Whiplash [Blu-ray]

Loved itSo much bought two 💙

"Whiplash", an independent film shot in 19 days, was one of the genuine pleasures of 2014 in film, telling the story of a promising young jazz drummer named Andrew at a prestigious music conservatory in New York being driven to manic ambition by a sadistic conductor/instructor named Terrence Fletcher. But it's so much more than a Faustian morality drama in functioning as a metaphor for the choice of reaching for the highest fame and success or being happy with the simple joys of life.It stars J.K. Simmons who reminds me of the great George C. Scott in that his performance here as a sadistic college band instructor is almost as intense in displaying unleashed machismo as Scott did playing General Patton. At this writing, the 2015 Oscars haven't been given out yet, but Simmons couldn't lose the Oscar if he dropped his pants on Hollywood Boulevard.Writer/director Damien Chazelle drew from his own experiences in High School (hopefully exaggerated!) to make a film that virtually assaults the viewer as if he were a punching bag continuously being pummeled by an enraged boxer. After an almost unbearable nine-minute drumming climax, the viewer will probably stagger out into the street, then spend days getting over the experience. By pushing the envelope almost to the unendurable, Chazelle has carved a cinematic masterpiece.

The performance that Miles Teller gives in Damien Chazelle’s new film “Whiplash” reminded me a lot of Robert De Niro’s in “Raging Bull”. They both play tenacious, unrelenting characters and do so in a way that can’t be forgotten and stays with the viewer long after the movie’s over. They may be pursuing different things, De Niro with boxing and Teller with drumming, but they’re each after the same goal: greatness. And that’s what this film is all about, reaching a goal that is relative to the person trying to achieve it.In this case, it centers around a guy who never feels understood. He’s attending the most prestigious music school in the country and is constantly working to be ‘one of the greats’. Who, in his eyes, is someone like Buddy Rich. Then unexpectedly, he’s given a chance to prove his chops on the renowned studio band instructed by Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). He’s soon met with Fletcher’s abusive teaching tactics and is continuously tested under pressure. The question is, can he withstand.It tests the psyche of a young man and shows how far a person will go for something they love and want to do for the rest of their life. That being said, it’s a harsh movie. The audience is thrown right into the pressure cooker along with Teller, and if you’re not ready for it, it can be unsettling and scary. But that’s one of the main reasons why I liked it. Not only does it test the main character, it tests the viewer. You also can’t deny the masterful performances on display and finesse that the director brings along with them. Needless to say, this is a must-see. If I had seen it in 2014, it would’ve undoubtedly made my top ten.

Masterlpiece: the only word that comes to my mind.I can't simply find any fault with this film. The actors are terrific and the story is very, very powerful.What I liked most were the twists the story had especially the one at the end.And if you like music in general and jazz in particular , you are going to see this film several times.By the way, the director, Damien Chazelle isn't telling the world that this is the only or best way to teach music: he is just describinga situation that unfortunately many people will recognize also from the world of sport...An essential film, in my humble opinion.

Andrew is starting his first year at Shaffer Conservatory of Music, and being the best at Shaffer means being under Terence Fletcher, and being asked to play in his studio band, which represents the school.Andrew is surprised that Fletcher asks him to join the band, and quickly learns that Fletcher operates on fear and intimidation, never settling for what he considers less than the best each and every time.Being the best does not only mean playing well, but knowing that you're playing well and if not what you're doing wrong.He creates an atmosphere of fear, but Andrew works hard to be the best, and to figure out his life priorities and what he is willing to sacrifice to be the best.But how much emotional abuse is he willing to endure from Fletcher to reach that greatness, which he may believe he can only achieve with the avenues opened up by him.........To say that the last fifteen minutes of this will leave you breathless, is an understatement, and although its a typical cliché of many a critic, here that cliché is justifiable, and I'm sure you will agree with me after seeing this masterpiece.But what's funny is that it begins like any music school movie you may have come across in the past few years, and again, the introductions are your atypical high school movie fillers. Andrew is your man, the underdog, who doesn't have the accolades or the collateral like the other students, but Fisher sees something in him, but doesn't let him know.But then class begins, and the makers let Simmons loose, and if you think Ermey was harsh in Full Metal Jacket, try your time with Fisher, maybe the most poisonous teacher ever committed to celluloid, but hey, he's doing it all for the greater good.And that greater good is the medium of Jazz. Jazz is Fishers life, and its clear that he''ll be damned to let someone pass who is good, as stated by him several times, he wants the best, he wants the next Charlie Parker, someone who will give him that love of music, and much more.So the film asks the question, are his actions justifiable if he is so passionate about the music? He wants the music to be the best, and it appears that if you get a note wrong, its blasphemy in Fishers eyes.The film is monumental, so original and so fresh, it's been way too long since we have had something like this slap us round the face and take notice.Simmons will one hundred percent win best supporting actor at the Academy Awards, he is that good, a cross between the Grim Reaper, Drill Sergeant, and that teacher everyone hated at school, but at the same time, you empathise with him, it's his love, and it gives him pleasure as well as grief, as seen in the bar scene.When a film about music school can thrill, endear, shock, scare, and vex you, it's more than a film, it's an experience.A must see......

Drumming was very good