Whiplash (2014)

Vernon Schillinger is back and this time he is having a brutal temper with a determination of vengeance. If you have seeing the great tv show OZ (1997-2003) you will know what I’m talking about. I have not seeing much from J.K Simmons in recent years as a groundbreaking performance but in Whiplash he is kicking some true ass. This hot headed no mercy high school music instructor and his band of music students will make you forget the real world. When they make music you will make music and whey they sweat you will sweat. And most painfully when they bleed you will also bleed. Whiplash is a freaking intense movie that we get to see rarely and 2014 is the year we got lucky.

Andrew (Miles Teller) is a first year music student at a prestigious college and he surprisingly gets selected to play in the college band lead by instructor Fletcher (J.K Simmons) who has a reputation to be downright tough. While Andrew being one of a kind determined and truly talented young man, Fletcher breaks him down to the core. When Andrew realizes that he have to give more than the best he could offer to survive in the band Fletcher raises the bar higher and higher.

While J.K Simmons is a veteran actor with lot of experience under his belt the main role is played by Miles Teller who is a young actor whom we have never seeing in a role that’s worthy mentioning of. But in Whiplash he delivers a thundering performance and at times you might wonder, “Who is this kid? And why is he so good?”. Well these two fantastic performances combined with the ear-blowing amount of jazz music, this movie is an experience beyond experiences. I mean if you’re a fan of jazz and especially a fan of drumming I’m sure you will hit orgasm more than a few times.

It is evident that Damien Chazelle has directed this movie with sheer passion and commitment.  There is very good flow, super duper music and lot of heated up harsh one-sided conversations throughout. And none of it goes a waste and when the final showdown happens the point of enlightenment unfolds. I’m certain that many who watched this sweated and intensely raised their heart beat in the last 10 minutes and it would have taken at least another half hour for the blood pressure to stabilize. Seriously, how can a movie about music can do that sort of thing?

Genre: Drama | Music

Director: Damien Chazelle

My score: 4/5