Whiplash

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Whiplash.

Written & Directed by Damien Chazelle.

Review #262

MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong language including some sexual references.

Run Time: 107 min

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Cast

Miles Teller...Andrew

J.K. Simmons...Fletcher

Paul Reiser...Jim

Melissa Benoist...Nicole

Austin Stowell...Ryan

Nate Lang...Carl

"There are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job."

These were the words of Terence Fletcher played by the utterly brilliant J.K. Simmons in the equally brilliant film Whiplash. Now I do not agree with that statement at all. I'll get deeper into why later in this review. The one thing I did take away from this amazing film is the time tested debate of what it takes for someone to be great at something and how far should someone go when "guiding" that person toward said goal.

Whiplash not only creates that debate.

It stakes it's claim as one of the BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR!

Plot

A promising young drummer enrolls at a cutthroat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.

I love this time of year. I prefer the holiday film season more than the summer. As a geek it may be against the code to utter those words but it's a fact. The reason is simple. Summer season films are predictable. You get the comic book blockbusters, CGI animated features and the franchise sequels. The holiday season gives you the "turn your brain on" films. The ones that don't require 3D glasses but do require your thinking cap.

Whiplash is one of those films and it's a MASTERPIECE!

I'll begin with the best part of this film and that's J.K. Simmons. If you don't know who he is then you must be living in the alternate universe Christopher Nolan created in Interstellar because this man is one of the GREATEST character actors EVER! You've seen him on TV in those Farmer's Insurance commercials. He's played J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spiderman trilogy. However, he's best known for playing Vern Schillinger in HBO's prison drama OZ. He played the embodiment of evil on that show and the case can be made that Terence Fletcher is scarier.

The film kicks off with a great scene depicting the kind of character Simmons is playing. He's not only feared by his students but by the teachers as well and it's that kind of "villain" that makes a film so much more enjoyable. That being said the fear Fletcher inspires over everyone at the school is not only because of his intimidating nature. He holds the fate of the band's future in his hands. They all know with the snap of his fingers Fletcher can crush their dreams of becoming anything. The class strolls in yapping away but the second the clock strikes 9 they all stand at attention in complete silence the moment he walks into the room. The militaristic precision the students show instantly inform us that this man is never to be fu**ed with. However his beastly behavior never detracts from his musical prowess.

This is best shown in the scene pictured here.

During a session he stops the band because he hears someone playing out of tune. Before he gets into rage mode he gives the student a chance to come forward. After no one does he weeds out the individual sections of the band to find out who it is. After discovering the section he badgers the kid in the white shirt until he finally confesses that he was playing out of tune. Fletcher then erupts and kicks him off the band. The scene could have ended there and we would have gotten all we needed to know about Fletcher but then he caps it off by revealing that it was someone else that was out of tune but the fact that he kid he yelled at didn't know that he wasn't was worse.

Brilliant play of showcasing the evil genius that is Terence Fletcher.

Of course there's no villain without someone to bully and that's Miles Teller. The aspiring drummer is mousy and unassuming until Fletcher begins to influence him in ways he never thought possible. As he hides in plain sight as an alternate drummer in Fletcher's band you don't think anything will materialize from it. Then when an opportunity arises, Andrew takes full advantage.

How that opportunity was created is up for debate.

Now as the core drummer for the band Andrew begins to gain self confidence that drives him through the rest of the film. He gets the courage to ask a girl he's had feelings for on a date. He's no longer intimidated by the other band members that flexed their instrumental muscles at him when he first arrived. However, the best example of his attitude swing comes from a scene where he's having a family dinner and while his uncle is bragging about his sons accomplishments, Andrew points out how insignificant they are in the big picture. This causes a sophisticated argument about what's more important. Being popular now or known forever. It was a furiously written scene that was for me capped off brilliantly when one of Andrew's cousin's takes offense when he poo poo's on his college football record because he plays Division III.

His cousin says this.

I got a reply for you, Andrew. You think Carlton football's a joke? Come play with us.

And Andrew's response was....

Four words you will never hear from the NFL.

Bam....Drop the mic and walk off stage.

The scene doesn't end there.

Chazelle brilliantly knocks Andrew off his high horse which is a friendly reminder to us and Andrew that even though he's a "big" man now, everyone remembers that wasn't the case a few months ago and it would behoove Andrew to remember that.

That comes heavily into play when Andrew runs into a shift in the story. Here is where Whiplash gets a little over the top but considering all the stress Fletcher puts on his students it stands to reason that crazy actions will motivate them in times of crisis. When things reach the ultimate blow up point the film takes a breath and gives us a chance to take in what happened.

That is until the films final moment.

The scene pictured above is the final scene of the film which up to this point left me wondering how in the world would this film end. I will not spoil anything about this scene. I will leave you with this opinion. The film ended pitch perfectly. There's so much to dive into the final minutes of Whiplash but you all deserve to witness them yourself. Especially since I spoiled some other moments in this review. I feel a little bad about it but this review would be three sentences had I not divulged a few tidbits.

The bottom line is Whiplash is a GREAT film. A MUST see and one of the best films in 2014 and until something comes to knock it off (which is very likely) My choice for best of the year overall. This movie has Oscar potential on several levels. I just hope it's tiny release doesn't hurt it's chances for the heavy hardware.

On the 5 star scale. Whiplash gets the full house. 5 stars with a "Worth Every Penny!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"