Whiplash: 2 Angry Men (Major Spoilers, Just Watch It)

Rating: 8/10 (26 June 2019)

When it comes to opening shots, there has never been a better way to summarize an entire story or introduce one with something easy to take in. "Whiplash" is something that isn't easy to handle at first. The black screen is what we only see but the film's potential comes only through the sound of drums. It eventually becomes more faster and powerful and it suddenly puts us into discomfort of the intensity and the increase in speed of the violent slam of the drums. Our opening is rather showing a drummer practicing on the drums as the camera slowly moves towards him and he realizes that something was watching him. A medium shot of J.K. Simmons' character is standing there, listening to him. It is revealed that he has a rude personality and that Miles Teller's character is rather ashamed that he did not catch J.K.'s character's attention with his skills. It was at that point, the relationship between Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) and Andrew (Mile Teller) would begin. A story so violent and horrifying without expressing it through physical violence. This is what began "Whiplash"
"Whiplash" is something that's scary and alienating to viewers. We are often to sympathize with our main character and stay close to them as we are taught to. Andrew is a character that isn't much to sympathize with. A man who's driven to insanity by his strong passion for being a legendary drummer along with Charlie Parker and Buddy Rich. To be honest, I didn't even see the sudden change from innocent to pure evil in Andrew. It is disturbing to see one man's passion killing the person itself. A dangerous level obsession. And this is all caused by Terence Fletcher, a man that has gone as far as making a trombone player cry in shame for being out of tune. Although, we do feel a little sympathy for him as it is revealed that his best musician or student in this case has died in a car crash. It was actually a time when he cried and a close personal shot was powerful enough for us to feel bad for him. Even if Andrew has to curse and insult his friends and get into a violent car crash and managed to be a few minutes late, Fletcher kicked him out of the group and Andrew's response came out with all that anger and stress being released with a powerful tackle and wrestling. Andrew's passion in being Fletcher's student is to the point his hands are bleeding from drumming injuries. It is also shown that Terence has been kicked out as a teacher and is now a jazz band musician that also is having a concert the next day. Even after being kicked out, Terence still pushes him down and still treats Andrew poorly. It is to this point, Andrew has learned a powerful lesson and it all happened with the song that nearly killed both of them, "Caravan". Andrew starts to slam with anger and passion as he tells the cello player to start playing the charts for "Caravan" and soon Fletcher decides to have the whole band to play, "Caravan". Pissed with Andrew, Andrew fights back as one of the cymbals hit Terence in the chin. A surprisingly satisfying moment for many people. And then, our finale ends with Terence and Andrew finally both having a common ground that they can both handle and Terence throws the final part of "Caravan" at him and Andrew drums his now again bruised hands rapidly as he the movie ends. It is never known if Andrew survives or not, but it is clearly known that Andrew became one of the world's greatest drummers of all time that night and it has been completed that night.
A deep well-layered story that has several emotions and colors that makes up what "Whiplash" is now makes Whiplash a modern classic. Possibly the best film of 2014 for many people. A film that has never been more refreshing and more realistic than any other film. A film that talks about obsession and passion of an artist is something that isn't so common in modern cinema today. Only film to ever compare to "Whiplash" is Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan". Haunting as the music, "Whiplash" is a must see for anyone, whether you hate little bits of blood or hate anxiety. A modern masterpiece.
9/10