FILM REVIEW - Whiplash
By The Masked Medic
Oh, man! I’ve been trying my best to get back into my reviews but time is often a factor and I’ve recently found myself extremely busy. However, I got the chance last night to sit with my siblings to watch a film. We were contemplating between a few, not going to mention names because I’m sure I’ll want to watch and review those soon too, but we settled on ‘Whiplash’, a film they had seen but I had not!
‘Whiplash’ tells the story of Andrew Neiman, a first-year student at Schafer Conservatory, a fictional university specialising in music. Andrew is a drummer, who, along with most of the school cohort, is looking to be recruited by Terence Fletcher, an instructor at Schafer whose reputation precedes him. Despite his young age and his relative lack of experience, Neiman is chosen by Fletcher. Initially, Neiman finds himself overjoyed to have been given the opportunity, however, he soon learns that Fletcher isn’t completely who he makes out to be. Fletcher’s methods include pushing his musicians to the next level, and initially this catches Neiman by surprise. But when the opportunity comes to him, Andrew finds himself stepping up and thriving in the competitive world that Fletcher is looking to create. He starts to practice harder and harder to impress his instructor and even does away with normal aspects of his life, such as his newly burgeoning relationship with Nicole, a girl he met and asked out. As the musical group prepare for one of their big shows, Andrew is involved in an accident but determined to make sure he still performs, he turns up battered and broken. Fletcher immediately fires him after the performance, thus ending Andrew’s dreams of being one of the greats in drumming. However, a while later, he bumps into Fletcher again, and the two have another chance to collaborate. Will it be smooth sailing? And can these two personalities fit on one stage?
Character driven films such as this one are often not extravaganzas in the amount of actors in the film. Similarly to the last film I reviewed, there were maybe 4 main actors whose performances are worth commenting on. There were two minor roles. The first of these was Nicole, who was played by Melissa Benoist. I’ve watched Benoist in both Supergirl and Glee, and one thing she does well is play a nice girl. This performance, though limited, was no different. Paul Reiser plays Jim Neiman, Andrew’s father. Again, his scenes were limited, but he put in a decent performance. We move on to the two main acting roles in this film. We’ll start with Miles Teller. I think I first saw Teller a few years ago in the remake of ‘Footloose’ and he plays this lovable young rogue, a role that he has played and perfected many times since then. However, Teller is a perfect example of an actor that was keen not to get typecast. I don’t want to speak too much about his performance in the Top Gun sequel, purely because you may get a review for that soon, but when it comes to this film, he does a fantastic job. The way that his character arc develops is both fascinating but also very surprising. He also does a phenomenal job starring against his co-star. The standout performance in this film is done by the indomitable J.K. Simmons. I’ve seen Simmons play a few characters before and they’ve been good performances but not ones where he really needed to show his acting calibre. ‘Whiplash’ is not like those films. Simmons is fiercely layered and his multifaceted portrayal of that character leaves you both wanting more but also weirdly scared. I haven’t seen the actors he went up against for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars, but I can tell you now, if you watch this, you’d know he was going to win!
On the surface, ‘Whiplash’ is an extremely simple story. It’s a student who wants to prove himself to a teacher who thinks he’s the best. As the film progresses it becomes obvious that this film is designed to break that old mould, but it’s clear that it’s an acting masterclass. The tension in the film rises in a very clever way and the scenes which up the ante like this, viewers don’t see coming. I think those surprises mean that actually it hooks you and you become immediately invested in both lead characters and what is happening with them. The film is well paced, and not a ridiculously long film, so there’s no part where you feel bored. Very interestingly I learnt that the character of Fletcher was based on a music teacher that the director and writer of the film, Damien Chazelle had at university and I think that adds such an intricate layer to the story of the film. In all honesty, it was a film that I definitely should have watched before this, and I think it’s almost removed a blockade I’ve had in my head about films to do with music or musicians!
From a cinematography perspective, you would think that maybe this film was lacking, since there was little need for any effects, but on the contrary my friend. There are some fantastic shots and sometimes, the lack of movement of the camera creates some very intense moments where you just focus on the single scene in front of you. Good stuff. Naturally, with a film about music, we have to speak about the sound. The background soundtrack was less prevalent and it could be, because we’re hooked onto Andrew’s journey and on this front, I have to say Teller did an excellent job because his drumming was very good. Overall, a film that I should have seen years ago, but I’m glad I made the time for it now!
Rating:
Story: ★★★½
Acting: ★★★★
Cinematography: ★★★½
Music: ★★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★½