Review of Whiplash (2014) by Akiko A — 20 Jun 2015

Whiplash is a movie giving us a peak at the incredible journey of the life of ambitious musicians who sacrifice everything to become the best. Miles Teller gives a great performance as Andrew Neyman, a naive drummer with a single purpose to be the best drummer, to be one of the greats.

One day, he meets Terrence Fletcher played by Oscar winning JK Simmons who is the complex instructor who manipulates the emotions of the talented musicians under his tutelage. Fletcher is tough on his players, even cruel at times pushing them beyond their limits.

He has created the best Jazz Ensemble in the school due to his methods. Andrew starts as second chair, only to be pushed further by Fletcher to push beyond his abilities. Andrew loses his way pushing obsessively to play until his hands bleed to become what Fletcher wants.

When Andrew becomes complacent, Fletcher pushes back cruelly by putting someone from his previous ensemble in his place as core player to push Andrew to be better. Fletcher gets to the point of pushing Andrew too far, causing a altercation that changes both of their lives.

JK Simmons is genius in his performance as Terrence Fletcher, complicating our impression of him even to the end with that love hate relationship. A must see movie.