Tight

Rating: 8/10 (27 September 2015)

Here was a movie that snapped me to attention and kept me transfixed from the first second it began. I watched this movie on my computer and had only turned it on to check the quality of the file. I had my hand on the keyboard, ready to close the movie and go back to what I had been doing before my download finished. I sat like that for the whole movie, ready to stop watching after the current sequence ended, but drawn further into the story. I watched it later into the night than I meant to, knowing that I wouldn't get enough sleep for how early I needed to get up. Whiplash is certainly one of the tightest movies ever made, in terms of both writing and editing, but those elements work in tandem with the performances. Miles Teller pushing himself beyond his limits, sweating and bleeding, give the movie an urgency that fits the technical austerity. And of course JK Simmons, who won every award a supporting actor possibly could, for one of the most intense acting jobs ever put on film. Are the characters likable? Is the instructor's theory flawed? Was the journey worth what they put each other through? Go to the boards to discuss, but recognize that this movie will squeeze you like a ball of playdough between its fingers and you will not walk away unaffected.