“Whiplash,” a movie starring Miles Teller as Andrew Neyman and J.K. Simmons as Terence Fletcher, is an emotional thrill ride. It’s about an aspiring college jazz drummer (Teller) who is at a music school called Shaffer Conservatory (a very prestigious school) and has an instructor (Simmons) who never misses a chance to insult his students.
Andrew is determined to prove to Fletcher that he has what it takes to be the lead drummer, but knows that getting there will be quite difficult.
When Fletcher sees Andrew practicing alone in a room early in the movie, he becomes interested in Andrew’s playing abilities (he’s looking for players) and soon shows up in Andrew’s class and says for Andrew to arrive at 6 am in his classroom.
While Andrew rushes to be there at 6 am, no one (including the instructor) actually shows up until 9 am. This is the first indication that the instructor is manipulative.
Melissa Benoist (from the TV show “Glee”) plays a young woman named Nicole who Andrew is attracted to. She works at a movie theater and Andrew decides to approach her and ask her out on a date.
In a small role, Benoist gives a good performance. Her scenes with Andrew come across as natural and are a nice contrast with the high intensity of the music scenes.
The movie is about succeeding at any cost and the dreams we have for the future.
Fletcher is like an army drill sergeant who has extremely high expectations and intimidates his students. He accepts nothing less than perfection.
Our heart goes out to Andrew who is a somewhat socially awkward guy, but is nonetheless likeable, eager to please, and yearns for acceptance. He is extremely dedicated to his musical passion, on the level of a professional athlete and their sport. Teller’s role is a physical one and he puts his all into it; he is quite convincing.
I liked the pacing of the film, with the high-pitched tempo it maintained, and thought it was really well edited. The art of music is celebrated in this movie; one does not have to be into the kind of music being depicted in the film, though, to have an enjoyable time.
In a way, the movie takes on the structure of a sports movie, with Fletcher preparing his students for a concert, much like the coach gets his players ready for the big game. In this case, though, the preparation itself is undoubtedly more grueling with hardly any encouragement along the way.
A well-played dinner table conversation with Andrew and his family members highlights how they do not believe that his dream of being a great musician is at all attainable and would rather focus on a family member’s recent college football game and how great he did.
Andrew does not seem discouraged, though, by their lack of confidence in his ability. This scene shows how your average American family likely places more of an emphasis on sports than the arts for males. Sports are viewed as being more macho and desirable.
The movie completely holds your attention throughout, with both Teller and Simmons giving terrific performances. The director is really able to immerse us in the jazz subculture. This is well-worth seeking out.
