Whiplash (film): A surprise hit (for me)
When I heard there was a movie about a jazz drummer college student and an overbearing yet brilliant and even violent instructor who will stop at nothing to inspire greatness in their students... i just thought, "ok, wont be watching that."
I tend to steer clear of arsty films but good grief is this one a winner.
The story is about a first year music student Andrew Neiman(Miles Teller) who is attending a prestigious NYC college for music. He has a chance encounter with legendary conductor Terrance Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) and this leads to Andrew getting a chance to be in Fletcher's class.
At first this seems like a dream come true for Andrew, but he quickly finds out that Fletcher's methods of inspiring greatness in his students incorporates a zero-tolerance system and a great deal of getting shouted at.
J.K. Simmons truly shows how incredible he can be in this film. Prior to this I only really recalled him briefly from OZ and also from backup roles in things like Juno, where he did well, but wasn't really anything special. In Whiplash he made me excited about anything he takes on in the future. I mean honestly... he is that good and completely deserves the Academy Award that he won for his performance in this film.
He is not the only star in this movie but he certainly stands out from the pack. I seriously admire the fact that Miles Teller learned to play the drums as well as he did in order to be in this role (obviously a lot of the scenes were subbed by actual professional musicians, but in much of it Miles is actually playing.) I know from years of playing drums that this is not an easy task.
I don't want to say any more about it because ok, it is a music film but don't let that turn you away. It is not a musical (even though I like some of those too.) The movies takes zero time to start moving and it stays captivating the entire way through. This film is probably on my top 40 of all time
I agree. The Chazelle's movie is an hidden masterpiece of this last 10 years.
Rhytm, life, determination, fight and 2 big actors! Spectacular.
Fletcher's methods are really amazing I mean it seems really ironical, he seems hard on the surface but he's actually soft spotted at heart, I usually feel a film cant be musically and have enough intrigue, but this one is brilliant, amazing thriller too! It takes 10/10 for me too
Ohh 10 on 10!!! That's captivating. Moreover when an actor like J.K. Simmon puts their heart and sole into the performances then it definitely tirns out to be magical.
It’s amazing @gooddream coming up with movies that are good but I never heard of.
Excellent
this looks really excellent. J.K. Simmons is a god in any role. Can't wait to see this.
Under the radar, but a great film! Loved the music and the acting was very good.
Ohhhh wao what a wonderful first year student story.He plays dums very wonderfully.Very amazing trailor.This is very intelligent and talented student.I really like this great and fabulous movie.Thanks for sharing.
I don't say that often, in fact...never. There aren't enough superlatives to describe the amazingness of Whiplash. Damien Chazelle crafted not just a tense dramatic piece of cinema, but a thematic experience with layered subtext. Andrew is a college student who simply wants to be the best drummer. Terence Fletcher, a renowned teacher at said college, sees potential in Andrew and chooses him to be the drummer in his band, at the expense of emotional distress. This is a brutal character study, absolutely savage. This is about Fletcher as much as it is about Andrew. The psychological battle and the consequential emotional turmoil that follows.
https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4078668/?ref_=tt_urv
An absolutely riveting movie.
Terence Fletcher (the crazy good J.K. Simmons) and Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) were both amazing in this, although really, Fletcher took the cake. His character embodies that fierce (and sometimes violent) drive in each of us, or perhaps some person in our lives that tries to push ourselves to the limit, which is what makes this movie so personal as this connects with the audience. While on the other hand, Andrew represents the dreamer in all of us, but is sometimes faced with the limbo between attempting to push harder or to give up. This is what makes this movie so engaging.
The music in the movie, coupled with the drumming also adds to the tension in this roller coaster of a movie.
The finale was also spectacular and epic. There's basically nothing to criticize this movie for. It elevates the simple idea of diligence and success to a whole new level and engages the audience throughout.
do you write any of your own words here? or just copy and paste from other sites? https://www.imdb.com/user/ur66477500/reviews
Whiplash, released in 2014 tells the story of Andrew - a drum student at the prestigious Shaffer and is taken under the wing of his all too menacing teacher, Terence Fletcher. I found myself really intrigued by the film. I enjoyed the premise of it, as well as the consistent build to Andrew and Fletcher's showdown. At times it made me uncomfortable, such as when Andrew was pulling himself out of the car wreck to get to his competition. As a result, I found myself really emotionally invested in his story and his ability to prevail. Having seen Chazelle's other film La La Land prior to this one, they seem to have a similar hopelessness to each other. I enjoy that each film ends not in the way that you would expect, but in the way that is appropriate for the story. At first, when Fletcher asked Andrew to come play for him, I was shocked at how kind he was and how out of character it felt. I appreciated that he came back at Andrew later with a vengeance in the final performance of the film. JK Simmons performance as Fletcher was truly so incredible and believable. As the character, his presence was so powerful and he possessed so much control of his environment. This was especially evident in the scene where Andrew and the other two drummers in Studio Band had to compete against each other to get the seat. He has this maniacal fervor that just escalates as the scene goes on, and it's so incredible to watch and experience. Overall, through Simmons' performance and the riveting story told, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It's definitely one that I would go back to watch again just to see if I could catch more details in Simmons' riveting performance!