Whiplash (2014) review

 Whiplash was received in 2014. Despite how I started watching IMDB's list of the top 1000 films of all time in 2014, Whiplash did not earn a place. Considering how it received critical acclaim, three Oscars and countless other awards, this was a true mystery.

Whiplash focusses on Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) an aspiring jazz drummer who comes under the tutelage of the tyrannical Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons) who is determined to make Andrew as good as he can be regardless of the consequences.

Whiplash is an incredible film that is all about how far we'll push ourselves to reach artistic perfection. this notion is no better exemplified than with the brutal Terence Fletcher who takes the idea of the ends justifying the means to a whole new other level. He is a different villain than you typically see in cinema. he isn't a serial killer dressing up as his mother nor is he a giant shark eating everything in its path, but a mere teacher pushing their students to reach their potential by any means necessary. If he pushes a student too far, then that's their problem. They obviously weren't good enough.

He is a one-hundred percent human which is what makes him so scary. That is only elevated by JK Simmons' Oscar-winning performance. Whether on the big or small screen, he is magnificent. Fletcher is an intense role, but Simmons made him one of the most believable and memorable villains of the twenty-first century.

Of course, we can't forget his co-star Miles Teller who was brilliant as Andrew Neiman. Neiman quickly falls under Fletcher's spell, as he is determined to prove himself at any cost. Teller encapsulates the single-minded determination that some people have in achieving their goals. In many cases, he drums until his hands are blistered and bleeding.

Having said that, the film was not perfect. I did not like the ending. *Spoiler alert*

After Fletcher pushes Neiman too far, he rats on him and gets him fired from his job. Later on, they meet again and everything is seemingly fine. Fletcher invites Neiman to perform with his band at the JVC Festival. But this is all a ruse! Fletcher knows that Neiman got him fired. In revenge, he humiliates him by giving him different sheet music to the rest of the band. After a disastrous performance, Neiman storms off stage. But by sabotaging Neiman, Fletcher is sabotaging himself. Surely, this all reflects badly on Fletcher himself? The audience and judges don't know that Neiman was unwittingly playing the wrong music. They don't know that Fletcher was sabotaging him. All they know is that a band leader screwed up by giving his drummer the wrong music.

That aside, Damian Chazelle showed his early promise as a director. He created a thrilling and captivating examination of the complicated relationship between teacher and student. Only a few years later, he would become the youngest recipient of the Best Director Oscar for his film La La Land.

But it all started here. This film was a rollercoaster that will definitely leave you with whiplash (pun intended.)