Why I Saw It: You generally can't go wrong with a crowd favorite from Sundance.
Cast: I already realize that Miles Teller is pretty great after last year's The Spectacular Now, so it's no surprise that he's great here. Honestly, if all I rated his performance on was how good he looked (or was made to look) on the drums, then I'd be impressed. J.K. Simmons is the one who blew me away. He's been such a reliable comedic actor for so long that I forget that he has genuine dramatic range. Boy is he perfect for this part: completely intimidating, intense, and just a hint of funny. Paul Reiser and a couple young people who I've never seen before are there too, but it's a two man show.
Plot: Andrew (Teller) is a first year drummer at the prestigious Schaffer Music Academy. He is incredibly driven to succeed and quickly finds himself in the [advanced] Studio band class led by Fletcher (Simmons), an abusive, demanding instructor who demands the absolute best from his students. The movie is about Andrew trying to prove himself to Fletcher because he is the only one asking Andrew to be great. This is a crowd-pleaser, no doubt, but it is not a Hollywood story. Andrew busts his ass and earns anything he gets. There are some side stories like him dating the cute girl from the movie theater or his family not understanding his dream. They are not the focus at all. They are distractions at best. This is about the drumming. I want to make that very clear. This isn't a RomCom or a family dramedy. It's only sort of a coming of age story. This is about chasing a dream, and the way it ends couldn't make it any more clear what the focus of the movie is.
Elephant in the Room: What about the music? I have no ear for music. Scales, notes, breaks, tempo, measures. That is all gibberish to me and in some ways, that makes me the target audience, because I have an implicit trust that the movie knows when something is good or bad even though I hear no difference in anything. I'm curious to see what a musician's take on the movie is, especially a drummer. I imagine he/she could hear some of what's going on, or be able to appreciate the gloriousness of Andrew's performance at the end (or middle, or beginning). Even with my limited understanding though, I was impressed.
To Sum Things Up:
I'm going to say the lamest thing I've said in these reactions all year: Whiplash is a crowdpleasing movie that plays by its own rules. There. I said it. It's so true though. It doesn't play nice. At times Andrew is driven to the point where you actually wonder if he has a brain disorder pushing him forward. Flecher is the most unrelenting antagonist/mentor I've seen in a while. I can't remember the last movie that depicted hard work and commitment in service of chasing a dream as well as this. It's a shame that the movie isn't breaking out more than it is with audiences [so far].
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend
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