Freakin' WILD!!!!

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2015)

*******Spoiler Alert*******
This film was so intense I could barely sit through it and watched many scenes through gritted teeth and squinted eyes. But I'm glad I didn't chicken out for something 'lighter' because the climax was totally amazing. The two lead roles and their elaborate interplay was absolutely brilliant and kept the pressure on so that almost 2 hours of viewing seemed to pass at break neck speed.
This is a story about blood, sweat, tears and the utter determination to succeed against all odds. The sheer fire of Andrew Neyman, the young and ambitious Jazz drummer, played to perfection by Miles Teller is fuelled by a deep down knowing that this is what he was born to do. But this knowledge does not come into full force and confidence until the very last scene when it literally erupts out of him as a mixture of rage, defiance, grit and artistic brilliance all rolled into a roll interspersed with lashings of utterly wild embellishments.
Meanwhile, his cruel and driven mentor, Fletcher, played horrifically flawlessly by J.K. Simmons provides the emotional stimulus for the movie as he is the fascist ass-hole who will do just about anything to push the potential out of his students. He embodies the amoral dogmatic maestro who values power above decency, adds insult to injury but ultimately bows to musical genius when he hears it. The relationship between student and mentor builds and builds throughout the film creating suspense and anxiety that something unexpected could happen any second, which it does frequently and instils that edge of the seat fear of power gone wild in the viewer! Their relationship reaches its final climax in the last scene when apprentice becomes master of his own emotions, of his instrument and equalises himself with his mentor. So finally the balance of power is restored and all is well in the jungle.
To sum up, Whiplash is the clever weaving of a spell in more ways than one; the music, the drama, the power plays – all cleverly and intricately crafted in every element. It is really about the forging and moulding of talent and skill into real genius. The movie is like an orchestrated symphony in itself; loud and soft movements, rises and falls, climaxes and summations; all with impeccable timing. An unblemished masterpiece in fact.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. Superb!