Rent Whiplash (2014)

Excellent and original film about male obsession (and drumming) - Whiplash review by PV

I loved this film before I even saw it, quite simply because it is a film about drumming and I have never ever seen a film about that before.

Of course, it's not really about drumming per se. It's a movie about obsession and specifically male obsession.

I would compare it to a film such as Raging Bull perhaps, maybe some scientific quest movie.

The script is tight and the performances excellent too, not only the Oscar-winning turn by the terrifying music teacher. The subplots (usual girl interest; family with competitive brothers) are limp as lettuce, but have to be - because the main plot and characters suck all the oxygen out of the story leaving no time for anything else.

By the way, it is all utterly unrealistic - no teacher would last one lesson spewing the sport of insults this teacher does, and to actually slap a student or cause them physical harm would possibly lead to arrest in the USA and maybe even the UK. Teachers such as this really do only exist in the movies. (Ditto Robin Wiliiams in Dead Poets Society).

But, so long as you can suspend your disbelief on this point, the movie is a joy, especially for anyone musically-minded.

Bang on in a good way - Whiplash review by BE

Him of the long hard stare (Miles Teller) and him of the vicious verbals (J K Simmons) give excellent performances as drummer and instructor in this fast paced movie. Not a particularly ardent jazz enthusiast myself but could appreciate the excellent drumming sequences. These were achieved without a noticeable join as don't think 'skins' are one of Miles' special abilities. The behaviour of the instructor defies belief in this day and age when the decrying of physical and verbal abuse is not accepted in civilised society in a classroom/academy environment. I guess this movie is allowed licence to get away with it or we wouldn't have a movie!

Must try harder. - Whiplash review by Steve

Utterly ridiculous, implausible melodrama somehow crosses Fame with Full Metal Jacket. Works a bit if you find some elements of allegory in what is at face value an unbelievable situation. Well made (hence three stars) but not actually worth making.

Shallow storyline and over-exaggerated brutality - Whiplash review by RD

This story has been done so many times over the years, usually with an overbearing army commander bullying his soldiers into becoming a crack platoon with the lesson that the harder they are treated the better they become. Hopefully all the unpleasantness of the bullying is balanced by the tear-jerking success at the end. Very predictable and very overworked.

This film adapts this format to the school of jazz music students but doesn't manage to get into any real depth of story telling. The acting is as good as it can get with the thinly drawn characters but unfortunately not enough to save the film.

The music and playing is by far the best part although only done in short bursts (disappointingly the soundtrack didn't get out much into the surround channels and stayed in more or less mono throughout).

In all, very formulaic with no interesting additions or development and quite predictable with lots of unpleasant bullying.

6 Stars - Whiplash review by RW

One of the best films that I've seen in a long time. Didn't read much about it before watching, it but just heard it had good reviews so gave it a go; suggest everyone else does so too. Didn't like jazz before watching it, but I have listened to it (mainly the film soundtrack) since watching this film; don't have to like jazz though to enjoy it though. 6 stars.

For jazz fans only - Whiplash review by Wkarmo

Bully makes good. Typical American schmaltz with no women except a characterless weak girlfriend (who gets dropped). Must have been written by a middle-aged male who is into bullying, jazz and drumming. All rather pathetic.

A tense, taught & brilliantly directed film, despite being a little too unrealistic - Whiplash review by TB

When I was at school, there was a music teacher who shall remain nameless. This man was ex-army and had been in the military band. He was also an absolute psychopath, his favourite thing being to throw his big bunch of keys at someone who wasn't playing well/annoying him. He also on more than one occasion so belittled his wife (another teacher) in front of students that he reduced her to floods of tears. This was who I thought of fairly frequently when watching this film, as well as wondering if Fletcher and this guy were related.

The performance of music professionally is something which is infamous in bringing out the worst in some people, especially the more elite level. And Whiplash absolutely taps into that.

We are introduced to Andrew Neiman in a very low-key way, messing around with a drum kit. In through the door walks Terence Fletcher, the renowned and revered music head. After making him feel suitably uncomfortable and watching him play, he invites him to join his jazz ensemble. From there, Andrew is exposed to Fletcher's teaching methods.

This includes extreme threat, belittling, insulting, screaming and physical violence. And this is where, as much as I appreciate the fact that this performance is just that, a performance where there is some dramatic licence taken, the simple truth is that anyone behaving in the way Fletcher is shown with his students would have been arrested within 10 minutes. He definitely wouldn't be teaching in a school in America/the Western world. And the fact that this extreme behaviour is shown like this so frequently, plus the facts that come to light later in the film, means that element to me was something that affected the whole film.

However, it is important to say that Whiplash is still a great film. Miles Teller was exceptional and actually to me was the better of the two. It would have been so easy to make Andrew a very unlikable character, but Teller really nails the everyman trait of him. This could easily be us and we root for him all the way. I also really liked Paul Reiser as Andrew's father, again really doing wonders with what is in many ways a small role.

Naturally a lot of the headlines, as well as every award going, went to JK Simmons and I am not going to reduce his role just because of my previous thoughts. He is an extremely enigmatic character and there is a lot of previous music greats who I know Simmons will have incorporated into his performance. The redemption arc that he goes through is just about pulled off and the end sequence is absolutely fantastic.

The other great thing about this film is how well directed it is, specifically the editing and length. There isn't an ounce of fat or bloat in this film, and much credit needs to go to Damien Chazelle. As a first time director, this was an amazing achievement.

Finally, the film does actually raise one extremely significant question which has no easy answer and something which people will argue about until the end of time: at what price genius? Or to put it another way, how much should or can we as a society/people tolerate contemptible & despicable behaviour, even when the person involved is the best in their field. Whiplash certainly adds an interesting contribution to that debate.