Whiplash (2014)

As always, spoilers below.

Jesus. I watched the movie like an hour ago and I still feel uptight. That should tell you enough right there.

Whiplash is an excellent film starring Miles Teller as "Andrew Neimann", an aspiring jazz drummer and student of "Terrence Fletcher" played by J.K. Simmons. The entire film is a rollercoaster of emotions showing Andrew's attempt to become a great while simultaneously losing himself in the process.

I remember hearing in an interview somewhere that director Damien Chazelle wrote this movie as an excuse to film a ten minute drum solo. I don't know why but I found that really funny. So there's your fun fact of the article. The rest will be sad facts that will remind you of what failure tastes like.

This was seriously a great film and it really deserves all of the awards that it won. J.K. Simmons, who won the Academy Award for best supporting actor in 2014, delivered a truly terrifying performance as Fletcher. He is that asshole teacher from middle school amplified by one thousand. Miles Teller also delivered a very solid performance which I will admit surprised me. I'm used to seeing him in movies like Project X and 21 & Over; stupid but fun movies that you watch on an airplane because Schindler's List seems a little too heavy. Teller's performance as Neimann was something completely different -- an antisocial young adult obsessed with transcending greatness. Something that I could never imagine seeing him portray and even portray so well. It is worth noting that I haven't seen every film Teller has acted in so I do not have a completely accurate view on his range -- or rather I didn't before I saw this film.


Animal turned the role of "Andrew Neimann" down due to scheduling conflicts.

Let's get started.

Soundtrack/Score:

Shiiiiiiiit. Soundtrack was great. If Fletcher wasn't in the film making everyone's life hell, it would be a really nice jazz showcase film. If that's a thing (I don't think it is). 

I consider myself to be a fan of jazz. Maybe not a true connoisseur, but I have a rough idea of how jazz works and what to listen for. I took a jazz history class, I'm practically an expert.

"Fuck you'"'s and "I fucking quit"'s are generally heard in more structured pieces, often peppered in by the musician to keep their audience interested.

But on a serious note the music in this movie was on point. The movie in a way revolves around Andrew struggling to master two songs, "Whiplash" and "Caravan" while being tormented and broken by Fletcher at his inability to perfectly play them. The climax of the film I feel is at the very end, when Andrew returns to the stage to eventually play his five minute drum solo. A really beautiful part of the film I think.

Writing/Script:

I really liked the story that was told in this film. I think Chazelle did an excellent job writing this screenplay. 

This film is really like nothing else I've ever seen, structurally. As I said earlier, the climax is Andrew's drum solo, which is the last scene before the credits roll. I'm aware that this used to be the norm in the earlier days of film, but this is the first film that I personally have seen that does so. I think it makes Whiplash rather unique. It also really simulates the anxiety Fletcher's students must have felt because the movie is all uphill and it's so emotionally draining. There is no real break from the struggle of this movie. This is equal parts writing and equal parts acting I think.

On another note, Fletcher's insults to his students were very amusing. Here are some of my favorites:

• "I will gouge your fucking eyes out," as Andrew returns to the stage in the final scene to play.

• "I am not gonna have my reputation in that department tarnished by a bunch of fucking limp-dick, sour-note, flatter-than-their-girlfriends, flexible-tempo dipshits. Got it?" to his students before a competition.

• "The folder is your fucking responsibility, Tanner. Why would you give it to Neimann? Right? You give a calculator to a fucking retard he's gonna try to turn on a TV with it. Now get your sticks and get your ass on stage," after Andrew loses Tanner's folder with the music sheets for the competition.

It was at this point half of Fletcher's class decided to learn "Python" and move to San Francisco.

How Well It Holds Up:

I think next time I'm just going to call this section "visual effects" next time because I still haven't written about any movies older than 25 years. Anyways.

This was not a film that required any grand effects. All of the damage done throughout this movie is done primarily through words and is fully psychological (with a couple notable exceptions). The message of the movie is very strong and the acting is fantastic. I could watch Whiplash in twenty years and it would still be just as stunning.

I really enjoyed the camera work in Whiplash. I am slowly learning about filming practices and cutting techniques so I am unable to truly articulate what I found so interesting but I will really try.

In the final scene, it appears that Fletcher has finally begun to respect Andrew. As Andrew plays the drums, the camera switches back and forth between Fletcher and him. There is no cut, the camera just moves very quickly between the two showing the blurred faces of the rest of the band. I thought it was very visually pleasing and matched the speed of the scene quite well.

The film also uses a lot of green shift (is that a term? Probably not). It seems that many of the scenes are tinted slightly green. It gives Whiplash a very lo-fi feel which I think looks really great when pulled off right, which I think they did with this film.

Maybe I'm just colorblind.

Acting:

Again, both Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons had amazing performances in this film. J.K. Simmons' performance truly raised my blood pressure throughout the movie so effectively that I was still feeling somewhat anxious an hour later. Miles really does show us that he is losing his humanity in his quest to become "one of the greats". I felt invested the entire way through. I cared about what happened to these characters, for better or for worse.

Occasionally in films there will be two really strong actors and then their supporting cast may seem a bit flat or generic in their delivery. This is natural; some actors are better than others. I get it. Whiplash didn't really give anyone else a chance to shine or drag the film down I think. The film revolved around Teller driving himself to the brink of insanity while Fletcher cheered on from the stands. Unnecessary characters were not in scenes where they were not needed (at least not speaking/drawing attention to themselves). There is one scene however that sticks out in my mind where Fletcher is trying to get at least one of his three drummers to play on his tempo. This leads to a multiple hour session of Fletcher berating the three until Neimann finally gets the tempo right. The other drummers look absolutely defeated and exhausted. It's believable.

"Johnny Utah" or whatever his actual name was delivered a stunning performance as a spotlight stealing bastard.

What Issues It Tackles:

Mental abuse. Selfishness. Loss of one's true essence in pursuit of a goal. All are discussed in Whiplash.

I don't know if Whiplash had a happy ending or not. On the one hand Andrew proved to his tormentor that he was really great. He had his own Charlie Parker moment. Fletcher might even respect him now.

On the other hand...

The fact that Andrew went out there not to play an instrument that he loved and allow that to show through his music but instead retake the stage to say "fuck you" to Fletcher means that he has lost what made music great. Perhaps now it is passionless for Andrew. Perhaps he doesn't even like to play anymore. We see that he had his drum kit in storage, unused before his chance re-encounter with Fletcher. Maybe that means something.

Even further, He's allowed Fletcher to win. Fletcher now see this piece of coal turned into a diamond and it's all thanks to his teachings and his methods. If he weren't such a bastard, Andrew would have never pushed himself this far and would never become a great. Right? I'm not convinced.

Either way, this was truly a thrilling and entertaining film to watch and I recommend it to anyone reading. 

My rating: A strong 9.

Not my FUCKING RESOLUTION, Parker! Try again!