Solid performances from the two leads.

Rating: 8/10 (4 December 2014)

This films takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions.
This film is carried by the two leads. Miles Teller is stellar and J.K. Simmons delivers the best performance of his career as of now. I haven't seen director Damien Chazelle's previous works, but I'll be keeping an eye out for anything he makes in the future.
This is story that a lot of people can relate to. Andrew Neyman(Teller) is a talented drummer, and is committed to excellence and pursues to be the best of the best. His teacher Terence Fletcher(Simmons) is equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods. He leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, pushing him to his limits with mental and physical abuse.
What grabbed me in the film is the similar experience Andrew goes through, with my experience with my family and at school. I'm an art student, and as corny as it sounds, my parents and teachers would push me to the limit to see if I can achieve greatness. So with that being said, the film asks many questions, just how far are you willing to go to achieve what you aspire to be? How bad do you want it? And is it worth it? The film also asks what is great art? Objectively and subjectively. All this pondered around my head and the story isn't even convoluted. It asks the right questions relating to the film.
Miles Teller's performance is nothing short of amazing. His performance alone matches J.K. Simmons. He works hard to please himself and to please his instructor Fletcher. You see him go through so much and he pours his blood, sweat, and tears to become the best he can be, so much so that he puts off his relationship with his girlfriend Nicole(Melissa Benoist) to focus on his career. There are tender moments with Andrew and Fletcher, but even more tender moments with his father played by Paul Reiser who has an excellent supporting role. In Andrew's eyes, he loves his father, but ultimately sees him as a failure for not achieving his dreams to become a writer. Something he does not want to become. I loved his performance in this film, almost makes me somewhat optimistic about the new awful sounding Fantastic 4 reboot.
J.K. Simmons is great as the intimidating instructor, a great all around drill-instructor/asshole performance. He is a bit over the top, which was kind of distracting. He's so unlikeable in the film and you can't help but wish he gets what he deserves, but also at the same time, he's endearing in a way when he gets his point across to Andrew on why he's so harsh and so brutal.
Some pretty far-fetched events happen along the way, and that to me were the parts of the film that were apparent, out of place and almost too good to be true. But with that being said, the editing is fantastic as is the flow and pacing of the film. The performances are stellar, as are the drumming sequences.
Whiplash is tense experience, watching a student with a talent go through all this torment is exhilarating and also a bit depressing. The film asks the right questions and although it gets a little preachy towards the end, it's not in your face. The performances alone is worth the admission.
8.8/10