“Powerful, triumphant and uplifting.”
SPOILER FREE Costing only $3.3 million, another (so-called) independent feature has broken out into the mainstream light shaking audiences as they go – after seeing the trailer numerous times, months in advance – I couldn’t wait to see what ‘Whiplash’ was going to deliver. It’s a film about a drummer for people who know nothing about drumming – in short. The genius of this kind of filmmaking is introducing a theme in which only certain people will know something about, and making it appeal to everybody. In that way; the film really isn’t about drumming, it’s about personal dreams and how far you are willing to go in order to achieve them.
It’s the performances in film’s that drive the narrative to glory or destruction; and chemistry between characters can only be described as ‘riveting’ if the performances by the actors is extremely convincing. ‘Whiplash’ didn’t surprise me in this way, because the acting is top-notch particularly from newcomer Miles Teller and old-timer J.K. Simmons. It’s a chemistry that’s so appealing and interesting, you don’t want to let go of it – and even at times the conversations and situations are tense and even distressing, you don’t want to be seeing anything else. Film’s can go one way or the other when they let the audience decide for themselves on where the film stands morally. Sometimes we can class this as laziness, but Whiplash does anything but spoon feed you the issues on dreams and relationships.
“How far will you go to achieve your dream?”
“Will you push every relationship and other opportunity away in order to achieve what you so desperately want?” That’s the million dollar question that the film asks its audience, and it’s something I don’t think I’ll ever stop thinking about. Although not shown as much on-screen as I would have liked – the relationship between Andrew (Miles Teller) and Nicole (Helen Estabrook) is spine-tinglingly awkward and overflowing with such powerful realism. We all remember the times when we went on first dates with people we hardly knew – sometimes doing everything in your power to not make things awkward can have the opposite effect.
The film’s pacing is excellent – never stops for a moment progressing the story forward in a way that is necessary and entertaining. The cinematography is also really strong and acts extra flavour and emotion that you’re feeling towards the characters. The close-ups of eyes, hands and crashing of cymbals really adds an extra punch to the solid story that’s being told. Throughout the film’s tough subject matter and challenging issues, it’s extraordinary filmmaking. It’s informative and entertaining and I never lost interest in what was being presented to me. The acting is top-notch and everything in this film is told through solid performance. I’m a lover of music, but I wouldn’t say that I know a huge amount about it, drumming included. The film isn’t about drumming; it’s about dreams, relationships and overcoming obstacles. It’s triumphant filmmaking from the get-go to the final act and I hope just-turned 30 year old director Damien Chazelle soars because of it.
★★★★
Hudson-Cook 