Whiplash: A jazzy masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (4 February 2020)

An absolutely incredible movie about a jazz drummer determined to become one of the greats. While not accurately representing how jazz musicians train (nobody goes until their hand bleeds, that is counter-productive, in fact, but as said by Adam Neely, real practice is really boring and hard to romanticize (e.g. practicing scales for 5 hours, like Adam Neely did). I refer to (can you guess who?) Adam Neely's video on this movie, as I found it to be much more educated than any of my thoughts could've been. Cinematographically, the movie is absolutely incredible (lots of depth of field and interesting camera angles), and the color palettes are fantastic. The main character is difficult to only root for or hate for: he's quite nuanced, and can be a dick, and makes decisions most people would never agree with (dumping his girl because he needs more time), but we also understand his desire, and we respect his determination and drive to become one of legend. J.K Simmons' performance as the abusive teacher that pushes for greatness and perfection, nothing less, is one of the most powerful in cinema history and one of my favorites. That and Spiderman hunting, eh?