Whiplash is Musical and Dramatic

Overview:

An ambitious young drummer enrolls in a cut-throat jazz band while attending a prestigious music academy. His dreams of greatness are challenged by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize his student’s potential.

Initial Thoughts:

Whiplash is one of those movies that grabs the audience and doesn’t let go. Miles Teller plays Andrew Neiman, a young drummer that looks up to jazz icons like John Coltrane and Stan Getz. J.K. Simmons plays Terence Fletcher, a passionate and tough jazz band instructor who has a tendency to fly off the handle when his students do not preform to his standards. Jazz music is used in such a very twisted way throughout this film. When you think of jazz your mind goes to relaxation, being calm, and reducing stress. This film takes those ideas and juxtaposes them with scenes that invoke high anxiety or stress, physical and emotional pain, and tension. When Neiman first joins the band he is excited but inexperienced, as Fletcher berates Neiman by hurling insults at him like “You are a worthless, friendless, faggot-lipped little piece of shit” and even going as far as throwing a cymbal at Neiman, barely missing his head. Neiman works hard to try to impress his instructor by going to great such as lengths by breaking up with his girlfriend, drumming until his hands bleed, and pushing his emotional limits. These scenes are shown with jazz music in the background while we se our character slowing going on a downward spiral. The editor, Tom Cross also does a fast paced, choppy style of editing during the scenes where music is being preformed, earning him an Oscar for Film Editing in 2015.

Characters/Performances:

Miles Teller as Andrew Neiman: Teller plays the promising young drummer that joins the fictional New York Schaffer Conservatory. Teller’s portrayal of Neiman is dorky, young spirited, and at first timid for right reason. Teller certainly has experience with the young adult role/genre as seen with his previous work in Insurgent, The Spectacular Now, and ughhhhhh…Fantastic Four (2015). Sometimes his character feels like a punching bag for Fletcher but, be honest..we’ve all wanted to desperately impress someone in one way or another. For that reason the audience can all find something relatable about Teller’s role.

J.K. Simmons as Terence Fletcher: Simmons’ role as Fletcher is something everyone needs to see to believe. Fletcher is the jazz instructor and is constantly on the verge of losing his mind, up in here, up in here. When we see Fletcher interacting with other characters in the film you always get a sense of “when will he lose his cool?” Simmons plays this role so well to the point where just his presence alone makes you unsettled. Everything from his body language, his facial expressions, and the way he switches between being calm into rage. Simmons is in rare form with this role and its no surprise that he earned an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor at the 2015 Academy Awards. Fletcher is a force to be reckoned with and no one but Simmons could bring that to life. If you want to see a Simmons at his best click here.

Final Thoughts:

Whiplash is a dramatic and musical take on the dangers of obsession. Neiman starts out innocent and pure before Fletcher pushes him over the edge. With a standout performance from J.K. Simmons this film is just as entertaining as dramatic. Some of the jazz cuts will be stuck in your head after watching, but so will the story and its characters. Once you start its hard to stop because we get so invested in Neiman and if he’ll become one the greats or fade into obscurity by falling victim to an over-the-top instructor. The ending of this film is a very good and ambiguous emotional pay off. Teller is meh but overall a good lead and plays off of Simmons very naturally. Simmons brings it in this role and his trophy case can prove that.

Rate:

B-