Heaven, Hotter than Hell"

By Alex Carrigan
QuailBellMagazine.com

Quail Bell film critic Alex Carrigan takes on a popula. You can read his reviews of Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel, and look forward to his predictions for the ceremony.

Every year, the Academy Awards nominate multiple films for Best Picture, each with its own degree of public awareness and rating. There’s usually a few movies that the viewers will know about and anticipate receiving the nomination. But for every American Sniper and Selma, where the public is likely to know about it due to its cast and through word-of-mouth, there’s always a movie or two that the public will look at and ask “What’s that movie?” This year, that film is Whiplash, a film directed by Damien Chazelle. It’s a shame that so few people have seen or heard of Whiplash at this point, because it’s honestly one of the best films in this year’s crop.

​Whiplash follows a jazz drummer named Andrew (Miles Teller), who is studying at the best music university in the country. He aspires to be a drummer like Buddy Rich, and when he gets recruited into a class run by the acclaimed Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), it looks like this is where his career will take off. Unfortunately, Fletcher is a perfectionist, prone to verbal, emotional, and physical abuse if it will ultimately produce the best music imaginable. What follows is a battle between two artists as they each try to prove their abilities to the other.

Whiplash really isn’t that invisible that no one would have heard of it. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014 to rave reviews and holds a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s also giving lots of attention to its leads, with Simmons already taking home the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and Teller demonstrating he can have a career after Project X. Do I think the film lives up to these accolades and responses? Read the last sentence of the first paragraph again, because that’s the short answer.

What about this film works so well? For one, it’s a really good deconstruction of its genre. Time after time we see movies about art, passion, dedication, teamwork, and mentorship. These film have their small person with great aspirations who finds the right mentor, and together they lead the Mighty Ducks to victory or manage to win the big dance competition, with all members coming out as better athletes/artists/individuals. Whiplash looks at those films and chucks a chair at them.

Fletcher is a monster, plain and simple. He doesn’t care about how these musicians feel, he doesn’t care if he’s making them cry. He’s got a reputation to uphold, and people are expecting great things out of the students in his band. If they suck, then people think he sucks, and he won’t have that. When someone like Andrew comes along, with the talent that it takes to succeed, Fletcher’s going to make sure that this person lives up to their potential and goes beyond that. If that means that Andrew’s hands start bleeding all over the drum kit (and boy do they. Repeatedly), then so be it, as long as he’s in tune and on tempo.

At the same time, Andrew isn’t that sympathetic a person. Well, to be fair, I think anyone who has a teacher like Fletcher is in need of some sympathy. However, Andrew is taking the lesson the wrong way. He becomes too dedicated and too passionate about what he does. As a result, he alienates everyone around him, and even begins to act recklessly. He’s become too swept up in the idea of proving that he’s a great drummer, and that’s what will only add to the chaos that unfolds the more he gets involved with Fletcher.

Chazelle’s direction with this film was very well done. Most of the film’s main set pieces are musical performances, whether it be Andrew practicing drum solos in his dorm or the entire band performing in a large concert hall. Every location feels dark and intimate, mostly due to the fact that these spaces are small and contain many characters in them. As a result, there are many moments where personal boundaries are overstepped and it becomes very uncomfortable to watch. At times, you feel like Fletcher is yelling directly at you, and if you happen to be gay, Irish, fat, or from a broken family, the insults he hurls are more likely to resonate with you.

It also helps that the musical sequences are really awesome. All the music in this film is great. They’re all really exciting jazz numbers, and most of the scenes of playing jazz music are done with very frenetic editing to add to the intensity. However, at times the music can get a little hard to watch. There’s a part where Fletcher tests the three drummers in his band to continue playing a piece of music until they get it right (something that goes well into the night), and by that point, all the quick drum playing becomes chaotic and hard to bear.

I really do think Whiplash should get more credit and public attention. I have a feeling it will lose most of the awards for which it is nominated, and will be one of those movies where we wonder why it didn’t win more or get nominated for more (except J.K. Simmons. I’m very sure he has this in the bag). At the very least, I think it’s a good film for anyone who is into performing arts, particularly music students. It’s a dark look into how performing arts can be wrecked by people who demand too much and offer little in return and from people who sacrifice everything to achieve their goals, even though there’s little to take from it. Sure, you can play a wicked drum solo, but who will want to listen to it?
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#Real #FilmReview #Whiplash #Jazz #UnderratedFilms

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