Worth pondering, but I wonder about the agenda...

Rating: 7/10 (24 September 2016)

I Googled "movie about drummer abused" an the top search was the IMDb listing of Whiplash. I know, I know, proponents of the tough love approach will accuse me of being soft, politically correct (the ultimate putdown) and mushy and so on. Yes, the movie was taut, tightly directed, tense and visceral, but I do wonder what agenda (if any) underlied Whiplash. Was it a sneer against the so-called "trophy kid syndrome" which is such a tiresome cliché by the way. Or was it a movie that "left the viewer to decide?" which is a tad sly if you ask me in my humble opinion.
Sure, proponents of Whiplash will say that the movie reflects the real-life wimpiness of softies, but no way could Fletcher have gotten away with his abuse the way he did. Not real life.
I wonder if there was a replacement drummer at the end after Fletcher humiliated Andrew?
Also, I'm pleased JK Simmons won an Oscar for his role (when will the Academy acknowledge Jim Carrey by the way?). I'm also pleased JK Simmons is in good health, because earlier this year I was concerned that he was suffering a physical illness, with the headlines screaming about his "sick arms". Then upon closer reading I realised JK was pumping the iron to get very muscular arms for an upcoming role. Phew, what a relief. In this day and age of gloom, it's uplifting to hear these stories of inspiration. When innocent children are having their arms blown off in Aleppo, Syria and Cambodia, we need more updates about Mr Simmons's sick arms to distract us from news that bring us down.