Miles Teller plays Andrew Neiman, a Jazz student in a prestegious college for musicians who plays the drums and dreams of one day being considered one of the greats and when Terence Flatcher, played by J.K. Simmons, a highly respected jazz instructor known for his ruthless methods with students, adds him to his studio band as an alternate to the core drummer his life changes forever! At the mercy of Flatcher's brutal version of teaching Andrew finds himself pushed to the absolute limit both mentally and physically as he tries to meet Flatcher's impossible standards. Whiplash is written and directed by Damien Chazelle.
Whiplash is definitely worthy of all the critical acclaim it received back in 2014 when it was released, it's an extremely well made film and I throughly enjoyed it from start to finish, it's a masterpiece! It's well written and well directed with an amazing score and an excellent performance from J.K. Simmons! It's hard, if not impossible, to find any flaws with Whiplash, it effectively achieves everything it set out to do and it does so with flying fucking colours. It's entertaining, it's gripping, it's extremely funny and I was invested in these characters, I understood their motives and I felt that undying determination in them!
As far as films about aspiring musicians go I can't think of one better than this, nothing else quite captures the intense determination of an artist the way Whiplash does, every artist should be forced to prove themselves to Flatcher, if you make it past him you've proved yourself one of the best in the world as far as I'm concerned! Through Andrew we experience getting swept up into the whirlwind that Flatcher creates with his brutal methods and it's one hell of a ride! Whiplash is loud, fast paced and in your face but it's also intelligent and methodical.
Miles Teller was great, I loved his performance and I felt the determination and intensity of his character but J.K. Simmons was out of this world! I've been a fan of him since he played Schillinger in Oz and every time I've seen him since it's clear what a fantastic actor he is, he always delivers, he always stands out and this felt like the defining performance of his career! It's his performance as Flatcher that elevates Whiplash into masterpiece status and I couldn't imagine anyone else in that role, he's a master at his craft and nowhere is that more evident than here, although it's pretty fucking evident in Oz as well!
I would without a doubt recommend this to both hardcore and casual film fans, it's a must-see sort of film, it's entertaining, it's gripping, it's filled with lots of funny moments and it's original! I loved it from start to finish and I wholeheartedly recommend you watch it, it's worth watching for J.K. Simmons alone, if you don't know who J.K. Simmons is then it's time for you to watch Whiplash, and while you're at you should watch Oz as well, it too is a work of art, a masterpiece of televsion with another fantastic performance from J.K. Simmons. I'm gonna give Whiplash 9/10, I think I've said all I need to say here.
What's your favourite J.K. Simmons performance?