Whiplash

Whiplash

Starring Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, Melissa Benoist

Directed by Damien Chazelle

Synopsis:
Andrew (Miles Teller) is a 19-year-old drummer going to a prestigious music school, and aspires to be the next Buddy Rich.  He draws the attention of famed conductor Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), who invites him to be an alternate to the core drummer in his band.  Upon joining, he realizes Fletcher is extremely hard on his students, and Andrew in particular.  He throws a chair at him, slaps him and berates him in front of the other band members, but this only causes Andrew to try harder.

As he keeps persisting under Fletcher's tutelage, Andrew pushes himself farther and farther into his drumming and his desire to be the best, ignoring his father (Paul Reiser) and breaking up with his girlfriend (Melissa Benoist) because he feels she has no future and he wants to be remembered and famous, even stating to his family that he'd "rather die drunk, broke at 34 and have people at a dinner table talk about me than live to be rich and sober at 90 and nobody remembered who I was."  Andrew's constant narcissist personality comes to a dramatic head which leads to a stunning confrontation with Fletcher, and a surprising chance at redemption.

Review:
This film is an excellent case study in personality disorders and the drive one needs to be great - and the cost it brings.  It tests a person's resolve to strive for greatness, or give up and settle for mediocrity.  It asks the question, "what are you willing to do in order to be the best?"  The film relies heavily on its two main leads, and while one (J.K. Simmons) has received well-deserved acclaim and awards, the other (Miles Teller) was horribly undermined in acclaim and lack of awards.

Miles Teller gives the performance of his career as Andrew, who seems to have borderline narcissistic tenancies, as he sees himself as something great, and looks on everyone else as inferior.  He had a rough upbringing, and feels that having friends, family, and even a girlfriend interferes with greatness, which leaves him isolated and alone, with only his drive and his drums to keep him going.  He pushes himself to the edge and beyond - playing til his hands bleed, and even doing more outrageous things to be great. 

J.K. Simmons has won over 40 awards (including the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) for this role, which transforms him from his J. Jonah Jameson character in the "Spider-Man" series and transforms him into an unrelenting, borderline-psychopath Fletcher.  He not only pushes his students to the edge, he shoves them off it.  He wants to be the person to find the next great jazz musician, and uses every tactic possible - except praise, which he even says that "there are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job.'"  He sees potential in Andrew, and in his own way, he pushes him to be that next great thing by going to extreme measures in order to draw it out of him.  His performance is downright unnerving and hypnotic, pulling you in and making you feel for Andrew, when you normally might not have.

So the question remains: is Fletcher's methods successful?  If it is successful, is it worth the cost to the human psyche?  Those are questions you need to answer when you see it, otherwise it would give the film away, and it'd be a travesty for you to not see this cinematic masterpiece.


Summary:
"Whiplash" is basically "Black Swan" for men.  Both the main characters push themselves to their limits and beyond, however one has a better ending than the other.

My Rating: A