An electrifying breakthrough for Damien Chazelle

Rating: 9/10 (31 December 2018)

Damien Chazelle has become a notable rising star in film direction in the past decade; his 2016 musical, La La Land was the subject of the infamous Best Picture mess-up at the 89th Oscars. Despite this, after a Best Director win, Chazelle has been tipped as a great and one of his films that demonstrates this perfectly is his 2014 breakthrough, Whiplash, the story of an ambitious young student under the tutorage of an abusive music instructor. Chazelle has crafted an exhilarating and detailed film, owing less to a La La Land-esque musical but rather to sports movies, like Rocky. Miles Teller stars as Andrew, a young and hugely ambitious drum protégé desperate to impress his notorious instructor, Terence Fletcher. J.K Simmons stars as Fletcher and is certainly the star of the film; his muscular physique and sharp tongue create a monster, yet one who remains human enough to remain terrifyingly believable. Slowly, we see the film turn into a game of cat and mouse as Andrew is relentless in his pursuit to impress Fletcher, who argues that tough love is the only way to breed musicians that make history. Whiplash is brutal when it needs to be, Tom Cross' editing adding a sharp execution (often cutting to the central drum kit) to Chazelle's attentive direction. The film is unforgiving in its pace, managing to turn even the most permissive drum solos into gripping dramatic set pieces. Even as the film descends into melodrama, plot-wise (literal car crashes begin to overtake the metaphorical), Whiplash never loses that golden forcefulness and intensity that makes it work so well. For a film about music, Justin Hurwitz provides a fitting score, his striking, bouncy music immersed within the jazz standards. The score feels like the film itself; brassy and pacy, yet somehow relaxed and perfectly measured at the same time.
Whiplash is a fine film; Chazelle's aptitude for detailed and thoughtful direction is clear and, even when the story trails into the unbelievable, you can't bring your eyes way. Simmons is stellar in his performance, his delicious brutality making him well deserving of his Oscar. Whilst La La Land shows Chazelle paying homage to the bygone movie musical, its predecessor is a very different film; nail-biting and uncompromising, Whiplash is a very accomplished piece of filmmaking