Whiplash is cinematic freeform jazz: unexpected, unpredictable, and quite fulfilling

Rating: 10/10 (22 November 2014)

Being an artist, whether writing something, filming something, or playing something, requires a special edge. This special edge is a passion that not everyone can possess, and not everyone can maintain. This special edge can alienate you from the rest of society, can cast you as a black sheep, can drain all your willpower, but at the end of the day if you are good at your craft this is all that matters.
Whiplash is a grandiose work of cinematic bittersweet delight that explores that darkness of said passion and the drawbacks that comes with it. It is required viewing if you ever want to know what it feels like to be a tortured soul determined to be the best. There were only 12 people in the theater when I watched this: we all wound up clapping in the end.
Whiplash thrashes around like bebop jazz: initially inviting, then becomes loud, unexpected, twisted, daring, violent, and entertainingly tedious. On the surface it looks like a simple tale of an aspiring jazz drummer entering a tough course with a nasty instructor becomes something much more. It is about two people that seek perfection in their craft in an art form that can easily hide the blemishes. It is about two people trying to succeed in a type of music that is a far cry from what it used to be. The olden days are referenced aplenty, from style to music to the victim artists within the genre.
On the surface, it may look like a simple film to direct. But Whiplash contains a heavy and hyper dosage of extreme close-ups, long shots, fast alternating cuts, and just a dizzying cinematographic energy that is on par with the best action films. Damien Chazzelle not only writes the strong script that is far from predictable, but also gives the movie a strong flavoring of authenticity from the small details to the music that is ultimately performed in front of our very own eyes.
The acting deserves Oscar nominations all around. Although J.K. Simmons will receive almost all the (well-deserved) attention for a spellbinding and flawless performance as a profanity-laced and dangerous perfectionist teacher that becomes a tyrant once the class starts, Miles Teller also deserves just as much acclaim for bringing his extremely devoted yet sympathetic lead character to life. The jazz action is intense, the blood, sweat and tears are frighteningly real. The tension is heavy in an unlikely Hitchcockian sense, and by the time you get to the climactic scene you will simply be swept away by the musical, emotional, and psychological madness.
It is not an easy movie to stomach, it is a tough pill to swallow. But surviving the intense thrill dramatic ride of passion brings enough catharsis and snarky emotional payoff to have you hooked from beginning to finish. Whiplash is easily one of the best films of 2014 as it all comes together perfectly like a great jazz ensemble.
Being an artist is zealous torture, plain and simple. Whiplash perfectly personifies this fact of life.
And this type of torture is exactly why I am writing this review at 4 in the morning. And whether you understand this aspect of my life or not, I wouldn't have it any other way.