Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Whiplash, written and directed by Damien Chazelle, is a story of devotion, passion, and dedication.
Earlier this month, I watched the indie psychological-drama that I’ve heard so much about: WHIPLASH. It recently came on Netflix and after watching clips and edits of the film for months, I thought it would be a great watch.
I couldn’t have been more spot on.
The film follows Andrew Neimann (played by Miles Teller), an young ambitious jazz drummer, who is pursuing the top spot of his elite music conservatory. Terrence Fletcher (portrayed by J.K. Simmons) is an instructor known for his horrifying teaching methods that discovers Andrew and transfers him to his jazz ensemble, forever changing the boy’s life. What follows is a sick and twisted psychological game that Fletcher plays on Neimann, as his desire for perfection spirals into obsession.
This movie made me feel things. Fear, anticipation, joy that would quickly vaporize every time I thought I understood what Fletcher was thinking.
It pulled me in from the starting scene simply based on how unpredictable and intense it became from the start. Jazz is something I was raised on enjoying, so to see such a distinct twist on a genre that is widely viewed as serene and peaceful was interesting to me.
This movie is expertly written and directed. Chazelle leads you to believe one thing through the music that plays and the tension that is built, only for it to have been something completely opposite the entire time.
This is the reason I believe that Fletcher is such a well-written character. He does not explicitly say anything. He just lets it happen. It’s this factor of his character that is the basis for a lot of the twists & turns throughout this movie.
JK Simmons gives yet another enthralling performance in this movie. His face is so defined that it just amplifies the horror of Fletcher’s character. Something I notice about good acting performances are the small details and quirks that an actor portrays within a character. The unpredictability of Fletchers’ facial expressions, the way the wrinkles of his face move, and the way that his eyes fabricate intentions that we as the audience perceive throughout the film. All of these details, and more, are layered into his character by Simmons to amplify Fletcher’s harrowing presence.
These quirks in how a character is portrayed is something I also noticed in the late Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. The way that Joker licks his scars, the way he tucks his hair, the way he speaks – its all done to explicitly emphasize the character on the screen.
There is an art to the thrill and the anticipation within film, and Chazelle relays this to screen beautifully.
Fletcher is by far one of my favorite antagonists because of how calculated he is. He pretends to be personable and friendly to Neimann, gets him to open up – only to use this against him. He pretends to be friendly, kind; he fakes vulnerability just so he can get him. At times, I wondered whether Fletcher is genuinely upset the whole time or just gets more and more upset. For example, the scene where Neimann is first brought onto the ensemble and plays Whiplash for the first time, then gets a chair thrown at him after retrying tens of times.
The color grading is something that I also have an affinity for. In Fletcher’s ensemble, its a dark yellow which, in film, can mean 2 completely different things. The colors are a bit harsh and yellow to emphasize Neimann’s determination.
Another thing I love about this movie is how vile Neimann’s obsession with perfection becomes. He bleeds, he sweats, he stains the sets, he loses himself all in the pursuit of this dream, this goal for perfection. But perfection is costly, and I believe that’s what the ending silently stresses.
To me, the ending is incredibly sad. On the surface, it appears that Neimann has won the game. He beat Fletcher, who was trying to get in his head the entire film. He reached his goal, however he may have lost himself in the pursuit of greatness.
Though Neimann reigns “victorious” over Fletcher and his mind games in the end, the victory is short-lived. One can assume that the music would consume him and he would die at a young age, just as he discussed at the family dinner scene. Fletcher, until the very end, was the villain. Even after losing his job and building a band of his own, he stacks the stands with the most important people in the business and gives Neimann the incorrect music sheets just to see him fail. However, Neimann takes control and plays Whiplash by heart, stunting Fletcher in his very own tracks.
It is at this point that Neimann has reached greatness, and yes, most of it can be attributed to Fletcher’s brutal tactics – but had it not been for Neimann’s resilience it would have all been for nothing.
A question I was left with at the end of this film was: What is the cost of it all? All the suffering that Fletcher caused Neimann brought him greatness, but at what cost? Humiliation? Hatred? Trauma? Death in his 30s? What will be Neimann’s fate?
This movie was absolutely incredible. I rate it a 9.5 out of 10. The way it draws you in and doesn’t let you go, up until the very last scene, is insane. It’s a one of a kind experience that everyone should have at least once in their life. While I do say this for everything, its always genuine in that I believe there are some pieces of media that everyone deserves to acknowledge in some way, shape or form. These movies and these albums aren’t always for everyone, however I highly highly recommend this film to those who have ever felt that they have ever loved something as much as, more than, themselves.
Damien Chazelle’s WHIPLASH is now streaming on Netflix.
