9.5/10

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2015)

Riveting to the point of unbearable, "Whiplash" is a triumph of the power of the cinematic experience both in emotions and afterthoughts. When you are watching this movie there is no way possible you will be thinking of anything else if not this movie, when you will have stopped watching this movie, not many thoughts will have priority in your head to you thinking about this movie.
Firstly I want to address the fact that some people have said that the film's message is that the more you practice the more you'll get better or that, as a critic said, "Whiplash does not celebrate jazz nor cinema". So firstly, if you think that the message is the more you practice the better you get, I strongly invite you to re-watch the movie and maybe turn your head on, ha? I will not get into spoilers, but dam it! When our character reaches the top of success he had not been practicing for months at least! He clearly reached the top of success because of inspiration to do so, obviously practice is fundamental for a musician, but without the drive you'll never achieve anything and that is exactly what Andrew wasn't expressing through the music. And this is coming from a musician with 15 years of experience. Once Andrew realizes it's time for music and it's time to make a show, he finally gets to the best he had ever been. All those hours of practice and of tension and harassment with Flectcher proved to be nothing, compared to the drive of giving proof of himself. Moreover Whiplash is an amazing cinematic piece of art, it is technically flawless and has some of the most solid and conscious direction you could expect. Finally, I have never ever been into Jazz, it is probably the only music genre in which I lack totally, but man did this movie make me get into it, I finally got a kick out of it, I don't know what it was and maybe Jazz purist will laugh at me maybe not, I am not an expert, but I know two things, the music was Jazz and I really enjoyed it.
Speaking now of the cinematic qualities "Whiplash" has. It excels in so many fields I really don't know where to start because I simply can't put my finger on which one was better than the other. I'll go with the obvious choice, to start off, and add my two cents to the millions of praises J.K.Simmons got for this performance. It is astounding, full-stop. I cannot think how any other actor could have ever improved it, he definitely gave the best performance I have seen so far this year form anybody, be it actor or actress. I have been a Miles Teller fan before it was cool to be so and I will say that this is his best performance yet. He is being slightly overlooked because of Simmons, but he really isn't is no less than him. Carrying on to other elements: the sound, the editing, the pace, the cinematography, the writing, the direction, I could list them all and talk about each one for pages, they were so perfectly calculated and never occupied extra space, never felt artificial or intrusive. They are an example of true brilliance and genius in the craft of filmaking.
I will say that the film to me did slightly overlook a big element, that being Andrew's character. I already hear the voice of the reader going "Wtf? f**k this guy". But just hear me out. I didn't say it completely didn't study him, but as much as the core material, the themes, the energetic scenes and the adrenaline pumping performances captured me I never understood Andrew's character, there are a couple of references in the film but it does not deepen him enough. I know that's not what the film is centrally about and I did certainly feel for him and connected to him, but I never got a deeper look at him and I kind of regret that, I wanted to know more about who he was. You see him transform, you see his down-spiraling, but you never understand to what degree does he change or how does he think. Whilst on Simmons' side you get a profound character study (which is certainly more the point of the film), the lead remains half in the shadows.
But that is all I have to say against "Whiplash", it is a masterpiece that culminates in a breathtaking ending and has an ambiguity to it that will keep me thinking for god knows how much.