Whiplash

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2015)

A promising young drummer enrolls at a cutthroat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realise a student's potential.
I finally got to see Whiplash starring Miles Teller and J.K Simmons. I remember the first time I noticed Miles Teller in a movie and that was in The Spectacular Now; with those two films he has shown us that he has a lot of talent and here especially on the drum. However, J.K Simmons in this film is an absolute revelation. He's brilliant and totally Oscar worthy. What's the most beautiful aspect of this movie is the drive Teller's character feels, this desire he has to be great, this passion he has for this subject and how he struggles to express it to his family. Every person with a dream and a passion for a particular subject where you know everything there is to know about it can understand that. Sometimes it can be hard to communicate this idea to someone else, make them understand and appreciate it as you do. This is a psychological film. This movie is so much more than just music, it's a psychological battle between two people who believe so strongly in their opinion. In fact, J.K Simmons' character is coming at him at all angle: verbally, mentally and physically. He's taring this kid down in the first place and till the end he's giving him hell the entire time. This movie builds a level of intensity that I haven't seen a lot in movies (and I've seen a lot of movies); particularly through the tune and drumming but also through something bigger, it's so intense because it's so personal. We get Teller's character feelings as we've all wanted something so bad enough, so bad in our lives that we'll literally put ourselves through hell to get it (and if you don't. Don't worry. You will!).
Overall Whiplash is an intense film in which I can't see one flaw. It's simple and efficient. It deals with an ambitious young character played by a really good actor and his teacher played by J.K Simmons who kills it! Somehow you're able to project yourself into this movie and now more I think about it, better it gets!