Searching for Charlie Parker

Rating: 9/10 (18 March 2015)

I watched Whiplash last night and have not been able to stop thinking about it. After reading many of the reviews I felt compelled to write.
In art there are many ways to communicate and tell a story. And in film, there is a difference between a realistic docudrama and an allegorical tragedy-drama. I think it is obvious that liberties were taken in how the filmmakers explored the inner world of that obsessive drive for perfection, and yet not knowing or caring where that elusive sanity line is drawn. Do cymbals sweat? No. Are the bloody and raw hands realistic? Probably not. Would a teacher be allowed to continue with this type of punishing behavior in an American school today? No chance. Would like-minded obsessively driven students allow themselves to be treated so abusively in order to be the best? Perhaps...yes, I think so.
The writing was wonderful with several non-formulaic turns and the ending, to me, was simply inspired. From the pivot point of the father saying, "Let's go home", to the symbolism of the film going briefly dark and, to the close-up of the smile...it all worked. But it was the fact that only after our teacher finds and touches greatness, along with our protagonist crossing the line into greatness, were they able to transcend all previous human experiences and feelings, which was at once, fully realized and truly sad.
Whiplash. Perhaps only on a superficial level is the movie's title the same as the jazz song they were playing. Or it could also have been called, "Searching for Charlie Parker".