An intense and ambitious music story!

Rating: 9/10 (28 February 2015)

Whiplash is definitely Oscar material, a story about music conservatory student Andrew Neimann (Miles Teller) who aspires to be one of the greatest drummers. His goals are tested by music instructor Terrance Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), who will go at the most intense lengths to realize a student's potential.
The film picks up speed immediately, where Fletcher sees Andrew practicing the drums, cynically asking him why he stopped when he walked into the room. It then takes you to non-stop suspense of Andrew ending up enrolling in Fletcher's band class, where he witnesses Fletcher's intense and abusive methods (from swearing/shouting at students to throwing music stands around) of teaching and where he goes through highs and lows to try to meet Fletcher's high standards of becoming the greatest drummer. This will make you become engaged to the film's plot as you try to find out if Andrew will ever meet his potential through Fletcher's eyes.
Damien Chazelle did an outstanding job writing the script and directing the film, providing us with an intense and awe-inspiring plot and a well-acted cast of characters. J.T. Simmons did a spectacular job in his role as Fletcher, definitely worthy of his Best Supporting Actor Oscar win, and Miles Teller did a great job in his Andrew role - ambitious and energetic. I enjoyed watching the love/hate student-teacher relationship between them, and also thought the father/son relationship between Andrew and his dad Jim (Paul Reiser) was heartwarming.
I took music lessons throughout my kid/teenage years and this film does take me back to those days of music practicing, rhythm and getting the notes in tune. I'm just glad my teachers weren't as intense or strict as Fletcher was :)
Overall, it's one of the best dramas I've seen and is highly recommended!
Grade A