His Movie Review: Whiplash (2014)

Why did he watch it: Great reviews

His rating: 5 out of 5 stars

His review: There are moments in a movie where I’m disconnected because it is very clear that the actor is not doing what they are portraying; where they are not playing a piano, or dancing, or flying through the sky. For example, one of my major problems with the original Spiderman trilogy was that I never bought that Tobey Maguire was the man in the outfit. The moment Spiderman was flying around or moving at all it was clear to me that it was CGI or a stuntman. I lost any connection with the character.

With Whiplash, the opposite was true. Every scene with music, I found myself truly believing that Miles Teller was drumming fantastically and maniacally. Was he actually drumming? Yes, I found out afterwards. But the truth is not relevant–the power of the film is that I accepted without doubt that Teller and Simmons were indeed Andrew Neiman and Terence Fletcher, respectively.

Creating realistic music scenes is the setup for this film. Its greatness comes from putting these two characters together and seeing how their drive for perfection push the limits. Terence Fletcher is an iconic character, one we use to grade other characters. Simmons is outstanding in creating this Captain Ahab character driven in search of musical genius, and like Ahab, his singular vision has no tolerance for those who fail to meet his vision. Deception, degradation, and even destruction of these musicians are all valid to Fletcher. He is able to manipulate then, and us, when he shows was seems to be real emotions–we want some glimpse that within this monster beats some heart, some kindness for others. He draws us and the musicians in, and then crushes us both.

Yet we want to watch. Is it because we understand what drives Fletcher, and Neiman, who is willing to sacrifice everything to be that genus? Simmons is so mesmerizing that we overlook Neiman–we want to see him as the hero against Fletcher’s demon. Yet, the final scene of Fletcher’s eyes as he looks at Neiman, reveals the truth that these men share. It is one of the great endings to a film.

This film definitely deserves all the accolades it received. It is a film everyone should experience.