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More intense than any action movie I’ve seen all year.
Whiplash is the story of a jazz drummer named Andrew Nieman (Miles Teller) and his journey to try and become “one of the greats”. He goes to school at the Shaffer Conservatory of Music. He has high hopes of being in the school studio band of Terrence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), where they play jazz at competitions. One day, Fletcher asks Andrew to play drums in his studio band, and at first this seems great. Things begin to look up for Andrew, that is until his first day practicing with Fletcher, where he learns that things are much harder than he expected. Fletcher does not coddle his students, he pushes them to the very edge. This puts a lot of stress on Andrew, and he has to constantly keep
up with Fletcher’s nearly impossible demands.
Whiplash is one of the most intense and thrilling films I’ve seen in a long time. I was on the edge of my seat for basically the whole movie, and never wanted to take my eyes off of the screen. I found myself cringing and tensing up when Andrew would hit a wrong note or play at the wrong tempo. As someone who plays the drums, this film was especially intense and nerve-wracking. I could tell when Andrew was off tempo before Fletcher made the whole band stop, and it made the film that much more realistic, and intense. I knew in advance when Fletcher was going to go off, and it had me looking away and cringing. One of the things that the film does really well is capture that feeling you get in the classroom when you know someone is going to get yelled at. You get that instant feeling of dread and that feeling where you want to duck beneath your seat so you don’t get yelled at too. They made it so that it seemed as if J.K. Simmons was yelling at YOU the audience member. It made Andrew’s pressure and stress that much more personal and relatable. Every time that Andrew starts drumming in front of Fletcher, I tensed up, hoping that he would hit every note perfectly, hoping that he wouldn’t do anything wrong, so that he could avoid Fletcher’s wrath, and not be the one in the wrong. I had such a strong desire for Andrew not to mess up, that I began to think that I was Andrew. I began to feel that if Andrew messed up, I had messed up, and began to feel the dread of Fletcher walking over and yelling in my face. I felt myself going with the music and feeling it, as if I was the one playing it, hoping that I wouldn’t make a mistake. It really is amazing how well they created a fear of mistakes in this film. Ok, I think I’ve rambled about the story enough, it’s time to
move on to acting.
Miles Teller is absolutely fantastic in this film. His performance is completely believable, and when you see him being angry or frustrated, it seems totally real. He seemed like he truly wanted to become a great drummer. He truly seems angry at himself for not being able to play certain things on the drums. He deserves much more attention for his performance in this because it is amazing. His lack of acting nominations is disgraceful and appalling. He holds his own against the great performance of J.K. Simmons and proves himself to be a great young actor. Let’s just hope he’s not wasted on superhero movies and romantic comedies.
J.K. Simmons is incredible in this movie. His presence is commanding, and you can’t take your eyes off of him when he’s on screen. I don’t even know how to describe it, but it’s astounding. The Oscar buzz is well earned, and I would not be disappointed if he won an Oscar for this film. I truly cannot describe this performance, you’ll have to see it yourself.
The cinematography was actually very good in this film. The lighting varies in color, but always maintains the right mood and atmosphere of the scenes on display. I was very pleasantly surprised with the camerawork and think that it’s a great plus to the movie.
I usually don’t talk about this in my reviews but it has a big role in Whiplash. The editing in Whiplash is so fitting for the film, that I don’t think the movie would be so intense and thrilling without it. Closeup shots of instruments are quickly edited in together with sweeping shots of the entire band and Andrew playing the drums. It really helps to create that frantic feeling and constant dread that something might go wrong. There’s lots of fast editing and it really helps maintain the fast pace of the movie. It’s definitely a huge plus for Whiplash.
Of course, the music in Whiplash is great. The jazz songs are great, and even the score itself was great. The score is used very little in this movie, but it is nonetheless used well. It is mostly used during Andrew’s most personal moments of practicing the drums. This is great for creating a feeling of increasing pressure and stress.
I have tried and tried, but I cannot think of anything I didn’t like about Whiplash. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, and the more I think about it, the more I want to see it again. The characters are interesting and compelling, the dialogue is witty and quick, the cinematography and editing are fantastic and really help with the pace, and of course the acting is amazing. If you want 2 hours to go by in the blink of an eye, go see Whiplash. It’s intense, exciting, entertaining, and fantastic. I truly enjoyed Whiplash and would highly recommend it.
More intense than any action movie I’ve seen all year.
Whiplash is the story of a jazz drummer named Andrew Nieman (Miles Teller) and his journey to try and become “one of the greats”. He goes to school at the Shaffer Conservatory of Music. He has high hopes of being in the school studio band of Terrence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), where they play jazz at competitions. One day, Fletcher asks Andrew to play drums in his studio band, and at first this seems great. Things begin to look up for Andrew, that is until his first day practicing with Fletcher, where he learns that things are much harder than he expected. Fletcher does not coddle his students, he pushes them to the very edge. This puts a lot of stress on Andrew, and he has to constantly keep
up with Fletcher’s nearly impossible demands.
Whiplash is one of the most intense and thrilling films I’ve seen in a long time. I was on the edge of my seat for basically the whole movie, and never wanted to take my eyes off of the screen. I found myself cringing and tensing up when Andrew would hit a wrong note or play at the wrong tempo. As someone who plays the drums, this film was especially intense and nerve-wracking. I could tell when Andrew was off tempo before Fletcher made the whole band stop, and it made the film that much more realistic, and intense. I knew in advance when Fletcher was going to go off, and it had me looking away and cringing. One of the things that the film does really well is capture that feeling you get in the classroom when you know someone is going to get yelled at. You get that instant feeling of dread and that feeling where you want to duck beneath your seat so you don’t get yelled at too. They made it so that it seemed as if J.K. Simmons was yelling at YOU the audience member. It made Andrew’s pressure and stress that much more personal and relatable. Every time that Andrew starts drumming in front of Fletcher, I tensed up, hoping that he would hit every note perfectly, hoping that he wouldn’t do anything wrong, so that he could avoid Fletcher’s wrath, and not be the one in the wrong. I had such a strong desire for Andrew not to mess up, that I began to think that I was Andrew. I began to feel that if Andrew messed up, I had messed up, and began to feel the dread of Fletcher walking over and yelling in my face. I felt myself going with the music and feeling it, as if I was the one playing it, hoping that I wouldn’t make a mistake. It really is amazing how well they created a fear of mistakes in this film. Ok, I think I’ve rambled about the story enough, it’s time to
move on to acting.
Miles Teller is absolutely fantastic in this film. His performance is completely believable, and when you see him being angry or frustrated, it seems totally real. He seemed like he truly wanted to become a great drummer. He truly seems angry at himself for not being able to play certain things on the drums. He deserves much more attention for his performance in this because it is amazing. His lack of acting nominations is disgraceful and appalling. He holds his own against the great performance of J.K. Simmons and proves himself to be a great young actor. Let’s just hope he’s not wasted on superhero movies and romantic comedies.
J.K. Simmons is incredible in this movie. His presence is commanding, and you can’t take your eyes off of him when he’s on screen. I don’t even know how to describe it, but it’s astounding. The Oscar buzz is well earned, and I would not be disappointed if he won an Oscar for this film. I truly cannot describe this performance, you’ll have to see it yourself.
The cinematography was actually very good in this film. The lighting varies in color, but always maintains the right mood and atmosphere of the scenes on display. I was very pleasantly surprised with the camerawork and think that it’s a great plus to the movie.
I usually don’t talk about this in my reviews but it has a big role in Whiplash. The editing in Whiplash is so fitting for the film, that I don’t think the movie would be so intense and thrilling without it. Closeup shots of instruments are quickly edited in together with sweeping shots of the entire band and Andrew playing the drums. It really helps to create that frantic feeling and constant dread that something might go wrong. There’s lots of fast editing and it really helps maintain the fast pace of the movie. It’s definitely a huge plus for Whiplash.
Of course, the music in Whiplash is great. The jazz songs are great, and even the score itself was great. The score is used very little in this movie, but it is nonetheless used well. It is mostly used during Andrew’s most personal moments of practicing the drums. This is great for creating a feeling of increasing pressure and stress.
I have tried and tried, but I cannot think of anything I didn’t like about Whiplash. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, and the more I think about it, the more I want to see it again. The characters are interesting and compelling, the dialogue is witty and quick, the cinematography and editing are fantastic and really help with the pace, and of course the acting is amazing. If you want 2 hours to go by in the blink of an eye, go see Whiplash. It’s intense, exciting, entertaining, and fantastic. I truly enjoyed Whiplash and would highly recommend it.