A Young Musician Vs His Teacher

Rating: 9/10 (3 June 2019)

Whiplash is about a young jazz musician (Andrew Neiman) trying to become an elite drummer. A music teacher (Terence Fletcher) sees his skill and asks him to become a drummer for his band. He ends up joining however he quickly learns just how harsh and strict Fletcher's teaching methods are for his musicians. As Nieman plays Fletcher verbally assaults him for the mistake he makes. Although this initially get his down, over time, he develops a passion to pay well for Fletcher.
Initially the emotional stress Fletcher places on Nieman gets to him and it combusts when Fletcher says he didn't play well for a concert. He soon signs a lawsuit against Fletcher for the emotional damage that he has done to the home and as a result, Fletcher gets fired and Andrew quits drumming. Later on, they meet again and Fletcher asks him to rejoin his new band for a jazz festival where they are being judged. Andrew begins playing only to realize that Fletcher has given him a music piece that he doesn't know. He soon leaves the place humiliated but comes back to play "Caravan," a piece he initially could not master under Fletcher, and cues the band. Fletcher is first confused but soon guides Andrew to end the song, and the movie, on a high note.
JK Simmons acting is some of the most stress-inducing acting you will ever see. The way he portrays Fletcher is very frightening to the viewer. He shows his anger well, with inflections, tension, and reactions to Andrews drumming. His acting is able to truly convey Fletcher's motives and his passion for jazz music and for perfectionism. There are many times in the movie I felt very uncomfortable through his acting. A scene that exemplifies his acting strength was when he angrily questioning whether Nieman was rushing or dragging during his drum playing. This scene is the main example of JK Simmons acting with anger and energy. While this movie has many strengths to it, JK Simmons paying the role of Fletcher has to be one of the biggest strengths of the movie.
While the acting in Whiplash was incredible, the main message from the film is something that I don't agree with. At the end of the movie, it felt that the way Andrew became skilled was by Fletcher pushing him to his emotional and physical limits. I don't believe that you should make anyone work to so hard that it makes them emotionally drained to the point of insanity. It's is very unlikely that success will come from pushing someone to their limits all the time. Similar to how in Full Metal Jacket Hartman pushes Pyle to commit suicide, Fletcher also does that with one of his fellow students. I feel like in the end this movie gives off the impression that it is good to push people to their emotional and physical limit as this will eventually lead to their success.
Whiplash is a fantastic movie for anyone. The way the conflict between Nieman and Fletcher is portrayed is one of the best back-and-forths that you will ever see. I love the music score, the directing, the visuals, and pretty much everything about this film. I believe that everyone should go out to watch it.