This past week I finally hit the last of the Oscar movies.
Whiplash was the remaining movie on my list of movies that I HAD to see from
2014. If you hadn’t already heard of it, it’s that movie that has Miles Teller
playing drums and getting screamed at by a very intimidating JK Simmons. It was
a limited release movie and I wasn't able to find it in theaters when it first
came out. So I had to find it on my Xbox Video Store and rent it. I was
definitely not disappointed in that decision.
If I could be so bold, I would say this was the best movie
of 2014. I know I've said that after every movie I have reviewed the past couple
weeks, but I actually mean it this time (I’m sure I said that after the other
ones as well). I put it in a notch above The Imitation Game, Birdman, the
Theory of Everything, and even The Boxtrolls (how dare I tear down such a
precious film…).
Now this could be
because I grew up playing drums and I've experienced my fair share of tense
moments attempting to play a song while a teacher screamed at me (not to the
extent of this movie, but still), so this movie may have hit me on a more
personal level. Regardless, the style, the music, the acting, all of it was
just plain superb.
First of all, Miles Teller was the perfect selection as the
protagonist in this movie. I’m sure they were looking for an actor who could
portray vulnerability while at the same time withholding a deep bad-assery
within him… they found him in Miles Teller. Miles takes his role and completely
owns it. I believed every moment of it. He plays Andrew (yes, I’m serious)
Neimann, a young and very talented drummer who is attending a prestigious music
academy. In the beginning, he is toiling away in beginning music classes, but
somehow he catches the eye of the most respected professor at the school (Terrance
Fletcher played incredibly by JK Simmons) and ends up being recruited to
back-up the current drummer in Fletcher’s advanced Jazz band class. That’s
essentially the synopsis of the movie. The rest of the film depicts the intense
struggle between Andrew and Fletcher as Fletcher tries to get the most out of
Andrew’s obvious drumming skills.
I’m not going to lie to you…this film is uncomfortable. It’s
uncomfortable to an almost extreme sense. The moments where Teller’s character
is striving to do exactly what JK Simmons’ is attempting to get out of him are
some of the most tense and nauseating moments I've ever seen depicted on film.
Simmons doesn't hold back any punches. He completely tears into Miles Teller in
an almost over-the-top and extremely personal way. Through blood and sweat and
tears, Andrew is trying.You can tell what he’s trying to do; he obviously sees
something special in Andrew and is trying to tap into it. But at the same time,
you can’t help but wonder whether or not his methods are not…well…unnecessary
and cruel. Yet, somehow, you still can’t find a reason to hate Simmons’
character…even after everything he does to Andrew in this movie.
They took the guy who did this in Spiderman:
And turned him into this:
And if you remember correctly, JK Simmons was nominated AND
won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Fletcher in Whiplash.
That Oscar was deserved more than perhaps any Oscar that was won this past
year. I've never seen such an incredibly perfect role for an actor. It’s almost
like JK Simmons was born to play this role. I couldn't imagine anyone else
playing it and not coming across as a complete douche-bag. You have to tow a
very fine line playing an ambitious, jack-ass, over-the-top teacher and still
be able to maintain a sense of audience understanding. Anyone else would’ve essentially
made you hate the character and not understand the motivations behind his
teaching methods. Not Simmons. He takes the role, embraces it, makes you hate
him, makes you love him, makes you root for him…etc. I just can’t even figure
out how he was able to do that. This could be one of the most incredible acting
performances I've seen since Heath Ledger as the Joker (is that blasphemy…perhaps).
Keep an eye on JK Simmons…we will be seeing a lot more of him because of
Whiplash.
Now, I've said enough about the acting. Let’s go over a few
over things that made this movie so incredibly genius. The music in Whiplash is
also superb and fits the setting and tone of the movie perfectly. It’s so well
done that I've even found myself listening to the soundtrack a work numerous
times. As you could imagine, it’s a very jazzy style of music. One of the main
numbers is actually called Whiplash, a song that Andrew spends most of the
movie trying to perfect and yes, the name of the movie (OMG THEY SAID THE NAME
OF THE MOVIE IN THE MOVIE…4th WALL…HOW METTA…OMG).
On the topic of music, I’m fairly certain they used actual
musicians for the roles in this movie. I know for a fact that Miles Teller
plays the drums and plays most of the music in the movie. And may I say…THAT IS
INCREDIBLE. The sheer difficulty of some of the songs he is attempting…as a
drummer I can truly respect. I was in awe.
OK, I’m going to take a breath now.
Can you tell I loved this movie? I truly did. I want to
marry it. Please see it. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SEE IT. You’ll not have a more
incredible movie experience for a long-time, I guarantee it.
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