A damn intense, relatable movie!

Rating: 9/10 (18 May 2015)

This movie speaks to me on two levels: both in the kinaesthesia of having a movie about the making of music AND as a well-made movie. I found out this movie only cost 3.3 million to make (including promo). I say this because it is shot AND edited more professionally and properly than most movie with a budget 30 times higher.
Everything about this is amazing. The script is written with memorable moments and set-ups, such as Andrew's break-up with Nicole that serves as allegory to his unhealthy devotion to Shafer Studio Band, the dinner table and of course the now infamous "rushing or dragging" scene, which I frequently refer back to with some of my students. I teach guitar, so it's a little different. The soundtrack too is amazing, and I would recommend buying that along with the movie. Acting from the cast is above and beyond, mainly from Miles Teller who shows a passion and intensity I didn't see from many characters in 2014, Paul Reiser as his supporting yet unexceptional dad and Glee's Melissa Beniot as Nicole, his girlfriend whom he seems to be less focused on than the drumming.
This brings to the ONE thing that this movie will be famous for the years to come. It's two words: J.K Simmons (could technically be three I guess?). This guy who has been the reliable, dependable good actor for 20 years brings his character acting chops in bags for this role. The character Terence Fletcher is utterly quotable, memorable but more than that, he seems real. This could easily have been a one-dimensional yeller but J.K brings him far enough into that mode to be threatening and cajoling to Andrew but also seem humane enough that when he finds out about Sean Casey's death the tears are real, or when he opens up to Andrew about his success in bringing the best from people, he is empathetic. Finally, at the end of the AMAZING Caravan performance at the end of the movie (which is edited, mixed and shot perfectly), the approval that Fletcher gives feels earned and we are happy for it: if we did not get those emotions, then the movie wouldn't have worked.
Whiplash ROCKS! I recommend that you rush (not drag) out and buy it just before it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray.