A brilliantly made film with two incredible performances!

Rating: 9/10 (19 February 2015)

With the Oscars less than a week from today, I recently notched another best picture nomination under my belt in Whiplash. This film is undoubtedly the most under the radar of the eight nominations, receiving very limited release in theaters and netting around $10 million in the box office to date (one of the lowest grossing best picture nominations ever), but boy does it deliver. Whiplash comes to us from the essentially unknown (his only other directorial work was drama Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench in 2009) Damien Chazelle. Chazelle is a 30 year old Harvard grad who catapulted in to the spotlight with one of the best films of 2015. With edge of your seat drama and two incredibly strong performances from the leads, Whiplash tells the story of how far one drumming protégé will go being pushed by his mentor.
The film opens with a dramatic approach shot that shows the star of Whiplash, Miles Teller playing one Andrew Nieman, vehemently practicing a piece on his drum kit. The soon to be 28 year old actor shows his authentic drum skills (most of the drumming you'll hear in the film is actually Teller) when he is interrupted by an eavesdropping instructor, Terrence Fletcher, played by the heavyweight J.K. Simmons. Fletcher immediately sets the tone for the relationship between Nieman and himself in this intimate opening scene that plays out in the rest of the film. Fletcher is seen standing in the doorway, obviously listening in on Nieman's practice session. He immediately tells him to play certain pieces certain ways to assess his skills, and from this the film unfolds. Nieman looks to Fletcher with clear reverence and respect, yet Fletcher, while realizing the potential, dehumanizes Nieman. This back and forth between the two leads, and the psychological and physical journey of Andrew Nieman that a brightly shining Miles Teller takes the audience on is terrifyingly fascinating. We learn shortly thereafter that Nieman has been without a mother for most of his life, and is very close with his father, as they are seen together in multiple scenes. Fletcher then invites Nieman to start rehearsing with his renowned studio band, which is where the film really starts to heat up. Fletcher and Nieman begin to clash in ways that make it tough for the viewer to watch at times, but in an oh too familiar, relatable, and dramatic way.
With dark humor, an elegant score with fantastic scenes of musicianship, two Oscar worthy performances (Teller did not receive a nod from the Academy, but Simmons did and leads the pack to win best supporting actor), and a plot with character development and an ending that will absolutely leave you wanting more, Whiplash is a brilliant film. It is profoundly entertaining, yet perhaps more importantly, it stirs up emotions within the audience as to just how far is too far for one music teacher to push his protégé, and how much can, or should, a student in this situation take to be great? Whiplash sees the affirmation of the acting prowess that is JK Simmons and also the breakthrough role for an alarmingly talented Miles Teller. An absolutely can't miss film that is more than worthy of a best picture nomination this Oscar season. 8.5/10.