The greatest musical film ever made?

Rating: 9/10 (24 February 2015)

Wow-e! What can I say? The only thing I've thought about since I sat down and watched Whiplash is Whiplash. The combined mastery of Miles Teller (Andrew) and JK Simmons (Terrence Fletcher) creates a moving story, all revolving around the idea of ambition and resilience toward music and success. Oh, and don't forget those little elements like sound editing, sound mixing, cinematography and camera editing which were all done to outstanding effect and when incorporated together produced masterclass visuals. As exceptional as Miles and JK were, the story line of this ace flick was beyond what anyone could foretell and certainly blew me right out of my seat(that is if you had no idea what Whiplash was about, and in this case that's me). A young teen drummer accepted into a prestigious music school in New York City, spurned on by a hard, no nonsense teacher who won't take no as an answer and doesn't settle for anything less than perfect, or else, a chair will be thrown at your head. (literally). Andrew experiences lows and highs during his time with Fletcher and struggles to keep a consistent high level of drumming. Through blood, sweat and tears(again, literally) Andrew quickly learns that the industry is heavily competitive and one mistake can upend all of his hopes and dreams. He realizes that to succeed under the discrimination of this demon of a man he must maintain his ambition, drive and resilience no matter how much pain or hurt he feels. And boy does it pay off in that final scene when he receives that priceless smile from Fletcher after he sabotages his orchestra performance to take on his own drum solo and absolutely nail it. That is how the movie ends. And we presume, due to circumstances we witness on stage, he becomes recognized by important audience members who are looking for jazz drummers in illustrious orchestras. From the dumps and delight of Andrew's time with Fletcher, we see a eloquent story unfold before us and we feel the pain and pleasure Andrew goes through every step of the way which is what makes this such an effective and compelling film. Easily the greatest musical film ever made, a solid 9.5/10. I highly recommend you give this one a watch.