Makes You Think, and Great Performances from Teller and Simmons

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2014)

The fictional story of "Whiplash" is that of 19 year-old Jazz Drummer student Andrew Nieman, played by Miles Teller. Nieman is a student at the fictional "Shaffer Consevatory" in New York, the top music school in the U.S. Nieman aspires to become one of the drummer "greats" and ends up in the class of conductor Terrence Fletcher, played by J.K. Simmons. As the movie progresses, Fletcher is revealed to have display both verbal and physical abuse in his teaching to Nieman and other students. Despite this, Nieman is determined to please Fletcher is his quest for greatness. Both Teller, and Pre-Oscar Nominations Announcement, presumed Favorite Simmons for Best Supporting Actor, both give great performances. At times I rooted, loathed and then rooted again for Teller's character, as his own morals and values are questionable at points in the film. The question of how far is too far for a teacher to push a student, and a student to push his or herself is there, and the movie does make you think. As I heard, the last 15 minutes or so are something, and there is one surprise moment earlier in the film, that you just don't see coming, that really shocks you. In the end, while not the best, it is one of the better films I have seen this year, and I will want a repeated viewing to judge it further. For now - 3 1/2 out of 4 Stars (The ½ Star for Teller's and Simmons's performances and the last 15 or so minutes), 9 out of 10.