Whiplash is enthralling from the first frames to the final curtain.

Rating: 8/10 (26 May 2015)

Wow..wow wow wow Truly humbled and awed on seeing this film. Soo here goes the review:
A devoted Buddy Rich fan with stellar ambitions, Andrew is relentless like no drummer Fletcher has ever taught and the bullet-headed Fletcher is distinctly evocative of Full Metal Jacket's foul-mouthed, bullying and merciless drill instructor, Sergeant Hartman. Fletcher eschews jazz improvisation for impossibly strict cadences and tempos. And when he asks the band to meet for practice at 9 am, he will enter the room at that very second. Andrew is no slouch in the determination department - he dumps his sweet girlfriend (Benoist) to focus on playing and play he does, till his hands bleed.It's a battle played out with hatred and respect. It's no surprise that Fletcher sees talent in Andrew and wants to coax it out, and Andrew's obsession with being the best makes his conductor's approval his solitary aim.Whiplash is never about anything other than its two leads however, and the pay-off is extraordinary, a final scene more exciting than any offered up by any big budget blockbuster in recent memory.
There are very few good movies about music. By that, I don't mean musicals nor do I mean films with musicians as actors playing their own work (The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night). I mean films with musicians as serious dramatic subjects, dealing with their passion for art and the pressures of performance. Movies that deal with why people dedicate their lives to music, despite the uncertainty of career expectations, the constant expectations of performance and the demands it makes on their family and love lives. Whiplash does evoke this theme and dramatize it well despite all its regrettable missteps in narrative and characterization.
The casting of the film is also a key to its success. Miles Teller is a gem of a find — his desperation, sweat and blood are all hyper realistic. Every time he struggles to hit the drums you feel lucky you don't have to be in his place. Simmons certainly deserves Oscar for best supporting actor. Seldom do we see characters in cinema that are so powerful. His bald headed black-attired mere presence is threatening, thanks to those condescending eyes and deep voice. Every time he looks at you it feels like he is going to hit you, and yet you feel like you have to live up to his expectations.
Young filmmaker Damien Chazelle has set himself a very high standard here by trying to create the atmospherics of the military school in Full Metal Jacket in a music school of all places. Before Whiplash, a music school in our heads would have triggered images of peace-loving harmless musicians gently punching out tunes out of a piano or bespectacled geeks lost in their violins. Chazelle succeeds admirably in reflecting the tension between students and teacher. The subtext also underlines the importance of being kind rather than abusive.
Slick editing with quick cuts and intense montage lead to the final concert at the Carnegie Hall where Andrew plays an extended powerhouse drum solo. Never mind the jazz standards, what makes WHIPLASH worth the watch is the excellent editing, camera-work and above all, the acting.
Whiplash is enthralling from the first frames to the final curtain.