The journey to pursuing your passions and then some.

Rating: 10/10 (27 October 2014)

Since hearing all the positive feedback this film had received from Sundance and the Toronto Film Festival, I had my hopes of checking out Whiplash. After my first viewing at my local art house theater, Whiplash didn't just met my initial expectations, but it also surpassed them by a mile. This film contains elements you would expect from a typical musical film and then some.
First of all, the writing by Damien Chazelle, showcases a surprisingly excellent screenplay from a sophomoric director. Based off of Chazelle's personal experiences, he displays an electrifying and intense story which follows college freshman Andrew who is pursuing to be world-class jazz drummer who ends up getting more than what he initially bargained for. The pacing is solid with enough going on to keep the plot moving, the dialogue is engaging yet rich with tension, and the direction by Chazelle is simply top- notch.
Of course, the biggest praise Whiplash gets on top of it's enthralling screenplay comes from the two main leads played by Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons. Of all the films that Miles Teller has stared in, this is hands down his greatest performance to date and boy this guy can drum. Teller's performance as Andrew captures the raw passion and pain that his character goes through and its as powerful as acting performance can get. Lets not also forget the intimidating J.K. Simmons as Andrew's music instructor Terence Fletcher. Simmons simply gives out a phenomenal performance and he just has an astonishing screen presence every time his character comes to life. Fletcher is a character you can hate yet sympathize with at the same time which already a challenge to pull off by any means.
The cinematography for this amazing film is also executed in a stylish fashion bringing out the raw intensity of the story onto the big screen. Plus, the tight-cut editing adds icing to the cake when bringing out the rich tension throughout every musical performance. Speaking of music, the lavish amount of jazz and swing just makes this excellent work of cinema that more entertaining to watch and it is a soundtrack worth multiple listening sessions.
I simply cannot praise Whiplash enough than I had already did in this review and I highly urge each and every one of you to seek out this excellent work of film-making whenever it comes to a theater near you. With a brilliant script, phenomenal performances, great camera work, top-notch editing, and some amazing music, Whiplash is one of the best movies of 2014 and will probably end up being one of my personal favorites. Do yourself a huge favor, see Whiplash for yourself and you will guaranteed to leave this film more than satisfied.