Whiplash

Minjor

I'm really looking forward to seeing this film about a young jazz drummer. Does anyone know anything about the Irish release date? I see it's been classified already on the IFCO website.

I'd imagine it's not general release.

takamichinoku

Looking forward to this a good bit myself. Seemed to be the film to really impress people at Sundance, Miles Teller's definitely on my one-to-watch list after the Spectacular Now (which I adored) and the director's first film(Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench), while uneven, had some extremely fun moments that made it stand out hugely from other low-budget fare.

Minjor

JK Simmons also looks like he gives a great performance, that "rushing/dragging" scene in the trailer is something else.

Knew I recognised him from somewhere, he's the editor of The Daily Bugle in Spiderman.

Uncle Walt

I absolutely cant wait for this movie, also the fact Miles Teller couldn't play the drums prior to the movie makes the look of his performance even more impressive..

JP Liz V1

Simmons seems a lock for an Oscar nomination and even a win (he is fav), am hoping an nomination too for Teller

Looper007

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Simmons seems a lock for an Oscar nomination and even a win (he is fav), am hoping an nomination too for Teller

Well the New York critics seem to agree with you Simmons won for best supporting actor last night and he's won nearly all of the awards so far. This has finished ahead of Birdman in some people's end of lists in America and I got to say the Trailer really is great. Teller has the John Cusack vibe to him.

SouthTippBass

Uncle Walt wrote: »

I absolutely cant wait for this movie, also the fact Miles Teller couldn't play the drums prior to the movie makes the look of his performance even more impressive..

Whiplash became "available" just last night.

I saw this yesterday and it was fcuking amazing!!! Loved it....Fletcher reminded me of my school teachers (not in a good way) but I could still appreciate that it was a cinematic treat. Also I have only a passing interest in music but I loved it anyway.

IvaBigWun

JK Simmons is criminally under rated and this looks very good indeed.

e_e

Brilliant film, really eager to see it again. It's a blistering experience both literally and figuratively.

ktulu123

Fantastic film! Both actors are excellent & the script is amazing. Definitely recommend

adox

Loved it. Was drumming everything in the house with my hands at the end.

Will go to see it in the cinema I think. I would say it is fantastic on the big screen with a full sound system.

Birneybau

J.K. Simmons has been amazing for years, took me ages to separate him, the actor, and Schillinger, the character from 'OZ'. Pure evil bastard!

marklazarcovic

what a movie, cant recommend enough,though i was gonna explode at the end

FlyingIrishMan

Finally watched it last night, new favorite movie of 2014 for me.
Absolutely perfect, I've watched the last 15mins three times now and I get chills every time.
Not sure if it's coming to my cinema or not, but I'll happily go see it again if it is.

johnny_ultimate

Review I wrote up of the film a while ago. Be warned, SPOILERS ahoy:

Whiplash is an almost classical cinematic two-hander. It boasts a whip smart script, a fondness for mid-twentieth-century jazz music and a variety of deliciously viscous put downs - in those respects, it is not entirely removed from the world of screwball comedy despite adopting tones and modes far removed from the textbook examples of that genre. But like all two-handers, it is the two hands that elevate Whiplash, and puts the central pair in the same ballpark as your Grants and Russells, Bogarts and Bacalls, Lemmons and Matthaus.

Like the latter example, there's nothing explicitly romantic or homoerotic about the chemistry between Miles Teller and JK Simmons here. But it is ****ing electric nonetheless. A blend of exemplary performances and astute direction assures that every scene between the pair sizzles with excitement.

Teller plays young drummer Andrew Neiman, studying in a prestigious musical academy in New York - 'the best in the country', Andrew insists on informing anybody who will listen. Simmons plays Terence Fletcher, the school's most revered teacher and conductor. It isn't long before Neiman is accepted into Fletcher's elite class / band, and thus commences psychological warfare that ranks as 2014's most engrossing cinematic battle (with advance apologies to The Hobbit 3 and its battle-happy subtitle).

Neiman makes for a strong, offbeat protagonist. He is, to be frank, something of an asshole - a core trait that only becomes more pronounced as the film progresses (some only semi-successful attempts at third act redemption aside). His motivations are scarily believable, and the journey fascinating: he is driven to something not-far-off insanity by the need to be the best, and to impress his ever more demanding mentor.

Fletcher, brought to something larger than life by Simmons, is both a monster and a God. He is a character assassin extraordinaire, pushing his students physically and emotionally to breaking point and far beyond. He'll dangle a glimmer of hope and praise, and then tear them right back down again. A moment of kindness means a torrent of politically incorrect abuse is likely imminent (sample: "if you deliberately sabotage my band, I will **** you like a pig. Oh my dear God - are you one of those single tear people? You are a worthless pancy-ass who is now weeping and slobbering all over my drumset like a nine year old girl!"). He is so confident, so cruelly charismatic and so demanding that we have no reason to disbelieve the hushed silence and complete subservience he commands in his classroom.

Yet thanks to writer/director Damien Chazalle's writing/directing, and Simmons' immense interpretation, Fletcher is more than a caricature. Through Neiman, we are granted fleeting but telling glimpses of the man behind the dictatorial music conductor. Neiman only sees these moments when he spies or intrudes on his teacher - they are at odds with the carefully constructed public performer, but flesh out the reasons behind his cruelty. There's an intriguing ambiguity to the character, too. A running subplot subtly explores his response to the suicide of a former student. Does he blame himself for the death? Has he deluded himself to the point where he denies his demanding working methods could cause deep-seated psychological trauma in his wards? Is he simply disappointed that a potentially great musician has expired before his time?

Ambiguity pervades throughout Whiplash. Inspired by Chazalle's own experiences in the cutthroat world of drumming, the film-maker proves resistant to directly condoning or condemning Fletcher's methods. He highlights both positives (particularly during a confident monologue by Fletcher in which he decries mediocrity, laziness and wasted potential) and drawbacks (a subplot about Neiman's disastrous attempt at dating happily expresses exactly with it needs to in a mere handful of scenes) to this sort of obsessive training regime. While everything is exaggerated for potent dramatic effect, to Chazalle's credit the film never hectors. Befitting this artful neutrality is cool Fincher-esque cinematography. There's a brutal, clinical efficiency to the look of the film, yet the camera casually captures everything from bloody drumsticks and scabby hands to sweat-soaked cymbals. The images are often evocative and intimate, but always retain a well-judged critical distance.

Whiplash is not without sin. Aspects of the plot are contrived, and Chazalle conjures up one of cinema's most deplorable black magic tricks - a scene where a vehicle is hit by another, 'stealth' vehicle at a crossroads. This stunt has long since graduated from irritant to nuisance, and as memorable and pivotal as the scenes that follow the crash are - an injured, bleeding Neiman feebly attempting to perform at a crucial competition - this is a case of the ends not justifying the means.

The end, though... Whiplash builds to a final sequence of tremendous power and catharsis. Music is, of course, extremely prominent throughout the film - see it in a cinema to really feel those pounding drums - but Chazalle is brave enough to dedicate the entire finale to a musical performance that doubles as a culmination of the conflicts and tensions of the film. The cinematographer (Sharone Meir) and editor (Tom Cross) give it their all - including a visceral, inventive panning shot that lives up to the film's title. Everything sets up a frame-perfect cut to black.

In an act of extreme cruelty, Fletcher opts to exact revenge on Neiman for selling him up the river by humiliating him in front of an audience (a fascinating alternate reading could suggest that this is all part of Fletcher's plan to push Neiman to be a truly great drummer). However, Neiman opts to turn the tables on Fletcher in the most devastating way possible - by delivering the best ****ing performance he can.

Again, all this is done with a bare minimum of dialogue, and it's all the more captivating for it. When the sequence really starts to sing (figuratively speaking) is when the pair come to an understanding to work together and deliver one hell of a drum solo. Suddenly the hate, the frustration, the deception, the mental and physical torture become meaningless as Neiman and Fletcher achieve a moment of mutual transcendence. The audience in the theatre and even the other musicians are relegated to the periphery - it's all about these two people, and their intoxicating spiritual and emotional connection in that moment. You know, maybe it's love after all.

MagicMarker

I've watched the final 10-15 minutes of this also a few times now. Brilliant!

Wanna see real speed though?

Watch it all of course, but for the impatient, skip to 3:15.

titan18

Interesting. Until I saw the reviews, I hadn't even considered watching this in a busy January for cinema. Will have to give it a look, even despite me not liking Miles Teller.

Turtyturd

Not a fan of Teller myself (said in the other thread he seems like Jonah Hill-lite) but he is ok in this, and it's worth going for Simmons' performance alone.

fruvai

Fletcher reminded me of a cross between Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket and Buddy Rich

IvaBigWun

The two leads in this were fcuking fantastic.

"Not my tempo!"

Patty O Furniture

Birneybau wrote: »

J.K. Simmons has been amazing for years, took me ages to separate him, the actor, and Schillinger, the character from 'OZ'. Pure evil bastard!

He was also the dad in Juno, but looking forward to the film

errlloyd

Simmons was excellent. Truly satisfying film to watch, agree with the above long review, I had a major gripe with the same part. I'd cringe if it was in a daytime soap opera but apart from that class.

Looper007

As someone rather poetically said on "what have you watched recently" thread about Whiplash and I couldn't have put better "Kinda like karate kid if Miagi was a cvnt.."

I thought Birdman was great, jesus wept this was even better from start to end and its going to be tough trying to top this ( the only thing I felt I had a problem and it is just a little niggle with was the Girl at the Cinema dating storyline, could have cut it out as it wouldn't have taken away anything from the film maybe just 10 minutes of screen time. I do think they probably put it in there cause the fact they had no women with major screentime at all in the film).

Jk Simmons is dead cert on for Best supporting actor, just brilliant. I wouldn't class him as a bad guy as many have him as in reviews I read. He's waiting to create the next Buddy Rich or Charlie Parker by any means. He's not going to get that by pussy footing around. The scene's when he's verbally bashing everyone are the highlights (

loved the scene with the guy who he blames for been out of tune and bashing him for been over weight then kicking him out of the band even though he wasn't the one out of tune. But the fact he didn't know that was enough for the firing

along with the amazing last 15 minutes just pure magic and that

Nod and smile in the end from Fletcher to Neiman, that Neiman is now everything he wanted and more

. The music is glorious and special praise should go to Miles Teller, who's getting a bit of a slagging by a few on here for been Johan Hill lite, I thought was amazing too. If there is a better film this year then its got to be amazing to topple this in my view.

Theta

Excellent movie. First movie I have gotten properly caught up in a long time. Miles Teller and J.K Simmons are excellent and

at the end I genuinely thought he was going to quit after Simmons tries to screw him over, which is unusual

.

IvaBigWun

Did Jk Simmons' character at the end

intend that the kid would bounce back from being humiliated like that, as in it was a final test? Or was it a great surprise for him?

Or is it left upto us to make up our own minds?

"Kinda like karate kid if Miagi was a cvnt.."

Brilliant!

MagicMarker

IvaBigWun wrote: »

Did Jk Simmons' character at the end

intend that the kid would bounce back from being humiliated like that, as in it was a final test? Or was it a great surprise for him?

I think he was just

being a cúnt

.

FlyingIrishMan

IvaBigWun wrote: »

Did Jk Simmons' character at the end

intend that the kid would bounce back from being humiliated like that, as in it was a final test? Or was it a great surprise for him?

Or is it left upto us to make up our own minds?



Brilliant!

Definitely intended to humiliate him at first, in the speech beforehand he said that this will make or break their careers, these people never forget.
Probably didn't intend for him to bounce back because he said something like "I will gouge your eyes" when he broke into the other song.

MagicMarker

Erm... spoilers?

IvaBigWun

MagicMarker wrote: »

Erm... spoilers?

For sure. Flying Irish Man you need to cover up your last post.

IvaBigWun

MagicMarker wrote: »

I think he was just

being a cúnt

.

I agree. He never

thought the kid would come back from that, but when he saw he did he was almost bursting with pride.

Still a cúnt though.