Five Word Review: Compelling, Scorching Tension; Incredibly Acted

Rating: 9/10 (7 November 2015)

Director Damien Chazelle helms this blistering musical drama which borders on thriller, as student and ambitious jazz drummer Andrew (Miles Teller, The Spectacular Now,) is accepted into a prestigious band where conductor Terrence Fletcher, played by JK Simmons (Juno) will do anything to realise a musician's potential.
Whiplash might just be the top contender for the most intense film I've ever seen. Which is surprising, and doubly hard, as the stakes here are nothing more than playing music in a small university jazz band. But due to Chazelle's assured direction, the quick editing of Tom Cross and Sharone Meir's expert cinematography, Whiplash is ensured to be the very definition of nail-biting. Surely one of the film's main attractions is the performances, namely Simmons' Oscar-winning performance as the terrifying conductor Fletcher. Playing like an X-rated version of his Spider-Man character J. Jonah Jameson, Simmons' performance is not only note-perfect but also a welcome subversion on the "inspirational teacher" cliché which sees him motivate his students with vulgar insults, a constant stream of profanity, and frequent violence. It says something about how good Simmons is in this film that he manages to overshadow the fabulous Teller, who like Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler was shamefully spurned by the awards ceremonies. The character Andrew is desperate to succeed, to go out with a bang and to be known and admired, rather than to live a long life full of regret and anonymity. Armed with this perspective he goes head to head with his nightmarish conductor, wearing his raw ambition on his sleeve in his endless desire to emulate jazz's Bird himself, Charlie Parker, and be the best in his field. And this has connotations beyond music. Chazelle's masterful films deals with obsession and the price of success, asking important questions about whether a hobby has a point when one does not enjoy themselves doing it.
The other aspects of Whiplash are similarly marvellous. I found a new love for big band jazz music, especially Caravan as Fletcher's band plays the music, superbly compiled by Justin Hurwitz into a soundtrack that is toe-tapping and memorable. The conclusion put many off but I on the other hand laud the courage behind leaving it ambiguous and not feeling the need to dumb it down by explaining everything that happens after the climax, just like The Gift (2015). The one solitary thing that could be construed as bad about Whiplash is that the supporting characters, specifically Melissa Benoist's character and Paul Reiser, father to Andrew, seem underwritten and underdeveloped, yet this seems only to be a side effect of the full force, complexity and development of the two central characters.
Basically all of Whiplash is a triumph. If you haven't, go see it now as it is a furious, intense and dramatic piece of art that definitely rests among the very best films of 2014, if not all time. 97/100.