It doesn't rush and it definitely doesn't drag.

Rating: 8/10 (14 October 2018)

'Whiplash (2014)' is an experience in tension, a character study that's fantastic at giving you the same perspective as the protagonist while never really putting you in his headspace - that is to say, telling you exactly how he feels at every single moment. Its ultimate effect is an incredibly compelling, thematically rich one. It's an, at times, gruelling, almost hard-to-watch picture mainly because we care so much about our lead and want to see him succeed, a desire that is bolstered by the fact that we constantly see and hear the genuine skills (in the form of thunderous, top-class drumming) he's told he does not yet possess. This makes the central battle between him and his antagonistic teacher all the more agonising, urgent and investing, until it culminates a riveting confrontation and the whole things ends on a fantastic final beat. 8/10