Whiplash

Hello readers and welcome to Indie Weekend 2014! (Plus John Wick of course!)

Last year I was able to do this and I rather enjoyed my experience with The Spectacular Now and Drinking Buddies, so I decided to try it again with, first Whiplash and then Birdman since they finally made it to Denver this weekend.

Something that you guys may not know about me is that I used to be in band. For all of middle school and high school I played trumpet and, not to toot my own horn (pun intended), I'd like to think that I was pretty good. I was usually within the top three chairs out of a trumpet section that often had around 8-10 people. Our high school band as a whole was very talented, mainly due to our stellar director. Interestingly enough, the final scene of Whiplash takes place at Carnegie Hall in New York City, where our band had the great privilege to play as we were selected to headline a high school band concert with various other schools. In short, it was awesome and a memory that I cherish still. 

Whiplash represents the music industry had I continued to pursue that path in college. It's a competitive field and one which demands a lot from you, especially in the way of practice, something that I was never super keen on doing. But the point of all this is to explain that I'm familiar with the territory that Whiplash travels and it's certainly not a film where you have to be a big fan of music or have previously played an instrument to enjoy.

Initially I questioned how a film about drumming could be so "exhilarating", "astounding", and "electrifying" as the poster states above, but it's because I soon found out that Whiplash isn't a film about drumming. At least not primarily. It's about dedication, and it certainly is all of the adjectives above.

Miles Teller's "O" Face?

"Do you have a bar of soap? I need to wash
my mouth out."

The first thing you will likely notice about Whiplash is that Miles Teller is actually playing the drums, and it's incredible. He is very talented on the drum set and while I'm not 100% positive that it's him in every scene, he developed the skills enough to become very, very good at them. As a young actor, he already has quite the plethora of strong performances underneath his belt, but Whiplash is his defining moment. The intensity that he exhibits is daunting, even more so when he is behind a set of drums, and the way he portrays his awkward, cocky character, Andrew, is believable. Not to be outdone is J.K. Simmons (many of you might know him as Jonah Jameson from the original Spider Man trilogy) who plays the furious, pushing, and insanely illegal band instructor. He screams, yells, calls everyone both versions of the "F" word, makes his students cry, and more. Simmons' performance is intense, at times hilarious, and ultimately a bit tragic. I found his character's motives to be weak - they are all based on the story of some great musician who got a cymbal thrown at his head by his instructor, and then eventually became great. Simmons' Fletcher uses this as his strategy with all of his students, which, other than being unrealistically illegal, is somewhat stupid. But that wasn't Simmons' decision, it was the screenplay writer's and his performance, along with his chemistry with Teller is what elevates Whiplash to great heights. And ultimately it's their far-fetched animosity and mutual respect for each other that makes the finale of Whiplash so exciting and well-done.

Merciless fat jokes in this scene. Funny, but sad

Andrew wants to become "one of the greats" and that's the drive behind Whiplash, one that leads him to alienate family, not make any friends, dump his girlfriend, and think/practice/live/breath drumming 24/7. It's admirable at times, but downright crazy at others, with several scenes threatening to disrupt the semi-realism the film is going for because of Andrew's obnoxious level of dedication. But reality aside, it's astounding what the character goes through, simply to impress this man, in his pursuit of being great. He takes the punishment, slaps to the face, vicious name calling, bleeding hands, profuse sweat, tears, and late nights. Personally, I've never dedicated myself that violently to something, and I find that few people can, and Whiplash doesn't necessarily encourage it, but shows the effects it takes, both good and bad. It's a fast-paced trip through this musical addiction that is both funny, heartbreaking, and scary at times.

If Teller's acting career ever goes south he
could always become a drummer!

Being a music movie (somewhat), Whiplash has to bring the goods in that department and it succeeds. The music performed is done well and the jazz pieces selected are fun, and very clearly challenging. Even the focus on drumming, something that one would think could get tiresome, is fantastic as Teller's skill, and the skills for the whole band for that matter, are really put on display with some fantastic cinematography.

It shouldn't be any surprise that Whiplash should go down as the most intense band-focused film in the pretty small genre. But it's definitely a lot more than just a band movie. It's a powerhouse of talent from its two main leads, especially Teller in his young career. But even more so, it's an expertly made film, with few flaws, that examines the dedication and perseverance needed to be truly great at something.

The title of the film, Whiplash, is the name of a difficult piece of music in the film, but I also feel as if it's a prefect descriptor of the breathless sensation the film leaves you with once the credits roll.

CONS:

• Certain scenes threaten to break the reality that the film wants to reside in. At times, Andrew's dedication is too much
• Additionally, there is no way that Fletcher's character would have been at the school as long as he has been based on his actions and words towards students
• Fletcher's character motives for being the way he is are a bit weak as they are all based around one story of one great musician

PROS:

• A career defining performance for Miles Teller. One of the year's best and his best to date
• J.K. Simmons is equally as good and finds a good balance between humor and intensity
• Fantastic cinematography
• Great jazz song selection
• An amazing display of dedication and the road it takes to be great at something. The film really leaves no road untraveled in this regard
• The chemistry between Fletcher and Andrew is palpable and you can tell that they despise but respect each other fully
• A phenomenal and electrifying finale

Rath's Review Score: 9/10