An Intense Thrill Ride Anchored by Star Turning Performances

Rating: 10/10 (14 January 2015)

Music has never really been my thing – unless you count film soundtracks and not many people do. So it thrills me to say that this film had me in shock when I left the cinema. I felt like I was on a drug, a drug that only a film like 'Whiplash' could provide.
'Whiplash' is in a way unique – it is not a thriller yet it grips from start to finish like only a masterfully created film could. So although this film is a Drama, it is incredibly intense always opting for the hardest, most difficult route. It never holds back and for some it may make the film difficult to swallow. It is this tendency towards filmmaking that hearkens back to the great, unforgettable Alfred Hitchcock. Is it a film that matches his greatest work – 'Vertigo'? I would argue, yes. The Director appreciates film not just as entertainment, but as an art form as well. Take note Michael Bay.
Every overriding factor of this film excels. I for one was not overly keen about a film that concerns a driven drummer. Yet the beauty of this film is that it pulls you in and overwhelms all of your senses.
The script is pitch perfect in every way imaginable. We are always primarily concerned with Andrew, masterfully played to the full potential by Miles Teller, who now has an astonishing film to add to his CV. Andrew wants to become one of the great drummers of the world and Teller's performance could just be the start of him maturing as an actor. I really hope he pays attention to scripts like these in the future.
J K Simmons revels in the ugly side of his character, literally the only side. Not to say that he is a weak character, because he sure is well written. There is no other word to describe his performance, scary. He plays the determined Mr who doesn't care if he has to throw a chair at your head to bring out the best in you. This man is determined to not let anything get in the way of his band being the best that the world has ever heard. Yes, he doesn't have an ethical code and believes the only way to get Andrew at his peak is to torture him mentally and physically. J K Simmons will get the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and if he doesn't then I could not care less about the Oscars. He even adds a bit of snarky humour in there for good measure. He is a teacher you cannot trust, be picked as lead drummer one day, miss a beat the next and it is all over for you. Making the dramatic stakes in the film even higher and becoming all the more engrossing for it.
This films soundtrack makes it even more heart racing and is the key for the film's success. If this music is poor then the majority of audience members will switch off straight away. It isn't and I could listen to Miles Teller drumming for his life all day, pouring sweat, pain and blood into his work – not just metaphorically either.
Although relationships in the film account for less than fifteen percent of it - they add a layer of depth to the characters and make them more fragile and nuanced. Andrew struggles to explain the situation to his girlfriend and ends up saying the wrong thing in the process. As his drumming career become more important than ever, he is left with some difficult choices to make. He cannot have his girlfriend and his career at the same time, one of them has got to go.
Another thing that I could not get over was the editing and the cinematography. As Andrew's drumming gets louder and the beat and tempo quicken, the editing is more sudden with quick cuts and the camera work is more jarring. One key image that will stay with me forever is when Andrew plunges his bloody hands into a bucket of his ice. The screen is white and suddenly turns blood red. Andrew pushes himself beyond the limit, no matter the cost or the pain to his own body.
If it was up to me the film would run over three hours, unfortunately it cannot. So instead we are left with under two hours of filmmaking bliss. Every cast member is on top form and shatter expectations. The camera work is stellar, Teller and Simmons give us a powerful dynamic to their relationship as student and mentor, and the score is any composer's idea of heaven. If this film doesn't make it into your Top Ten Films of 2014, then I'd advise seeing a doctor, you're brain clearly isn't functioning well.