Whipped by "Whiplash"

  Rarely have we seen the struggles of a young drummer at an elite music school make for a compelling and acclaimed film. But Damian Chazelle’s “Whiplash” drums up more tension between a teacher and his student than felt in most war films. At the core of the film, you have a conductor who will emotionally abuse his students for their betterment (according to him) and a student willing to physically bleed for his music. The story brings up the familiar question- does great art only come from great suffering? Both characters seem to believe so-through their own personal experiences. A major perk of living in a big city is getting to see movies before they spread across the country. I saw “Whiplash” for the first time on a solo movie outing back in early October. I was instantly captivated and immediately called my dad (who is an even bigger film buff than me) and told him we were seeing it again when they visit over the weekend. They too were enthralled with the soulful music, the gripping story, the flawless acting, and the overall intensity! Think Rocky, but with a drum set or The Devil Wears Prada, but louder. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d_jQycdQGo[/embed] J.K. Simmons, known previously for Juno and Spiderman, will now be remembered for this role.  Cleaning up the Best Supporting Actor awards at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, and Screen Actors Guild so far, the Oscar is in his sights and for good reason. He plays Fletcher the maniacal and thrillingly brutal jazz band leader and mentor to Andrew (Miles Teller) the young drumming prodigy who responds to Fletcher’s emotionally abusive direction by becoming an even better musician. A cymbal-throwing, hot-head conductor and a (literally) painfully dedicated student could be a recipe for disaster, but in this story it is a recipe for greatness... after some disastrous events (no spoilers here!). The battle of wills between teacher and pupil heightens as Fletcher intimidates and humiliates in practice, private and public leading Andrew to snap-for better or worse. Fletcher meets his match in Andrew, and Miles Teller matches Simmons in his role. Teller debunks the cheesy student-mentor  genre and proves it can be raw, deep, complicated, and intelligent- but humbling to the non-musician.  From the opening practice scene to the jaw-dropping finale performance, you feel your adrenaline pumping and almost need to catch your breath by the end. Again no spoilers- because I’m begging you to see this movie- but the film’s last scene is one of the most electrifying and satisfying endings of any film in my recent memory.  Oscar worthy? Absolutely. “Whiplash” is 30- year-old Damian Chazelle’s second directorial picture and he was personally nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Even more mind-boggling is that he shot the film in just 19 days. “Whiplash” was pulled from the original screenplay category where it competed at the Writers Guild Awards and moved into the adapted screenplay category for the Oscars. The Academy acknowledged a short film that arose from a scene in the feature that was screened at the Sundance Film Festival prior to the film’s release and so considered it an adaptation. In his even younger days, Chazelle wanted to be a musician and failed to make it as a jazz drummer in high school. The character of Terrence Fletcher was even born out of an intense music teacher he had growing up. Unlike the film's protagonist Andrew Neyman, however, Chazelle knew he never had the innate talent to be a great musician, thus obviously filmmaking is where his talents lie. And this piece of filmmaking is a show stopper.