Whiplash - Review
This review of Whiplash is spoiler-free!
Sometimes a director comes out of nowhere and absolutely steals Hollywood's heart and soul. Damien Chazelle did that with two films: Whiplash and La La Land. Before diving into the heart of Whiplash, I want to really discuss something. Music in film is something that often gets overlooked as a storytelling mechanism. The thing that makes Chazelle such a great director is that he knows how to use music to create a fantastic story. He alone has made me an absolute fan of Jazz music. Whiplash, while not necessarily being a musical, heavily leans into musical themes and I'm thankful that Chazelle was able to recognize this. We don't realize the importance that it has on film, and seeing films with stories based on the power of music really shows just how important it is.
Whiplash is the story of Andrew Neiman, a young jazz drummer who has hopes of a bright future for himself in the field. He currently is a new member of an elite music conservatory, with hopes of getting onto the top ensemble at the conservatory. When the terrifying instructor, Terence Fletcher discovers him and welcomes him into the ensemble as a secondary player. Andrew eventually becomes overly obsessed with making the ensemble, sacrificing life and limb for Fletcher and the group. He quickly spirals downward as Fletcher pressures him more and more, making him question his sanity and if he is made out for the dream he aspires for. Whiplash's story is powerful and tackles a serious issue that many people face throughout their lives. Whether it be heroes or people they want to meet, sometimes these people don't turn out to be actually good people. Even those we look up to as teachers can be a bad influence on us without our realization. This story is stellar, and being that it's so familiar only makes it better.
In this story, there are two main characters that I want to talk about: Miles Teller's Andrew Neiman and J.K. Simmons' Terence Fletcher. Andrew Nieman is a young man with a dream, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that dream. Starting as a skippy young man, we see Andrew evolve through Teller's excellent acting work here. He has an ability to play so many different styles of a character, and you see that done exceptionally well here. Whether Andrew is obsessed, chippy, or depressed, you can really feel for Andrew throughout the entire film. This is a boy who connects with people on so many different levels, being that he's just a young man with a dream. His interactions with his teacher Fletcher show that sometimes even we are blind to those who are influencing us in the wrong ways.
Obviously, that leaves us to speak about Terence Fletcher. J.K. Simmons has the ability to tap into this raw anger and passion in a lot of his characters. On the topmost level of Fletcher, we see a ruthless instructor who will not let his reputation be soiled by terrible players. This results in him absolutely torturing everyone in his ensemble to try to get the best players, going as far as to make people bleed if necessary. This aspect of the character is great, but there's something deeper and more interesting that is subtlely hinted at throughout the film. At one point, we see a different Fletcher. One who is caring and truly disheartened at the loss of a former pupil. It's not explicitly mentioned but you can gather that he blames himself for this person's death, as deep inside he knows that the way he forces his students to train and get better can have long-term impacts on who they are. This secondary layer to the character is beautiful and makes him such a better character to watch on screen.
Damien Chazelle sure does know how to make films. Before we had the masterpiece that was La La Land, we had Whiplash. It's incredible to believe this film only took 10 weeks to create from start to finish, and that's a testament to how much people enjoy working with Chazelle and his projects. For me, Whiplash was an experience that just felt necessary. I know I say that for a lot of movies, but for those of us who view cinema as an outlet to other realities and lives, Whiplash manages to hit close to home in ways other movies do not. If you feel like you're being led down the wrong path, take the time to watch Whiplash and reflect, perhaps you'll see a bit of yourself in it.
