Whiplash starring Miles Teller is one of year’s best movies
MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Whiplash’ — This incredibly intense war waged between teacher and student is one of the year’s best and Oscars-bound.
Leigh Paatsch
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Whiplash (MA15+)
Director: Damien Chazelle (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench)
Starring:Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, Melissa Benoist.
Rating : ****1/2
The beat goes on. The beaten are forgotten.
Name any movie where a hot talent and a burning ambition are yet to combust. The same question will invariably be asked of the protagonist.
Do you have what it takes?
The astonishing new make-it-or-break-it drama Whiplash isn’t having any of that. The question it will ask is far more interesting.
Do you want back what it took?
By the time you get to the extraordinary answer, you will already know you are experiencing one of the best films of this year.
A basic plot synopsis does not make Whiplash seem all that inviting.
A promising drummer, Andrew (Miles Teller), gains entry to an exclusive music conservatory. His one goal is to become an all-time great of jazz.
His main instructor is Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). He immediately takes an active interest in Andrew’s development, while also displaying a blatant dislike of the young hopeful.
So far, so familiar, huh?
Well, Whiplash will soon give you pause to reconsider that position, by virtue of the incisive way it drills down into the cores of these two very different characters.
Let’s start with Fletcher. This imposing and ruthless educator is not content to merely get inside the heads of his students. He takes over their lives.
While resistance is useless, subservience is equally futile. There is no right way or wrong way of dealing with the man, and that is just how he wants it.
Andrew is just as complex a case as his mentor-adversary.
He hails from a safe suburban background that doesn’t normally suggest the pedigree of a budding jazz master. The incessant verbal abuse from Fletcher can reduce him to tears. A relentless barrage of practice sessions, auditions and performances take an intense physical toll.
And yet, Andrew will not take his eyes off a prize perhaps only he can see. The cruelty of Fletcher’s methods is improving his scope as a player. To Andrew, losing his grip as a person is an acceptable trade-off.
Such a dangerous, at-all-costs connection that can forged between a teacher and a student — or indeed, a coach and a player — is what Whiplash is really all about.
The insightful writing and direction of filmmaker Damien Chazelle shines an unflattering light on the playing of mind games as a motivational tool.
Any winning result is purely temporary. All damaging marks are permanent.
The acting of Whiplash’s two leads is of the highest calibre. Both look very much like locks for Oscars action, as does the film itself.
Simmons deserves every plaudit surely coming his way. What he finds in his character — and just as importantly, when he chooses to reveal it — is often breathtaking.
Teller’s next-level work in Whiplash is enhanced by his extensive training as a drummer in his teens. His skills permit Chazelle the luxury of not having to cut away when the actor isn’t cutting it.
There are crucial moments in Whiplash where Andrew’s kit can switch from being his friend to his enemy. The movie needs these moments, and Teller delivers them.
Whiplash screens from Friday through Sunday in special previews, ahead of full release on Thursday October 23rd
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